35 CHAPTER 4 OPERATIONAL BEST PRACTICES Additional tips and tricks Working as a CFO for a SaaS company can be challenging due to the constantly evolving demands of a startup environment and the unique operational practices and metrics specific to the software industry. Additionally, finance teams are often somewhat isolated from the rest of the organization, making it difficult to get the support they need. One solution is to join a startup CFO community, such as "Startup CFO". In these communities, CFOs can ask other CFOs questions about topics such as which tools to use, how to handle salary increases in an inflationary environment, and how to approach budgeting. THE IDEAL FINANCE TEAM SHOULD BE ANALYTICAL AND COLLABORATE ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS Iterative and agile feedback loops es Continously Analyses data c consolidates & & reports to aggregates data CRM HRIS ERP Adapts strategy & business plan Executives & Board ernal Data SourData Billings & Int Warehouse Spreadsheets Analyses performance Finance team Adapts S&M, Product & es (led by CFO) function/ other teams c department strategy Bank Suppliers Public Checks compliance ernal Data Sour Auditors, Regulators Reports to & Market Ext Partners Customers