Part Time CFO Services in Long Island
Oct 8, 2021The best part time CFO in Long Island is a professional who has an understanding of how the Island is shaped by its location, history, industry and people. Long Island sits in the shadow of Manhattan yet enjoys its own culture and personality in business. This juxtaposition means it’s influenced by the business of New York City while maintaining an identity all its own. Read on as we explore what makes business in Long Island unique, interesting, sometimes challenging and always rewarding.
Location, Location, Location
Part of the New York City metro, Long Island is east of Manhattan and the Bronx and includes the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens and Nassau and Suffolk counties. With the Long Island Sound to the north, Block Island Sound separating it from Rhode Island to the northeast, Lower New York Bay to the south, Long Island extends east from New York Harbor. This unique geographical mix of maritime and metropolitan introduces interesting business realities for Long Island, its companies, and the CFO:
- Manhattan (“the City”) is just across the East River from “the Island”, making for an easy commute for as many as 20% of Long Islanders. NYC’s financial services industries on Wall Street, retail and fashion such as on Fifth Avenue, manufacturing, government and other notable New York industries inform business in Long Island.
- Tourism has a vital role in Long Island as the Hamptons in Suffolk County sees high summertime engagement and is popular among Manhattan’s affluent.
- Fishing and agriculture, though not as dominant as they once were, are still important to business in Long Island. Wineries have emerged as growing conditions are ripe in the island.
- JFK International Airport and LaGuardia Airport are both in Long Island, making it the epicenter of global travel to the New York City area.
Long Island Industry and Economics
Long Island was once a center of the aviation and aerospace industries. While this has gradually phased out, the Island is still a manufacturing center for aircraft systems manufacturers like Collins Aerospace. Grumman (now Northrop Grumman) Aircraft, builders of the Apollo Lunar Module spacecrafts, once called Long Island home, and perhaps this contributed to the strength of science and technology industries that thrive in Long Island.
Brookhaven National Laboratories, a nuclear physics facility and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a biomedical research facility, both call Long Island home. Stony Brook University is well regarded for its physics and astrophysics research. In addition to technological research, healthcare, computers and biotechnology companies all play an important role in business in Long Island. It’s essential for a part time CFO in Long Island to have access to the skills and knowledge that can help strategically lead these kinds of companies.
The People Shape Business in Long Island
When we think “New Yorkers” some concepts might come to mind. “Tough guys.” Loyal, committed, maybe a bit insular, relationship-driven. New Yorkers have been through much, and they proudly do it together. Like other old regions in the US such as Chicago or Philadelphia, Long Island is home to many life-long, multi-generational residents. The best part time CFO in Long Island doesn’t just understand this, they’re part of the community. For locals, “the Island” refers to Nassau and Suffolk counties (home to around 3 Million people), even as Kings and Queens counties are technically part of Long Island. Even this colloquialism speaks to a New York state of mind – the people that live here get it. Even as one of the most densely populated areas in the US, Long Island is largely driven by who you know. Strong business relationships and a wide network of problems solvers is a must for the part time CFO in Long Island.
Even so, people and communities in Long Island are always transforming. Queens is recognized for its tremendous ethnic diversity. A growing population of Chinese Americans live on Long Island. Indian and Korean communities are growing.
Many of the immigrant workforce, like the rest of Long Island, are white-collar workers. Nassau and Suffolk counties especially are known by many for their affluence. In Southampton, for instance, the median home sale price exceeds $8 Million.
Finding the Best Part Time CFO in Long Island
Putting everything together, Long Island is a fascinating study in diversity and opportunity. The best part time CFO for many businesses on the Island can act as an experienced insider. They get it. Understanding the attitudes, culture and perspectives that drive Long Islanders is critical to achieving impact in the businesses they lead. Meanwhile, a strong sense of the connectedness businesses share to each other and to national and global industries in New York is essential.
This is especially true for a fractional or part time CFO in Long Island. Look for an experienced expert, a person who has situational diversity among their skillets. At ProCFO Partners our network of CFO’s puts almost unlimited knowledge at your disposal. From startups and incubators to manufacturing, science and technology, the best part time CFO in Long Island will have the skills and relationships to navigate and manage unique business situations.