Profit is not translating into cash
Management needs to understand working capital, debt service, capital spending, owner activity, and timing—not only the income statement.
Fractional CFO Advisory
Fractional CFO Advisory for Better Business Decisions
Senior financial guidance for businesses that need forecasting, cash-flow management, performance analysis, and decision support—but do not need a full-time CFO. Langley CPA helps owners understand cash flow, evaluate performance, prepare for financing, and test growth and capital decisions.
12-month renewable engagement · Subject to fit and a signed engagement letter
Fit and readiness
Who this engagement is for
This engagement is generally designed for established businesses whose decisions have outgrown basic reporting but that do not need, or are not ready to hire, a full-time executive finance leader.
- Owners managing growth, tighter cash, changing margins, or increasing complexity
- Leadership teams that need forecasts and performance indicators tied to decisions
- Businesses preparing for financing, expansion, automation, or a significant capital commitment
- Companies able to maintain sufficiently current accounting records for forward-looking analysis
What owners encounter
Signs a business may need fractional CFO support
The need often appears when familiar operating instincts are no longer enough to explain cash requirements, capacity, or the financial effect of the next decision.
Forecasts are missing or quickly stale
Plans are discussed, but there is no rolling financial view that can be updated as assumptions change.
Growth decisions lack financial tests
Hiring, equipment, locations, automation, acquisitions, or new offerings proceed without break-even, capacity, or cash analysis.
Reports do not guide meetings
Management reviews historical totals without a focused set of indicators, explanations, priorities, and accountable next actions.
Defined responsibilities
What the engagement may include
Advisory priorities change as the business changes. The engagement letter states how Langley CPA will help and what information management will provide.
Cash-flow strategy and forecasting
Build a practical view of cash requirements, working-capital movement, debt service, operating assumptions, and emerging constraints.
Budgets and scenario planning
Translate management plans into financial expectations and compare alternatives as facts, timing, and assumptions change.
KPIs and performance management
Develop focused reporting and indicators that help leadership evaluate results, exceptions, accountability, and follow-through.
Profitability and margin analysis
Evaluate revenue mix, cost structure, contribution, margin drivers, and areas where growth may not be improving results.
Capital allocation and growth decisions
Analyze expansion, equipment, automation, technology, or other material uses of cash using agreed financial assumptions.
Financing readiness and executive support
Organize lender-facing information, prepare for likely questions, and frame financial tradeoffs for management decisions.
Ongoing relationship
What working together looks like
Fractional CFO Advisory provides ongoing financial guidance through a 12-month renewable engagement, with regular attention to the decisions that matter most.
- 01
Set the priorities
Identify the financial questions, business constraints, reporting gaps, and major decisions that deserve attention.
- 02
Bring the financial picture together
Organize current results, cash information, operating assumptions, forecasts, and indicators so management can use them.
- 03
Review decisions and assumptions
Discuss performance, forecast changes, risks, and tradeoffs with management on the schedule established for the engagement.
- 04
Update the analysis
Refresh the financial view as conditions change and continue working through unresolved questions.
Engagement boundaries
What is not included
Fractional CFO Advisory is a professional advisory engagement. Unless separately documented, it does not include:
- Investment advice, securities advice, legal advice, immigration advice, or insurance advice
- Guaranteed financing, business growth, profitability, cash availability, or any other outcome
- Acting as an employee, corporate officer, director, fiduciary, signer, or member of management
- Making management decisions, approving transactions, taking custody of funds, or operating the business
- Audit, review, assurance, valuation, brokerage, due-diligence, or transaction-execution services
What a prospective client should expect
- 01
A candid fit assessment, including whether the accounting information is ready for forward-looking analysis
- 02
Direct owner and management participation in assumptions, decisions, and follow-through
- 03
Analysis that supports judgment while leaving all management authority and business decisions with the client
Forecasts, budgets, models, and recommendations depend on assumptions and information supplied by management. They are not guarantees of future performance. Exact responsibilities and deliverables are governed by the signed engagement letter.
Frequently asked questions
Questions prospective clients often ask.
Is a fractional CFO the same as a part-time employee?
No. Langley CPA provides advisory services as an independent professional firm. The firm does not act as an employee or officer, exercise management authority, or make decisions for the client unless a separate written arrangement expressly states otherwise.
Do I need current bookkeeping first?
Useful advisory work requires sufficiently complete and timely financial information. If records are materially behind or unreliable, bookkeeping or a separately quoted cleanup project may be needed before some CFO work can begin.
Can Langley CPA help prepare for a bank conversation?
Yes, preparation may include organizing financial information, forecasts, assumptions, and responses to likely lender questions. Langley CPA does not guarantee financing, approval, rates, or terms.
Will you tell management which decision to make?
The firm can frame alternatives, analyze financial consequences, challenge assumptions, and make recommendations within scope. Management remains responsible for choosing and implementing every business decision.
A practical next step
Discuss whether Fractional CFO Advisory fits the business.
Start with the complimentary diagnostic when you want a detailed review of your business, tax situation, or both. Send us a message when you already know the service or Special Project you want to discuss.