Fractional CFO & Controller Services
An on-time monthly close. Cash visibility weeks out. Reporting leadership can actually use. Financial leadership that keeps up with the business — without the cost of full-time hires at every level.
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A conversation is the fastest way to know if we're a fit.
A finance function that keeps up with the business — an on-time monthly close, cash you can forecast weeks out, reporting that answers what leadership actually asked. If any of that is what you're missing, a short call is the fastest way to know if we can help.
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Fractional CFO Services
Strategic Financial Leadership, Matched to Your Industry.
A CFO is at the table for every decision that turns on the numbers — capital allocation, pricing strategy, growth investments, hiring plans, cash and working capital, banking and debt, deals, exits, and the strategy calls in between. They run the analysis, build the forecasts, and give leadership real clarity on what the numbers actually say. Not a consultant who presents and leaves. Someone senior when the business needs to move.
Our vetted bench of senior CFOs and Controllers has operated inside the industries our clients run in — construction, distribution and logistics, real estate, professional and technical services, healthcare, PE-backed platforms, agencies, manufacturing, non-profits. You get matched to a CFO who already knows your industry's economics, its accounting conventions, and the questions that matter. Not learning your business on your dime.
The CFO owns the financial strategy, the forecasting, the cash position, and the relationships with your bank and board. When leadership needs to make a significant decision — an acquisition, a hire, a debt raise, a pricing change — the CFO is the person who can tell you what the numbers actually say about it.
What a Fractional CFO Delivers
- Financial strategy & forecasting — multi-year planning, scenario modeling, capital allocation decisions
- Cash flow management — rolling 13-week cash forecast, working capital optimization, liquidity planning
- Budgeting & variance analysis — annual budgets built from real assumptions, monthly variance review, replan when needed
- Board & investor reporting — board packages, investor updates, KPI dashboards leadership can actually use
- Banking & lender relationships — covenant compliance, lender communications, credit facility management
- M&A & transaction support — buy-side and sell-side financial diligence, QofE preparation, integration planning
- Team leadership — oversight of the Controller and staff accountants, mentoring your existing finance team
Fractional Controller Services
Execution and Accuracy — The Foundation the CFO Depends On.
The close happens on time. The books are accurate. The reports leadership relies on for the next decision are ready when you need them — not two weeks late and full of caveats. That's what a working Controller function looks like.
Our fractional Controllers are experienced practitioners who've closed hundreds of months across industries. They install the process, own the calendar, and manage the staff accountants — so the CFO isn't chasing accuracy and leadership isn't waiting on numbers.
Some engagements are Controller-only — you already have CFO leadership and need execution. Others deploy a Controller under a fractional CFO in a coordinated team. Either way, the Controller is the operational heart of the finance function.
What a Fractional Controller Delivers
- Monthly close — reliable close on the schedule leadership expects, with the discipline to keep it that way
- Financial reporting — monthly financials in a format built for the people who read them, not compliance boilerplate
- Reconciliations & internal controls — account reconciliations, segregation of duties, controls that prevent problems before they happen
- Audit & review preparation — audit-ready books, working papers, and clean handoffs to your auditor
- Systems & process management — ERP and accounting system oversight, workflow design, integrations that eliminate manual work
- Staff supervision — direction and quality control over the day-to-day accounting work, whether our staff or yours
Staff Accounting
The Daily Work That Keeps the Close on Track.
Invoices out on time. Vendors paid on schedule. Reconciliations current. The operational plumbing of the finance function running quietly in the background — so nothing above it grinds to a halt.
We deploy staff accountants under Controller supervision — not junior bookkeepers working in isolation. That means the daily work gets done at the right cost, with the Controller catching anything that needs attention before it becomes a problem. Your existing staff, if you have them, don't get displaced. They get better direction and often stronger training as part of the engagement.
What Staff Accounting Handles
- • Accounts payable — vendor management, invoice processing, payment runs
- • Accounts receivable — invoicing, collections, aging management
- • Bank & credit card reconciliations
- • Payroll processing support and reconciliation
- • General ledger maintenance & journal entries
- • Bookkeeping in QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and other platforms
Why a Coordinated Team
One CFO, one Controller, one team — the right person doing the right work at the right cost.
A fractional CFO alone gets stretched between strategy and execution. A Controller alone can keep the trains running but can't lead. Staff accountants alone lack senior oversight. The team model puts each layer where it belongs — and lets us right-size the mix to what your business actually needs, not what one person can carry.
What You Get Month After Month
The Deliverables Leadership Can Actually Use.
The output of a working finance function — not a consultant's slide deck, but the day-in, day-out reporting, forecasting, and financial infrastructure the business runs on.
