For the record, your books are not the problem.
The problem is that nobody is translating them into decisions. I'm Angela Rutherford. I've sat in the founder's chair (twice) and the Deloitte FP&A chair, and I do strategic finance for the $2M to $10M founder-led businesses in between.
See the CFO Diagnostic →You'll recognize yourself if:
- a.Sales are growing, and cash still feels tight.
- b."We're busy but not profitable" is something you've said out loud, recently, to a person who could not actually help.
- c.Your bookkeeper is competent and your CPA is fine, but neither of them is going to tell you whether you can afford the next hire.
- d.You're staring at a pricing decision, a hiring decision, or a financing conversation, and the numbers are not yet talking to each other.
If none of that lands, I'm probably not the right call. I'll tell you so on the first one.
The CFO Diagnostic
A two-week, fixed-fee assessment that gives you a 13-week cash forecast, a profit map, and a 90-day finance plan. $1,500. (More on that in a moment.)
Fractional CFO Retainer
Monthly engagement for founders who want a steady strategic finance partner without the $250K salary. Flat fee, defined scope, no hourly games.
Project Work
Financing readiness, pricing overhauls, board packages, scenario models. One-time engagements when you have a specific decision to make and want a CFO brain on it.
I do not bookkeep. I do not file taxes. I do not sit between you and your CPA. I sit above the books, where the decisions live.
If you're not ready for a retainer, start here.
Ten business days. $1,500. You walk away with a stress-tested 13-week cash forecast, a profit and pricing breakdown, and at least five prioritized actions you can execute in the next thirty.
If those five actions don't materialize, I refund the fee or keep working until they do. Your call.
If you move into a retainer within thirty days, the $1,500 credits to month one.
Book the diagnostic →- 13-Week Cash Forecast (model + readout)
- Profit and pricing breakdown
- Working capital and liquidity scan
- Capacity and labor efficiency review
- CFO Decision Pack: executive memo and 90-day plan
Twenty years across finance, operations, and design.
Yes, design: I started at The New York Times, of all places, before I ever touched a P&L professionally. Then came an Executive MBA from Quantic (4.0, for what it's worth), a stint at Deloitte in FP&A, a wine bar I owned and operated, three years living in Spain, and a string of fractional CFO engagements with founder-led businesses across hospitality, professional services, and education.The nonlinear path is the point. I read financial statements like an operator because I was one. I build models like a Deloitte analyst because I was one of those, too.
Most fractional CFOs are former CPAs who have never made payroll out of their own bank account. I have. It changes how you read the cash flow statement.
What I've actually done lately.
Names omitted, details lightly altered. Founders are private people, and the work is more interesting than the logos anyway.
Not ready to talk yet?
Take the Cash Visibility Starter Kit. It's the same 13-week forecast template I use in the first week of every Diagnostic, with a short walkthrough on how to fill it in. Free. No nurture sequence. Just the file.