CONTROLS & THE CLOSEPART OF THE FRACTIONAL CFO SCOPE

Controls, systems and the close.

The close takes three weeks because it has no timetable, only a sequence of people waiting on each other. Accruals are estimated in the same spreadsheet every month by one person who understands it. The year-end audit is treated as an event that happens to the company rather than the natural consequence of twelve closes. And the controls that exist protect against the fraud somebody read about, not the one this business is actually exposed to — which is almost always in payments, payroll or inventory.
WHAT WE DO ABOUT IT, BELOWUNITED STATES AND CANADA
How We Run It
01 / 03
What we actually do, in the order we do it.

The close becomes a dated timetable with named owners: what happens on day one, who does it, and what unblocks day two. Recurring accruals get standing calculations rather than monthly judgement. The reconciliations that matter are done first, not last.

Controls are designed around where the money actually moves in your business. Segregation of duties, approval limits set at amounts that mean something, and a control matrix with the gaps named and ranked — so you are choosing which risks to accept rather than discovering them.

Most finance functions do not need a new system. They need the one they have configured properly, and two integrations that stop the re-keying — and we tell you when that is the answer. Most finance functions do not need a new ERP; they need the one they have configured properly and two integrations that stop the re-keying. We say when a replacement is genuinely warranted, and what it will cost you in disruption when it is not.

BROUGHT IN FOR THIS, AT NO CHANGE TO THE FEE

Systems engineers for the platform, integrations and the control matrix

What Changes
02 / 03
What you can do afterwards that you cannot do now.
Plan around a close date that does not move. Hand the auditor a file that was ready before they asked. Know which control gap you are living with, on purpose.
Who Arrives With This
03 / 03
The sentences that usually bring somebody to this page.
Nobody arrives asking for a workstream. They arrive with a situation, and this is one of the two or three we would put against it.
“I cannot see my cash far enough ahead”
“The month-end close takes three weeks”
“We are raising, and I do not think we are ready”
“Someone wants to buy us”
“We have grown into a group and nothing reconciles”
“My finance person is leaving”
“The auditor is questioning how we book revenue”
THE OTHER SIXTEEN
The rest of the scope.
Nobody needs all of it at once. The diagnostic decides which two or three matter first in your business, and you keep that assessment either way.
Planning and forecastingReporting, KPIs and the boardCash, treasury and working capitalDebt and lendersEquity and investorsTransactionsValue, exit and successionPricing, margin and unit economicsTax coordination and incentivesCross-border and multi-entityCompensation and the finance teamRisk, fraud and crisisCapital allocation and investment appraisalTurnaround and profit improvementTechnical accounting and revenue recognitionGovernance and stakeholders
SEE THE FULL SCOPE →
What Happens Next

Tell us what your month looks like. We will tell you whether this is the first thing to fix.

One hour on your business, with the CFO who would hold the seat rather than a salesperson. Nothing to prepare and nothing to sign. A written note back within two working days saying what we heard and what we would look at first.
BOOK A CONVERSATIONREAD THE AGREEMENT
ONE HOUR · NO CHARGE · A WRITTEN NOTE BACK WITHIN TWO WORKING DAYS
THE HOURWhat the business does, how the cash moves through it, and what would have to be different in a year.
THE NOTEWhat we heard and what we would look at first, in writing, within two working days.
THE PODThe CFO and controller who would hold your seats, each with a named backup behind them.
THE STANDARDClose by the seventh working day, pack on the eighth, and a published response standard in between.