Ken Kaufman - Scaling a remote finance team

Episode Content Outline

• General Discussion 
  • Building a Remote Finance Team 
    • Ken to give overview of structure of current team 
    • Ken to talk through closing calendar structure
      • How do you manage your close calendar?
      • What are the critical monthly deadlines?
      • When are the books closed? 
    • The Virtual Assistant to the CFO 
      • How do you currently leverage a virtual assistant(VA)? 
        • Their duties/responsibilities? 
        • Gaining trust with a new VA 
      • When should a CFO hire a VA? 
      • Effective communication with your VA
      • Finding a VA 
    • Project Manager 
      • What is the purpose/role of the PM
      • Structure
    • Onshore vs Offshore 
      • Which roles are better suited for Offshore/onshore?
      • Issues to consider when choosing whether to find onshore/offshore remote talent. 
    • Recruiting 
      • Onshore
        • How do you interview for remote finance hires? 
          • What do you look for in a remote candidate? 
          • What are the warning signs that a candidate isn’t suited for remote work? 
          • What working hours expectations do you set with your teams? Especially offshore or people who are in different time zones? 
        • What do you recommend for equipment policy for your onshore hires? 
      • Offshore 
        • Where to look when searching for Offshore help? 
          • Websites? 
        • Tips for interviewing/etc. 
        • Paying Offshore contractors/tax issues? 
        • Using an agency vs direct contractor hire
        • Using part-time contractors? 
    • Onboarding/Training 
      • Once you have hired people, what advice would you give regarding the onboarding and training process in a 100% remote environment? 
    • Maintaining Culture and Morale 
      • How do you build and maintain relationships with a 100% remote team? 
        • What do you do for team building, etc? 
        • How do you gauge if an employee is at risk of leaving or is having an issue with engagement?
        • Is there an expectation to have the onshore team at the same place together at some interval (once or twice a year?) 
    • Summary: 
      • Advice for those building a team from scratch 
      • Advice for those who are transitioning from a local team to a remote team 
  • Running a Remote Finance Team 
    • What is your meeting cadence with your team and how often do you touch base? 
      • Dealing with time zone differences 
    • How do you keep on top of your team? 
      • How do you know if deliverables are being worked on, and your team is running efficiently? 
    • What tools do you use to run your team?
      • Task Management? 
      • Communication? 
      • Document/workpaper storage?
      • Monthly Accounting Calendar? 
    • Any other considerations? 

• Wrap Up
  • What are your top “Do” and “Do not” regarding managing a remote finance team?
    • Do 
    • Do Not