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Get Clarity On Financials
& Key Metrics

  • Receive clear, comprehensive reports on your business’ performance
  • Discover your company’s performance in every division
  • Develop effective cash flow management strategies through deliberate analysis

Gain Insight Into
Your Business

  • Review key financial information with your board, investors, and management team to optimize future decisions
  • Compare your current performance with your planned performance
  • Establish a single, dependable source containing your business’ key financial data

Make Data-Driven
Decisions

  • Identify methods to improve your business’ performance using in-depth data
  • Access key metrics and financial information whenever you need it
  • Actively manage your business and make vital decisions with confidence

cfo-services

Financial Reporting

We generate accurate, detailed reports that provide an overview of your business’ financials.

Cash Flow Management

Our team uses careful analysis to help you strategize ways to improve your business’ cash flow.

Performance Tracking

Stay atop of your business’ performance and determine how you can boost your productivity.

Market Guidance And Strategy

Our specialists help you navigate the market and create an effective business strategy.

Budgeting And Expense Control

Manage your business’ expenses and develop an optimal budget using our in-depth financial reports.

Organizational Leadership

Our CFOs are capable leaders and have first-hand experience in working with businesses across many industries.

Take control of your finances

Our Client’s Success Stories.

MAKE CHANGES TODAY THAT AFFECT PROFITABILITY TOMORROW.®

Cash Management Saves the Day

    • Problem – A freshly minted MBA purchased an existing hardware store in an industrial park. Short on cash, he cut back on inventory purchases to build cash reserves. With less product to sell, cash flow shrank and sales plummeted.
    • Solution – Evaluate previous sales and margins to identify the fastest selling items with the biggest margins. Discount to eliminate slow moving inventory, using that cash to restock shelves. Set up impulse purchasing area at store entry point and around cash registers.
    • Result – Flash sales of old and slow-moving inventory provided cash to restock faster selling items. Marketing brought old customers back to see the “new” store. Cash from impulse and markdown items funded inventory restocking. By the end of the first year, sales volume was up 72%.

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Financial Reporting Drives Good Decisions

  • Problem – An e-tailer doing $45 million in sales had financial reports showing months of solid profits, alternating with months of deep losses. The owners were satisfied with the results until the company ran out of cash.
  • Solution – Change their operating accounting method from Cash to Accrual Basis. Develop a cash flow forecast. Identify products selling at a loss, adjusting their pricing methodology to assure profitability on every sale.
  • Result – With their new reporting guiding the way, the company changed their pricing across the board and started operating profitably. Negotiations with their largest suppliers allowed restructuring of their AP to long-term notes. The new profitability generated enough cash to fund growth while reducing debt by 30% in the first year.

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Profitability – Identifying Real Costs

  • Problem – A specialty printer with annual sales of $19 million had seen annual profitability shrink. But when the company had its first recorded Loss of 125,000, operational changes needed to be made to turn the corner back to profitability.
  • Solution – Analyze the differences between estimates that determined customer pricing and actual production costs. For those above a variance threshold, production costs were analyzed to detail why they exceeded the estimate. This information was used to drive profitability improvements.
  • Result – Production cost variances dropped from 35% to less than 5% within 90 days. Profitability improved from $125,000 loss in the prior year to a $410,000 profit. An improvement of nearly half a million dollars.

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Make A Change That Will Positively Impact Profitability.
With the help of CFO Simplified, turn a crisis into an opportunity.

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Why Choose Fractional
CFO Services From CFO Simplified?

approach results experince focus
approach focus experience results
approach focus experience results
approach focus experience results
Approach
We are analytical, and therefore, the numbers will tell our CFOs the story. We make sure that you not only see the right numbers for your business, but understand what those numbers say about how your business operates, and additionally, how you can implement changes that improve your bottom line.
Results
Whether it is cash flow improvement, greater profitability, a stronger balance sheet, or a better understanding of how your company operates, we have the experience, knowledge, and creative approach to get your company to the next level. Our CFO Services can help you surmount any obstacles you may be facing.
Experience
Our CFOs’ experience in a broad range of industries means that we are prepared to help any business reach their next performance peak. Our CFOs bring a breadth of experience, cross-industry and in different settings, allowing us to gather the right tools and resources to help your business grow.
Focus
You need a fresh view of how your business operates. Our CFO services provide the experience and creativity needed to help you do things easier, faster, and more efficiently. This knowledge helps drive greater productivity throughout your business, resulting in greater profitability.

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Each month we provide key insights, resources and tips for building a better business. Get the latest blog posts, business hints, accounting tips and a personal note from Larry.

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How Our Fractional
CFO Services Work

CFO Simplified offers small to mid-sized businesses the same senior-level financial advice that big companies
get with a full-time CFO, but at a much lower cost. We provide the financial information and strategic
guidance you need to make the right decisions.

How Our CFO Process Works:

1 Deep Dive Strategic Analysis:

CFO Simplified performs a one to two-day Health Check for your company. Included: An analysis of your company’s Financial Reporting, Month-End Close process, Operational Review, Workflow Analysis, AP and AR, Cash Flow Evaluation and Banking Relationship and much more. Plus, we interview your top management. The result – a written report with recommendations.

2 Review of Deep Dive:

We review with you the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. What are the things that you’re doing well, what are the things that you should look at changing over time, and what are the changes you should make right now because they are putting your company at risk? This is a one to two-hour meeting with you and your team to discuss our findings.

3 Execution Plan:

We propose a plan to address the priorities we’ve identified. We tell you how much time it will take to bring those elements of your company’s operations up to speed with best practices. We identify how your staff will be involved in the process, and the financial impact of the implementation.

