The number of actual CFOs we work with in our day-to-day tasks here is minimal. So I would not usually pay the strictest attention to many articles that come my way concerning their day-to-day tasks. My attention was caught, however, by a recent headline that asked “What Keeps CFOs Up at Night?”

Assuming that I am not the only one drawn in by the questioning title, here is the list of answers that the article offers:

·        The U.S. election and economic uncertainty

·        Executing growth plans

·        Business model changes

·        Elevating your role

·        Building finance talent pipeline

·        Harnessing technology

·        Cybersecurity risks

·        Capital allocation

·        Activist shareholders

What struck me about the list is how similar it is to concerns I hear from my clients. Granted, my clients tend to come from smaller companies that do not have as many (or any) shareholder concerns, but the rest are issues that scale across businesses no matter their size.

Starting right at the top of the list, I have written enough in this space over the last month or two that I cannot deny how campaign rhetoric has pushed tax, finance and economic talk to the forefront of many minds. At the same time, however, I also counsel everyone to not put too much fear into those thoughts. There are definite differences between the candidates, but nothing so drastic as to create the apocalypse that some are foretelling.

At the same time, however, this is not to say that it does no good to pay some attention to what certain outcomes could mean for your business. One should never only be reactive, after all, and being proactive will keep you ahead of changes before it is too late to take action.

In fact, much of the rest of the list speaks to this point. Having an executable growth plan and being open to changing your business model will keep you from becoming irrelevant – and this should include being ready to embrace new technologies. Even trying to ensure that you have a pipeline of talent behind you is just another form of ensuring future success.

Maybe then this isn’t so much what keeps CFOs up at night, but what keeps all business people up at night. But wait, why is everyone being kept awake anyway?

All of these concerns are valid, but as long as they are being addressed, they should not be lingering issues that feel dire and dangerous. As a CFO, there should be people working with you who can help you address these issues proactively. You should also be willing to change in ways to maintain relevance. As a small business owner, one should strive to carve out some time every day to address these larger business concerns and also look toward maintaining relevance.

Granted, for some people there is simply not the time to handle all these things by yourself (there is a reason that the CFOs have those underlings after all, and it is not just for the pleasure of power). That does not, however, mean they should be ignored. Seeking help to ensure profitability and long-term success simply makes sense. And one of the best parts of our job here is providing services to businesses to help them allay some of those concerns. Granted, we cannot help with all of them (we are certainly not employee-hiring specialists, for example), but we are always happy to do what we can and refer you to others if we know they can do what we cannot.

Remember that you are not alone in your concerns and worries and that you should not tackle them alone. Accepting some help to do so may even help you sleep at night. Who knew that was yet another service we could offer?