Do Accountant Startups Need a COO? — Mark Jones COO
A large percentage of startups fail before their fifth birthday, mostly due to the complexities of the business world and lack of the resources needed to hire professional and experienced staff. In new startups, most of the team members’ roles are often not well defined, more so the role of the Chief Operations Officer.
Reasons Why Your Accounting Startup needs a COO
Recently, there has been a debate on whether startups need to hire COOs. The Chief Operations Officer acts as the team leader who guides other staff towards achieving their goals. Without such a leader in day-to-day operations, the team can follow the wrong plan, and it may take longer for the founders to realise. Below are some reasons why your accounting startup needs a COO — Chief Operations Officer.
They Act as a Guiding Vision
The Chief Executive Officer can have some external advisors and mentors, but they also need a COO to guide their vision and ideas. A Chief Operations Officer will help you solve company operations problems to ensure that the direction you are taking is the most profitable and most realistic.
They are the jack of all trades as they are able to provide an insight in different areas of the business to propel you and the business in the right direction.
Helps in Financial Planning
As an accountant, you may think that you are good in financial planning, but you need someone to help you make difficult financial decisions. The Chief Operations Officer will act as a companies Chief Financial Officer (CFO) until the time when the company is big enough to hire a CFO.
COOs are experienced in sales and marketing. Therefore in the early days of a startup, the Cheif Operations Officer will help lay the financial ground of the company and help it its growth while still avoiding running out of cash.
Helps Plan the Execution of the Company’s Goals
The startups that survive their first five years are those that can deliver on their goals. The CEO sets the goals, and then it is the role of the Chief Operations Officer to plan the execution of the goals and turn them into reality based on the Chief Executive Officer’s vision.
It is like the CEO planning to go to a specific destination, and the chief operations officer has the role of providing the best route to get there whilst managing teams on behalf of the CEO to accomplish that goal according to Mark Jones.
Helps Build the Company’s Team and Culture
Every company needs talented employees to succeed, especially when you are an early-stage startup company.
The Chief Operations Officer will evaluate the needs of the company and the available to determine the types of employees needed to help it achieve its goals. He or she is also responsible for creating and promoting the company’s culture. These principles act as a guide for what is expected from the team.
Takes the Networking Role
A business needs to make external relationships with other companies and individuals to allow a smooth flow of processes and also to gain a competitive advantage. Both the CEOs and the CFOs have a role to play in ensuring that they have publicised the company before the company comes up with a functional marketing department.
Coming up with Operations Guidelines
One way of avoiding operations related problems in a company is by coming up with guidelines for the major processes. These guidelines can help a startup to avoid costly mistakes that can kill most businesses in their early stages. It is also the role of the chief operations officer to evaluate the set guidelines after some time to ensure that they are still on the right track of helping the business grow.
