Webinar · 7 October 2026

How good is your CFO or accountant, really?

In October 2026 we asked entrepreneurs honestly how they're doing with their finances: whether there's profit left, whether the numbers are available on time, and whether financial decisions are made based on data or gut feeling. Here is the survey summary, a 13-question self-test and a real story about what good financial management changes in a company.

This summary is based on the webinar held on 7 October 2026. The webinar was led by Kaide-Liis Luht, founder and CFO of KL Raamatupidamine.

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Who answered the survey

86% are company owners or managers
52% work alone or in a team of up to 2 people
52% of companies have annual revenue below €150,000

Respondents came from very different sectors, from car repairs and construction to medicine and education technology. They included both start-ups and entrepreneurs who have been in business for 20–38 years, as well as companies with revenue of over €10 million.

Source: KL Raamatupidamine survey of entrepreneurs, October 2026. Answers are anonymous.

Most are profitable, but profits are small

Company situation	Respondents
Profitable, but profit is small	38%
Profit is growing	19%
Consistently profitable	14%
Roughly break-even	10%
The company is loss-making	10%
I don't know exactly	9%

Only about a third of respondents say their profit is stable or growing. One respondent wrote down a question they wish we had asked:

How have I even survived this long operating close to zero?
Anonymous survey response

Biggest concern: how to make more profit

Challenge	Of respondents
Increasing profitability	71%
Pricing	43%
Budgeting and forecasting	38%
Keeping costs under control	33%
Cash flow management	24%
Investment planning	24%
Understanding financial data	19%
Financing growth	19%
No financial management support	19%
Tax planning	14%
Taking out profit or dividends	14%

Respondents could choose up to three challenges. These concerns are connected: profit depends on price and costs, price depends on whether you know your cost price, and all three need a budget and a forecast.

Source: KL Raamatupidamine survey of entrepreneurs, October 2026. Answers are anonymous.

In entrepreneurs' own words

Our current accountant only tells us which invoices are missing, but never actively raises the question of what we should be doing differently.
Anonymous survey response

Our current accountant says: you just need to earn more, there's nothing else here.
Anonymous survey response

A good CFO doesn't stop at that answer. They keep asking: where exactly, with which product, client or price?

Self-test: 13 questions

Answer each question honestly: yes, definitely, partly or no. At the end, count how many times you answered “yes, definitely”. In brackets you can see how the entrepreneurs in the survey answered.

Do you know the cost price and real profit margin of each of your products or services? (24% know for sure)
Can you say how many months the company could keep operating without any new sales? (28% know for sure)
If an unexpected cost or drop in sales happened, would you know straight away where to get the money? (30% wouldn't know)
In the past year, have you made an important decision mostly on gut feeling? (75% have, at least partly)
Do you hold regular financial review meetings? (57% say they don't)
Can you read and interpret your balance sheet and income statement on your own? (24% can fully)
Do you have a clear strategy for how and when to pay profit out of the company to yourself? (10% have a clear strategy)
Do you use all the tax-free expenses and reimbursements the law allows?
In the past year, have you reviewed all your costs line by line?
Do you know in advance when and how much tax you'll have to pay?
Do you know how much money your clients owe you today, and whether invoices are paid on time?
Do you have a budget, and do you compare actual results with it every month?
Do you have last month's numbers within 10 days?

For question 4, count the answer “no” as a point.

Your result

“Yes, definitely” answers	What it means
11–13	Strong foundations. The numbers are a management tool. The next step is planning growth and investments.
6–10	Half the picture is missing. Your accounting works, but some decisions are made blind. Start with cost price and a cash flow forecast.
0–5	Your accounting only looks at the past. There is essentially no financial management. You need someone who helps you make decisions from the numbers.

An accountant and a CFO do different work

	Accountant	CFO
Perspective	The past: what happened	The future: what will happen and what to do
Asks	Which invoice is missing?	What should we do differently?
Goal	Correct reports and taxes	Better profit, cash flow and decisions
Rhythm	Month-end and year-end	Monthly management information and decision support

In a small company this can be one person or an external partner. What matters is that both roles are covered.

What a good CFO actually does in your company

Knows the cost price and margin of every product, service and client
Forecasts cash flow so that cash reserves are known in months
Keeps a plan B ready and knows before a crisis where the money will come from
Supports hiring, price increase and investment decisions with analysis
Brings the numbers to the management table every month: budget versus actual
Plans salary, dividends and the tax impact together
Reviews contracts and services at least once a year
Uses the tax-free options allowed by law and keeps a tax calendar
Automates reporting so the month's numbers are ready within 10 days

Time, AI and growth

43% say handling invoices and payments takes the most time and energy
95% are interested in how AI and automation could reduce routine work
90% are interested in how to structure their finances to support growth and investment
37% haven't yet decided how to finance growth

The most common answer about automation was “We don't use it yet, but we'd like to”. A good CFO automates routine work to free up time for analysis, and helps choose the right financing: your own cash flow, a bank loan, an investor or a grant.

Source: KL Raamatupidamine survey of entrepreneurs, October 2026. Answers are anonymous.

Client story

Reverse Resources: a year's work in three months

Reverse Resources operates in three countries – Estonia, Bangladesh and India – each with a different accounting system. The company also has three business lines and many stakeholders. Founder Ann Runnel spent about five years looking for a solution that would bring all these numbers together into clear management information.

3 countries with different accounting systems
3 business lines and many stakeholders that had to be brought together into one set of management information
Expected time: at least 12 months. In reality: 3 months

Work that was expected to take at least a year was done in three months. Ann Runnel sums up the cooperation in three words: professionalism, speed and clarity.