Fractional CFO
Fractional & part-time CFO.
Senior financial leadership for businesses that need it but cannot yet justify a full-time hire, typically a day or two a week, on an ongoing basis.
Do you actually need one?
The signs are consistent across most businesses that need one. The bookkeeping is current, but nobody is interpreting it. Cash pressure surfaces in the week it arrives rather than the quarter before. A lender asks for information and it is not clear what is really being asked for. Pricing is set on instinct, because margin by product, customer or line has never been calculated.
Each of those is a gap in financial leadership rather than in bookkeeping, and few owner-operated businesses need a full-time CFO to close it. What they need is senior financial judgement applied consistently, a couple of days a month.
What your CFO will deliver
More than keeping score. Helping you make smarter business decisions.
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Financial strategy & planning
Financial strategies that support growth, profitability and long-term goals.
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Cash flow management
Cash flow monitored, shortfalls anticipated, and the liquidity the business needs kept in place.
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Budgeting & forecasting
Budgets, financial forecasts and projections, so you can plan ahead rather than react.
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Profitability analysis
Where the business is making money and where it is losing it, and the opportunities to improve margins.
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Management reporting
Financial data turned into clear monthly reports and the handful of KPIs an owner can actually use.
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Business advisory
Objective financial advice before a major decision is made, not after.
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Banking & financing
Lender-ready statements, projections and financing packages, plus support with the bank relationship.
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Growth & expansion
The financial impact of hiring, expansion, acquisitions, new locations and major investments.
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Cost management
Unnecessary expense identified, and the places operating efficiency can be improved.
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Tax planning
Working with you and your accounting team to find tax-planning opportunities and minimise surprises.
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Financial controls
Stronger financial processes, controls and reporting, to protect the business and improve accountability.
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Owner support
A trusted financial partner to think decisions, challenges and opportunities through with.
How engagements are structured
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Initial consultation
Approximately thirty minutes, no charge. What the business does, and what is actually bothering you.
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Review
A look at current reporting, systems and tax position, so any proposal reflects what is really there.
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Scope and fee
A written scope with a fixed monthly fee. No hourly surprises, and scope changes as the business does.
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Ongoing
A standing monthly rhythm, plus a phone number for the questions that will not wait for month end.
- Fixed Monthly fee, scoped in writing. No hourly surprises
- 2014 Practising on his own account since
- 2018 Running a food manufacturing business since
What the first ninety days look like
Every business is different, but the first three months rarely are. By month three the reporting should run to its own rhythm, without you having to chase it.
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Month one, make the numbers trustworthy
The accounts are brought up to date and restructured so they report properly, and you receive a first monthly reporting pack short enough to read in ten minutes.
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Month two, build the forward view
A thirteen-week cash flow forecast, gross margin broken out by product or customer, and a budget to hold the year against.
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Month three, put it on a rhythm
The pack arrives on the same date each month, with a standing review in the calendar and the file your bank asks for prepared in advance.
When a fractional CFO is not the right answer
Three situations where the honest answer is that you need something else, and saying so on a first call costs nothing.
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The books are not being kept
If the bookkeeping is behind, that is the first job and it is a different, cheaper one. A CFO reading unreliable numbers produces confident nonsense. Get the books current first, which Vincent can also do, then decide.
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You need a controller
Owning the day to day, running the close, processing payables and receivables: that is a controller's role. A fractional CFO sets direction and reads what the numbers mean. Some businesses need the controller first.
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You need an audit or a review engagement
Audit and review engagements are not offered here. If your bank or a shareholder requires an audited or reviewed financial statement, Vincent will refer you rather than take the work.
How fees work
Ongoing CFO work is billed as a fixed monthly fee, agreed in writing before anything starts. Not hourly. You should be able to pick up the phone with a question without watching a clock run.
The number depends on scope: how much of the finance function you want covered, how complex the business is, and how often you want the reporting. Vincent sets it after the review rather than before, so it reflects what is actually there.
Accounting and tax compliance work is quoted separately, so you are not paying a CFO retainer for a year end return. See accounting & tax
What you know before you commit
- The initial consultation is approximately thirty minutes and costs nothing
- A written scope, so both sides know what is included
- One fixed monthly figure, with no hourly billing behind it
- Scope revisited as the business changes, not locked for a year
- Compliance work priced separately and quoted on its own
Common questions
What does a fractional CFO actually do?
The same work a full time CFO does, for a fraction of the week. Financial reporting you can act on, cash flow and working capital, budgets and margin analysis, the banking relationship, and the financial side of decisions like pricing, expansion or a large purchase.
How is that different from my bookkeeper or my accountant?
A bookkeeper records what happened. An accountant reports it and files it. A CFO uses it to decide what to do next. The three are complements, not substitutes, and most businesses that need a CFO already have the other two.
Do I have to replace my current accountant or bookkeeper?
No. Vincent works alongside whoever is already in place. If you would rather consolidate the compliance work as well, that can be quoted separately, but it is not a condition of the CFO engagement.
How much time do you spend on my business?
Typically a day or two a week, on an ongoing basis, though it flexes. Periods like a financing, a year end or an acquisition need more; steady stretches need less. The scope is set in writing and revisited as the business changes.
What does it cost?
A fixed monthly fee, agreed in writing before work begins, set after an initial review so that it reflects the real scope rather than a guess. There is no hourly billing. Accounting and tax compliance is quoted separately.
Do you provide audits or review engagements?
No. Audit and review engagements are not offered here. If your bank or a shareholder needs an audited or reviewed statement, Vincent will refer you. Compilations, year end statements and tax filings are available.
What size of business is this for?
Owner operated businesses that have grown past the point where the owner can hold the numbers in their head, but cannot yet justify a full time CFO. If you are unsure whether that is you, an initial consultation will settle it quickly.
Do you work outside the Greater Toronto Area?
The practice is based in Vaughan and most clients are across the GTA, where being able to sit in the room matters. Work further afield is possible where the engagement suits remote working. Ask on the call.
How quickly can we start?
The initial consultation can usually happen within a few days. From there, the review and a written scope typically take a couple of weeks, depending on how readily the current records can be pulled together.
Find out what this would look like for your business.
An initial consultation costs nothing and takes about half an hour.