Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO) Financial Support
Vessel Advisors serves as the controller and CFO layer beneath the Chief Restructuring Officer. Cash forecasting, lender reporting, MOR production in Chapter 11, board and lender packages, and plan modeling — the throughput the CRO's mandate depends on.
We staff the controller and CFO work under your CRO engagement.
Whether appointed by the board, imposed by the lender, or installed as part of a Chapter 11 process, the CRO is the officer with the authority and the accountability. The work that gets produced under that mandate — the 13-week cash forecast that the lender is reviewing tomorrow, the MOR due to the U.S. Trustee at month-end, the plan model behind next month's mediation — still has to be produced by someone, on the CRO's timetable.
CROs come in with legal and restructuring depth, but rarely with a full accounting bench. We are that bench, embedded under the CRO for the duration of the mandate. In some engagements we replace the debtor's existing controller function entirely; in others we work alongside internal accounting staff, providing the layer of independence and technical horsepower the situation requires.
The engagement is calibrated to what the CRO needs and does not duplicate: where the CRO's own team already covers a function, we stay out of it, and where they need capacity on a short clock, we provide it.
Where We Plug In
CROs most often hand us these six functions.
13-Week Cash Forecast
Rebuilt weekly, variance-explained line-by-line, presented in the format the CRO uses with the lender or the board. When the numbers move, the CRO knows why before the review meeting starts.
Lender Reporting
Borrowing base certificates. Weekly cash reports. Covenant compliance schedules. Financial and operational metrics on the lender's own reporting template. The reliability that keeps the workout group off the CRO's back.
MOR Production (Chapter 11)
Where the mandate is inside a bankruptcy, the CRO is the responsible officer for MOR compliance. We produce the monthly package on the U.S. Trustee's format and calendar, ready for the CRO's certification.
Board & Lender Packages
Weekly, biweekly, or monthly package to whoever is receiving the CRO's report. Consolidated financials, KPI dashboard, initiative tracking, and the narrative that ties them together.
Plan Modeling
Whether the plan is a debt restructuring, a Section 363 sale, a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, or a wind-down, the model behind it has to be defensible and stress-tested. We build models the CRO can present to counsel, lenders, and the court.
Ongoing Accounting Operations
AR, AP, payroll, tax, close cadence — wherever the existing team has gaps or where independence matters. Frequently paired with our Turnaround CFO practice when the CRO wants an integrated finance function rather than two.
How Engagements Are Structured
We work under the CRO's engagement, not as a parallel workstream.
In most CRO engagements, we contract with the same entity that has retained the CRO — whether that's the debtor, the lender, or the estate — and our work product flows to the CRO. The CRO owns the deliverables to the court, board, and lenders. We produce the underlying work.
Where the CRO is a firm with its own bench, we're additive: extra capacity or specific technical work. Where the CRO is an individual practitioner, we're the finance function.
For related reading on the interim-versus-fractional-CFO question in a turnaround context, see our Interim vs Fractional CFO in a Turnaround piece.
For Chief Restructuring Officers
We’re the accounting team under your mandate.
Interim controller and staff coverage, 13-week cash forecasting, lender packages, MORs, and plan models — scoped to complement your own team, not duplicate it.
Schedule a Discovery Call
We’ll reach out within one business day.