10 ways CFO’s are vital to new business owners looking for Series Funding (A-C)

Funding is a vital step for growing businesses, and as businesses move from early traction into high-growth phases, fundraising becomes more complex and more demanding.

During Series A, B, and C funding rounds, a Senior Finance Leader or CFO shifts from ‘helpful’ to business-critical; a vital, yet often overlooked, hire for business looking to secure funding and growth.

With fewer than 500 UK companies raising a Series A in 2025, new business ventures fail more than they thrive. Collaborating with growth-focused and investor-backed businesses since 2010, we have a unique insight into how transformative a CFO - permanent or Interim - can be for business owners looking to secure funding.

Here are the ten reasons securing a CFO before funding is one of the smartest decisions a business owner can make.

1. Investors Expect CFO-Level Financial Credibility

By Series A, investors expect professional-grade financial reporting, not just spreadsheets.
With a CFO in place, you can ensure continued:

• Clean, yet detailed financial records

• Reliable financial forecasts based on past experience and industry knowledge

• Confidence in reported numbers, trends and strategic planning

A CFO is also able to utilise their own industry insight, previous experience and proven successes to present and communicate the above to investors and Founders efficiently and confidently.

Without this credibility, investor trust can disappear quickly, even if the business itself is strong.

2. Financial Models Become Mission-Critical

At Series A and beyond, financial models aren’t just internal tools, they become central to your businesses’ fundraising story. A CFO is able to build models that show:

• Revenue growth pathways

• Hiring plans

• Cash runway

• Funding requirements

More importantly, they stress-test assumptions to ensure finances and figures stand up under investor scrutiny.

3. Due Diligence Gets Intense

The jump from seed to Series A is where many businesses experience their first serious due diligence process. At Series B and C, this becomes even more demanding. It’s at this stage that a CFO is able to efficiently prioritise and manage ket financial tasks, including;

• Investor data rooms

• Financial documentation

• Audit readiness

• Risk mitigation

Due diligence delays can derail funding timelines, so with the guidance of a CFO, a clear oversight of often overlooked, but vital financial tasks, can be accomplished, without the disruption of business-as-usual tasks.

4. Cash flow risk increases dramatically

Growth requires significant monetary investment, and mistakes get costlier. A CFO ensures:

• Runway is protected

• Spending efficiently aligns with strategy

• Capital is deployed effectively, wider a wider business strategy in mind

Scaling businesses can sometimes fail for the simple reason of poor cash management.

5. Strategic decision-making becomes financial

At earlier stages, founders often lead with product or market thinking, but at Series A–C, every major decision requires financial consequences. With an experienced CFO in place, they are able to work with business owners and Founders evaluate:

• Expansion opportunities in both new and emerging markets

• Hiring strategies to help sustain and fuel growth

• Pricing decisions

• Market entry risks and downfalls

An efficient CFO turns strategy into measurable outcomes, with the ability to support financially stable growth in line with the wider business strategy.

6. Board and Investor reporting becomes mandatory

As external investment increases, governance expectations rise and the attention to detail becomes increasingly more important. The importance of regular and detailed reporting becomes a mandatory and CFO’s create structured reporting that includes:

• Monthly management accounts

• KPI dashboards

• Board packs

• Investor updates

Transparency and detailed reporting builds investor confidence, encouraging a culture of efficient and clear financial trust from the beginning.

7. Scaling Without the appropriate systems creates unforeseen risk

Many businesses grow quickly, but systems lag behind. With no clear and singular system for all accounting and financial processes, an experienced CFO can advise and guide on the systems and processes that best align with your businesses need.

Without the suitable systems, problems can occur such as:

• Reporting delays

• Compliance risks

• Operational inefficiencies

• Financial mismanagement

A CFO designs scalable finance infrastructure, so growth remains sustainable and systems can support the fundamental structure of both the business and Series funding.

8. Fundraising strategy becomes more complex

Series A–C funding involves an array of different considerations including multiple investor types, term sheet negotiations, and valuation management.

In managing these factors, a CFO plays a key role in:

• Structuring funding rounds

• Supporting negotiations

• Protecting founder equity

This expertise directly impacts long-term ownership and control of the business, helping the business thrive within and past funding stages.

9. KPI Management drives valuation

Past initial funding stages, at Series B and C, valuation depends heavily on performance metrics.
These metrics vary greatly, depending on the business requirements.

A CFO leads on the financial elements of these KPI’s. They ensure the business is measuring what investors actually care about- helping to define, track and communicate these internally and externally to stakeholders and potential investors. KPI’s can include:

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

• Lifetime value (LTV)

• Gross margin

• Revenue growth

10. Risk Management becomes a leadership priority

As investment levels increase, so do expectations around governance and compliance. A combination of small risks can equate to serious consequences for new businesses, especially in growth stages when looking to secure funding.

A CFO in place helps manages these risks, including:

• Financial misreporting

• Tax exposure

• Regulatory compliance

• Operational inefficiencies

Reducing and managing these risk ensures and protects the longevity of the business from a financial perspective and building further confidence in investors.

Why CFO’s are vital to new business owners looking for Series Funding (A-C) - now more than ever

One of the biggest misconceptions we hear among founders is: “We don’t need a CFO - we’ll hire a CFO after we raise.”

This is a costly mistake to make. The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, found that 93% of seed-funded startups are failing to secure follow-on funding to scale, with only 7% raising a subsequent VC round (Series A).

At Series funding stages, a CFO hire is not only a strategic necessity, but a business critical investment. They don’t just manage numbers, they build confidence, structure growth and protect the future economic stability of the business, with investors now expecting clear financial leadership and long-term strategy before committing capital.

In placing both full-time and Interim CFO’s we’ve seen first-hand that businesses who bring in CFO-level expertise at an early funding stage often benefit from:

• Faster and secure fundraising

• Higher valuations

• Stronger investor confidence and loyalty

• More sustainable growth

If you’re a business owner, looking to secure funding for your venture - we wish you the best of luck.
For more guidance or support in placing a CFO within your growing business, you can trust in Trace - find out more here.