It depends on what your business needs today. A CFO provides strategic financial leadership; a Controller focuses on financial operations, reporting and controls; and an outsourced finance function can provide the accounting infrastructure behind both. If you’re unsure, schedule a complimentary consultation and we’ll help determine the right level of support.
A fractional CFO gives you experienced CFO-level leadership on a part-time basis without the cost of a full-time hire. It is ideal when you need strategic financial expertise but don’t need a CFO five days a week. The level of support can scale as your business changes.
An interim CFO is appropriate when you have an immediate leadership gap, such as a CFO departure, acquisition, fundraising, restructuring, or other transition, and cannot afford to wait through a lengthy executive search. CRCFO can provide experienced financial leadership while you determine your long-term solution.
If your close is slow, reporting is unreliable, controls need improvement, or management is spending too much time dealing with accounting issues, an outside assessment can identify the problems and prioritize the fixes. CRCFO’s Financial Assessment is a focused two-to-four-week review that provides written, actionable recommendations.
Yes. CRCFO has a full finance bench, including CFOs, Controllers and accounting professionals. This allows us to provide the level of expertise you need, from CFO oversight to a fully outsourced accounting and finance function, without requiring you to build an entire department internally.
CRCFO combines financial leadership with execution. Our Practice Leaders are Big-4-trained CPAs who can help management understand what the numbers mean, make better decisions, and ensure the finance function actually gets the work done, not simply close the books.
When the need is urgent, we can often move quickly because we have an established bench of experienced finance professionals rather than starting with a search from scratch. The right timing depends on your needs, availability and scope, which we can discuss during an initial consultation.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The cost depends on the level of expertise, scope and amount of support your organization actually needs. Our model is designed to provide senior expertise without requiring a full-time CFO commitment, and the engagement can scale as your needs change. The best way to determine the right level of investment is to discuss your situation with one of our Practice Leaders.
Yes. CRCFO combines experienced financial professionals with modern technology to improve close, reporting, forecasting, reconciliation and risk monitoring. The objective is not technology for its own sake; it is to deliver better financial information and greater efficiency while keeping experienced CFO judgment at the center.
You speak directly with an experienced Practice Leader, not a salesperson. We’ll learn about your business, understand the financial challenge you’re facing, and determine whether CRCFO is the right fit. The initial consultation is complimentary, and there is no obligation to engage us.
A CFO advisor is a senior finance leader who works with your CEO, management team and board on the financial decisions that shape the business, without the cost or the commitment of a full-time CFO hire. At Charles River CFO, every Practice Leader, including our CEO, trained as a CPA inside a Big 4 accounting firm, and the work can be fractional (part-time on a regular, standing schedule), interim (typically full-time for the length of a transition) or project-based.
CFO advisory services give you senior financial judgment on the schedule your organization can carry. At Charles River CFO they come in seven forms: Fractional CFO, Interim CFO, Outsourced Accounting, Financial Consulting, AI-Enabled Finance, Tax Consulting and a Financial Assessment. The model flexes. The leadership does not.
An interim CFO steps into the seat at full capacity, with no ramp-up period, and holds it until your permanent CFO arrives. That covers strategic counsel to the CEO, management team and board, oversight of accounting so the close, the controls and the reporting stay on schedule, reassurance for the board, investors, banks and auditors during a leadership change, and current books and documented processes for the incoming CFO.
An outsourced CFO is a senior finance leader from an outside firm who does the work of a CFO without joining your payroll. At Charles River CFO that comes in two forms: a fractional CFO, a Big-4-trained CPA who works with you part-time on a regular, standing schedule, and an interim CFO, who usually covers the seat full-time through a transition until your permanent CFO arrives.
Accounts payable, accounts receivable and payroll, closing the general ledger each month, financial statements and the related reporting, plus tax planning and reporting handled alongside the accounting. We can handle the whole finance and accounting function, or augment the accounting team you already have.
Yes, once a start-up has advanced beyond basic accounting and needs a senior financial advisor on a part-time, regular basis. For technology companies that can include revenue recognition, cash flow forecasting, planning around long product development cycles, and getting ready to raise capital.
Yes. Our nonprofit practice is led by Dorcas Riley, CPA, MBA. Nonprofits get a financial team matched to their needs on a flexible contract that scales up or down, covering financial reporting for the board and funders, endowment fund accounting, grant and compliance discipline, and interim coverage and audit preparation when finance staff change.
Yes. Our credit union practice is led by Tim Smith, CPA, MBA, CUDE, who served as CFO of a $2 billion credit union. We work with credit unions and community banks on ongoing staffing needs and specific projects, from an interim CFO during a transition to a fully outsourced finance department, including CECL preparation, stress scenarios, Call Reports and loan portfolio reviews.