4 Ongoing CFO Support:

Now that we know your company, we can identify how much time we feel it would take to provide you with ongoing CFO support. This includes dashboards, cash flow forecasting, trend analysis, and customized KPIs.

How We Comprehensively Analyze Your Company’s Financial Health

Meet the Team

Larry Chester

Founder and President

Larry has served as a CFO for 25 years for companies including Colovos Company, Republic Windows and Doors, United Service Companies, and High Sierra Sport Company, helping them eliminate losses and improve financial operations and reporting.

Realizing that he enjoyed the challenges of helping companies that were working their way through a crisis, he joined a bankruptcy trustee for several years, analyzing the financial condition of client companies, and managing them through those difficult times.

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Larry Chester

Meet the Team

Paul McEntee

Paul McEntee brings over 30 years of financial consulting experience to the CFO Simplified Team. He has successfully served as the CFO at many Chicago based companies. Paul’s favorite part of his job at CFO Simplified is getting to know the people he is working with and helping them build on their already incredible journey to business success. Paul always appreciates the creativity, hard work, and commitment of the wide range of business owners, leaders, and CEOs who he works alongside. He enjoys the challenge of finding meaningful answers to the industry-specific challenges they face and jumps at the opportunity to help clients take their own unique organization to the next level.

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Paul McEntee

Meet the Team

Mark Finckle

Mark Finckle is a senior finance executive, private equity expert, and strategic business leader. Mark brings a record of successfully executing over 200 investment banking transactions and raising more than $2B in debt and equity financing in addition to leading multiple M&A transactions. Mark began his career with PWC working as a CPA with the firm’s audit division. After earning his MBA from Northwestern University, he began a career on Wall Street as an investment banker working for several highly regarded investment banks.

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Mark Finckle

Meet the Team

David Hughes

David Hughes brings over 20 years of executive financial leadership and strategic consulting expertise to the CFO Simplified team. Before joining our stellar outfit, he served as CFO for a $25 million plastics manufacturing company in Chicago. Some of David’s other impressive career accomplishments include his former position as Vice President for a Chicago based consulting firm, where he brought results to many billion-dollar companies including: Signet Jewelers, Pacer Logistics, and Denver’s RTD (transit authority).

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David Hughes

Meet the Team

Michael Moulton

Michael Moulton’s wealth of experience as a CFO truly complements our dynamic team at CFO Simplified. Michael is based in the southwest suburbs of Milwaukee, where he serves as the face of CFO Simplified for the wider Wisconsin region. For over 20 years, his CFO work has helped grow and transform businesses within a wide range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, real estate, construction, and professional services, to name a few.

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Michael Moulton

Meet the Team

Ed Kaplan

Ed Kaplan adds tremendous value to our team as a talented controller with a deep background in finance and operations. After many years of honing his skills with dynamic companies such as Motorola, USA Vein Clinics and American Labelmark; Ed contributes a highly valuable skillset that our clients have come to trust and rely on.

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Ed Kaplan

Meet the Team

Kevin Harris

Kevin is a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor and member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. His diverse educational background and accounting services experience benefit small businesses in all industries. Prior to founding QuickSolvers, Kevin spent two years as a Financial Analyst at a northwest suburban Chicago manufacturing company, and then served as the CFO for a residential homebuilder and general contractor in Chicago. Kevin’s diverse educational background and accounting services experience benefit small businesses in all industries.

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Kevin Harris

Meet the Team

Melissa Hurley

At CFO Simplified, Melissa Hurley supports every member of the team and serves as a touchpoint in the company for established clients and new connections alike. Melissa helps support the many behind the scenes aspects of running a small (but busy) business, including all aspects of operations, HR, recruiting, marketing, event planning and day-to-day correspondence with the many wonderful people connected with CFO Simplified.

Know MoreMeet The Team
Melissa Hurley
Larry Chester
Paul McEntee
Mark Finckle
David Hughes
Michael Moulton
Ed Kaplan
Kevin Harris
Melissa Hurley

Our Blog

Jun 1 2023

How Are You Protecting your Business?

Sometimes my work gets deep into Policies and Procedures and how they affect and protect businesses. And when I start talking about it, I can…

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Jun 1 2023

How Serious Are You About Your Company’s Financial Success?

Most business owners get financial reports monthly: Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows. Some look at them in detail, and others look…

Read More
Apr 19 2023

Succession Planning Creates Transition Success

Throughout 2022, trends such as the Great Recession and Quiet Quitting were rampant. In 2023, retaining top talent and planning for succession are critical for…

Read More
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Testimonials

Christine Terman, President & CEO
Freed me up to focus on clients and growth…

“We’ve relied on CFO Simplified’s fractional CFO services for several years for important monthly financial tasks – forecasting, budgeting, reporting and analytics. Their work gave us renewed clarity on our costs and how they changed over time, and in understanding the differences in managing our national and international income streams. When it was time to complete the buy-out of my business partner, CFO Simplified was there to help guide the process. Knowing that we have expert financial help in-house through their services has freed me up to focus on clients and company growth. CFO Simplified has proven to be reliable and a valued part of our success. I highly recommend their services to any business owner facing everyday accounting issues, all the way through to defining growth strategies.”

Chris Blake, President
The clarity and accuracy we needed…

“Having an expert, outside viewpoint gave us the clarity and accuracy we needed around our month-end closing process and KPIs, allowing us to get a more concise picture of our financial performance. The perspective and work done by CFO Simplified puts us in a better position to manage our business for future success.”

CFO
Met our short-term needs…

“CFO Simplified did a nice job of meeting our short-term needs: reconciling our general ledger, helping our accounting staff address some key issues after implementing new software, and identifying other areas of inaccuracies that needed attention. Plus, the mentoring that our staff received will be put to good use going forward.”

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