The virtual Finance Director or virtual CFO is a new concept. It’s a way for small businesses to get CFO support that they wouldn’t have been able to afford previously. Small businesses who hire a virtual CFO get access to an experienced financial professional at a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO. The accounting profession is going through some major changes. There are now more firms competing with each other than ever before. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a growth of about 1 percent. But experts estimate the number of accounting professionals has increased from about 1.5 to 2 million people over the past five years. Small businesses now have so much choice that ordinary services like compliance, tax preparation and basic bookkeeping are becoming commoditized. There’s so little differentiation in this crowded market that the value of these services is being driven down. Cloud technology is also reducing the value of basic accounting services. Firms using cloud-based systems are more efficient and productive. That’s because many labor and time-intensive tasks can now be automated.