Reporting leadership uses
Monthly financials delivered on time, formatted for the people who read them. Not compliance output — actual business intelligence that informs decisions.
Cash visibility weeks ahead
A rolling 13-week cash forecast, updated regularly. Leadership always knows what's coming and can make operational decisions with full information about what the business can afford.
Budgets built from the business up
Annual budgets built from real assumptions, with monthly variance analysis so leadership always knows where they stand versus plan — and why the variance exists.
Banking & board relationships managed
Covenant compliance, board packages, lender communications — all handled proactively. Your bank and board hear from the CFO before they have to ask.
Systems that don't slow you down
If the accounting systems and workflows aren't serving the business, we fix them. Implementations, integrations, and process redesign are part of what we do.
A close that happens on time
A reliable monthly close, on the calendar leadership expects — not the source of anxiety it often is when the finance function is under-resourced.
What Clients Say
In Their Own Words.
"Having a Vessel Advisors CFO on our team has truly elevated our organization's performance. In many ways, it feels like we have grown up as an organization and I have complete confidence and security reporting to our board."
Regan Phillips
CEO, CASA of Orange County
"I thought high-level, strategic financial insights were a 'nice to have' — but now after working with a Vessel Advisors CFO and Controller, I couldn't put a price on it. It's been excessively valuable."
Adam Beamish
President, Mark Beamish Waterproofing
"Vessel Advisors turned our financial chaos into clarity. They're the partner every growing business needs."
Chad Gniffke
Owner, BRITECITY
Common Questions
Before You Call
What does a fractional CFO engagement actually cost?
It depends on the scope — the size and complexity of the business, which roles you need, and how many days per week each role requires. We give straight answers on cost during the first conversation. No mystery pricing, no retainers before we've proven anything. We scope it together based on what the business actually needs.
What size company is this right for?
We work with growing businesses, non-profits, and lower middle market companies that have outgrown what their current finance function can handle. In revenue terms, that's typically somewhere between $5M and $150M — but the real trigger is always the situation, not the size. A $20M business with a broken close process and no CFO-level leadership needs this as urgently as a $75M business heading into a deal.
We have a bookkeeper and an outside CPA. Is that enough?
For some businesses at some stages, yes. For most businesses once they've reached real growth, no. A bookkeeper records what happened. A CPA helps you comply with tax requirements. Neither one tells you whether to make an acquisition, how to structure the next hire, what your covenants actually require you to report, or whether the business can fund the expansion you're considering. That's CFO-level work, and it's not getting done if you don't have a CFO.
Can we hire just a Controller, or just a CFO?
Yes. Not every business needs the full stack. Some come to us needing only a Controller because leadership already has strong CFO-level judgment. Others need only a CFO because their operational accounting is running well. And many need the full team. We scope the engagement to what the business actually needs, not to sell more roles than the situation calls for.
How do you work with our existing accounting team?
We work alongside them, not over them. We partner with and mentor your existing staff, fill the gaps in capability and capacity, and make sure everyone is doing the right work at the right level. Your people typically get better — not sidelined. The goal is a finance function that works well with us and would continue to work well if the engagement ended tomorrow.
How long does an engagement typically last?
Most fractional engagements run 12 to 24 months, though some clients have worked with us for years. There's no long-term commitment required to start — every engagement begins with a Financial Discovery Assessment, and the ongoing work is earned based on the value we deliver, not locked in by contract.
Not Sure What You Need?
When You Don't Know What You Don't Know.
Some engagements start with a clear ask — you know you need a CFO, or a Controller, or a full team. Others start here.
The Financial Discovery Assessment™ is a structured diagnostic across your systems, processes, and people. It surfaces where the finance function stands today, what's broken, and what it would take to fix — with dollarized findings and a phased roadmap. Clients typically identify hundreds of thousands of dollars in measurable financial impact from the assessment alone.
You get a dollarized picture of what's wrong today, what we recommend and the expected impact, a phased project timeline, and a specific team recommendation right-sized for the business.
Learn About the AssessmentStart With an Unbiased Read
You know what's not working. You need to know why, and what to do about it.
Every engagement begins with a Financial Discovery Assessment™ — a six-week structured diagnostic across your systems, your processes, and your team. Vessel Advisors runs it because no one inside a business can benchmark their own finance function against hundreds of comparable operators.
You leave with a dollarized picture of what's costing the business today, a prioritized roadmap of what to address, an honest read on your finance team's fit for where the business is going, and a specific team recommendation built from what we actually found.
Schedule a Discovery Call
A partner will reach out within one business day. Come with your specific situation — we bring pattern recognition from hundreds of comparable finance functions in the same industries and at the same growth stage.