Financial Leadership
Fractional CFO leadership that sharpens every decision.
Funded startups and growth-stage companies use finance as an operating advantage. We embed senior finance leadership that brings focus to planning, visibility into performance, and discipline to the decisions that shape what comes next.
From day one, finance is supported by integrated accounting through our team or in partnership with yours. One model. Clear ownership of the numbers that matter.
The inflection points that demand more
You need a fractional CFO because the business is working.
Growth is what creates the demand. New funding, rising investor expectations, faster hiring, bigger decisions. These are the moments where financial leadership shifts from optional to imperative.
01
Planning for new funding, expanded runway, or strategic investment.
02
Investor expectations are rising and board reporting needs to match.
03
Headcount, pricing, and spend decisions are getting bigger and need to be grounded in projections.
04
Finance and accounting need unified leadership to operate as one function.
Your embedded team
Seasoned leadership without overbuilding.
Every engagement is scoped to the stage you're at now and designed to evolve as the company grows.
Fractional CFO
Financial strategy and investor fluency.
Owns financial strategy, forecasting, capital planning, board reporting, and investor communication. The senior voice in the room when capital and growth decisions are on the table.
VP of Finance
The operating layer between strategy and execution.
Leads the finance organization, managing accounting teams and building decision-ready models and dashboards. Turns strategic direction into the systems and processes the business runs on daily.
Financial Analysts
The models and metrics behind every planning decision.
Maintains models and KPIs, profitability and pricing analysis, and forecast variance and drivers. The analytical muscle that keeps planning grounded.
Not every engagement includes all three roles.
A Series A startup may start with a fractional CFO alone. A Series B company preparing for board-level governance may need the full team. We scope to what the business needs today with an eye towards the future.
No offshoring. No contractors. No surprises.
Every engagement is delivered by senior US-based operators.
All consultants are full-time W-2 employees with direct experience building and leading finance functions at high-growth companies. This eliminates the revolving door seen at contract firms that run on an "eat what you kill" model.
Engagements start with a structured onboarding period to evaluate needs and design the right engagement. Once defined, we move into a consistent monthly retainer. Transparent pricing before long-term commitment.
W-2 Employees
Full-time team members, not independent contractors cycling between firms.
Fixed Monthly Fees
Structured onboarding followed by a defined monthly retainer. No hourly billing surprises.
US-Based Operators
Senior finance leaders based domestically with direct growth-company experience.
Integrated Accounting
Finance and accounting operate as one function from day one. No handoff gaps.
What changes
Financial visibility
that drives better decisions.
This is about preparing the business for what's ahead. The result is tighter planning, sharper decisions, and fewer surprises as investor expectations increase.
Clear line of sight into cash, runway, and performance drivers.
Financials that withstand board and diligence scrutiny.
A unified finance and accounting function with clear ownership.
Hiring, pricing, and spend decisions grounded in forward-looking models built to adapt to changing market conditions.
Fractional leadership typically costs 40–60% less than a full-time hire in year one.
Select a service area and role, then adjust the base salary to match your expectations. The estimate updates in real time. Use the full calculator for detailed assumptions.
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PROVEN RESULTS
The work speaks through the companies we've built alongside.
"
They cleaned up the chart of accounts, automated expense management, and built budgeting and forecasting tools, including a cash flow model that reflects seasonality, investments, and time to revenue.
Trey Halbert · CEO, ExperINS
"
98% of outstanding AR is now less than 60 days old, compared to 30 percent being more than 90 days previously. The improvement on this metric is spectacular. It is an improvement by an order of magnitude.
Denny LeCompte · CEO, Portnox
150+
Growth-stage
companies served
$325M+
Capital raised and liquidity events across client portfolio
W-2
Senior operators, not
contractors or offshore resources
Works together
Finance is often the entry point.
As complexity increases, clients engage us across accounting, transaction advisory, people operations, and talent. Because all six service lines operate under one roof, we act on what we find instead of referring it out.
Financial Leadership
Controllers and accounting teams delivering clean, GAAP-compliant, audit-ready financials built for investor diligence.
Finance and accounting operate as one function from day one.
Financial Leadership
Quality of Earnings, margin and revenue analysis, ARR roll-forwards, working capital assessment, and diligence support.
When a deal is on the table, the CFO and transaction team work in concert.
Organizational Leadership
Fractional HR leadership, payroll, benefits administration, and recruiting, compensation benchmarking, and organizational infrastructure.
An embedded CFO sees people gaps. We can act on them the same week.
From the 512Financial team
Finance insights for growth-stage operators.
Need a shareable overview?
The Finance one-pager covers our approach, team structure, and client results in a single page. No email required period.
If you need better financial visibility to
run the business, let's talk.
Tell us your stage, your biggest financial pressure, and where you're headed. We'll tell you what we'd recommend and what we wouldn't.
Let’s Talk