Strategic CFO Services and Financial Advisory

It depends on where the business is, but most engagements cover some mix of budgeting, rolling forecasts, cash management, monthly management reports and help with big decisions like a new hire, a loan or a contract bid. Because the founder is also an Enrolled Agent, tax planning is folded into the same conversation. For government contractors we add the pieces that matter to them: DCAA expectations, FAR cost rules, indirect rates and contract level reporting.

It's a seasoned finance leader who works with you part time rather than sitting on your payroll. You get the forecasting, reporting discipline and decision support a full time CFO would bring, scaled to the hours you really need. For a company doing several million a year that isn't ready for a six figure executive salary, it's often the most sensible middle ground.

Usually when the owner starts making big calls on gut feel because the numbers arrive late or don't answer the question. Other signs: cash surprises every quarter, no clear idea which customers or contracts are profitable, a lender asking for projections nobody can produce. Contractors often reach this point when they win their first cost type contract and suddenly need provisional billing rates and an accounting system DCAA will accept.

Bookkeeping tells you what happened. CFO work uses that record to decide what happens next. A bookkeeper closes the month and reconciles accounts; a CFO looks at the trend, asks why margins slipped, builds the forecast and helps you weigh a tradeoff before you commit. You need both, and good CFO advice depends on clean books underneath it.

In most cases, yes. We build a 13 week cash forecast, look hard at receivables and how quickly customers pay, and spot where working capital gets squeezed. The point isn't watching the bank balance. It's seeing next month's payroll, tax deposits and vendor bills early enough to act, so hiring, borrowing and investment decisions are made with a clear view.

That's one of our core specialties. The founder's background is in federal contracting finance as well as corporate accounting, so we work comfortably with DCAA audit readiness, FAR and CAS cost rules, indirect rate pools, incurred cost submissions and systems like Deltek Costpoint, Unanet and QuickBooks Online. We support contractors from the proposal stage all the way through contract close out.

Most clients settle into a monthly review of results and the forecast, with shorter check ins as needed. That rhythm tightens when something big is underway, such as a contract transition, a financing round or a DCAA review. We agree on a schedule at the start and keep it, but you can always pick up the phone when a decision can't wait.

Very closely. Entity choice, owner compensation, equipment purchases and the timing of income all change your tax bill, so we plan them together all year. And if a client ever arrives with an IRS balance or unfiled payroll returns, our tax resolution work sits in the same office. Fixing that problem early protects the cash forecast we just built.