Business Advisory & Fractional CFO
Fractional CFO & Business Advisory Services for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses
As businesses grow, financial decisions become more complex. The books may be clean, revenue may be increasing, yet owners often need deeper financial insight to plan confidently, manage cash flow, and make informed decisions. This is where ongoing financial leadership becomes more valuable than basic accounting alone.
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DesCPA provides Fractional CFO and business advisory services for small and mid-sized businesses that need forward-looking financial guidance without the cost or commitment of a full-time CFO.
Let's discuss whether Fractional CFO support fits your business.
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Situations Where Additional Financial Leadership Helps
As businesses grow, financial complexity often outpaces the ability of reporting systems to keep up. Owners may have accurate books but still lack visibility into how day-to-day decisions affect cash flow, profitability, and pricing.
This stage is often marked by:
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Limited forward visibility into cash flow
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Uncertainty around profit margins by service offering.
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Pricing decisions made without current cost insight
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Financial data that explains the past, but not the impact of future decisions
When these patterns begin to surface, additional financial leadership can help business owners move from reviewing numbers to using them to drive decisions.
DesCPA works alongside business owners as financial decisions become more complex. Our role is to apply financial insight to the decisions you are actively facing, not just to report on past results.
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This approach allows owners to evaluate options, manage risk, and plan next steps with greater confidence as the business evolves.
Fractional CFO support is designed for businesses that need financial insight tied directly to upcoming decisions.
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This support typically includes:
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Cash flow forecasting and financial visibility
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Profit and margin analysis
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Scenario planning for growth, hiring, or operational changes
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Financial insight to support owner and leadership decisions
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Ongoing advisory support as the business evolves
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Learn more about how Fractional CFO services are used by growing businesses.
Area of Support | Bookkeeping | CPA / Tax Support | Fractional CFO & Business Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
Where this role reaches its limits | Does not guide decisions | Not designed for day-to-day decision support | Designed to bridge operations, finance, and strategy |
Where is this role most effective | Early-stage or simpler businesses | Businesses with ongoing compliance needs | Growing small and mid-sized businesses are facing increased complexity |
Planning and Forecasting | Not Typically Included | May include tax planning | Includes cash flow forecasting and scenario planning |
Decision Support | Limited to reporting accuracy | Guidance within the tax and compliance scope | Supports owner and leadership decisions using current financial data |
Involvement Cadence | Ongoing transactional support | Periodic or seasonal | Ongoing, aligned with how the business operates |
Type of Insight | Historical Records | Historical review for compliance and tax purposes | Forward-looking analysis connected to growth, cash flow, and risk |
Focus of Work | What already happened | What must be reported or filed | What decisions are coming next and how to plan for them |
Primary role | Records transactions and maintains accurate books | Manages compliance, tax filings, and reporting | Provides ongoing financial leadership tied to business decisions |
Primary role | Records transactions and maintains accurate books | Manages compliance, tax filings, and reporting | Provides ongoing financial leadership tied to business decisions |
Focus of work | What already happened | What must be reported or filed | What decisions are coming next and how to plan for them |
Type of insight | Historical records | Historical review for compliance and tax purposes | Forward-looking analysis connected to growth, cash flow, and risk |
Involvement cadence | Ongoing transactional support | Periodic or seasonal | Ongoing, aligned with how the business operates |
Decision support | Limited to reporting accuracy | Guidance within tax and compliance scope | Supports owner and leadership decisions using current financial data |
Planning and forecasting | Not typically included | May include tax planning | Includes cash flow forecasting and scenario planning |
Where this role is most effective | Early-stage or simpler businesses | Businesses with ongoing compliance needs | Growing small and mid-sized businesses facing increased complexity |
Where this role reaches its limits | Does not guide decisions | Not designed for day-to-day decision support | Designed to bridge operations, finance, and strategy |
What Happens When Basic Financial Support Reaches Its Limits
For many growing businesses, this is the point at which accurate records and compliant filings are no longer sufficient to support decisions as they are made. Owners may understand what happened last month but still lack visibility into how upcoming decisions will affect cash flow, profitability, and risk.
What a Full-Time CFO Typically Costs
When businesses reach a point where financial leadership becomes necessary, many owners consider hiring a full-time CFO. According to Robert Half’s 2026 Salary Guide, base salaries for full-time CFOs commonly range from $250,000 to $400,000 per year, depending on experience, industry, and business size. Total compensation often increases further once bonuses, benefits, and long-term incentives are included.
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For many small and mid-sized businesses, this level of investment can be difficult to justify before the volume of decisions, complexity, or scale truly requires a full-time executive role.
Fractional CFO support allows businesses to access experienced financial leadership aligned to their current needs, without committing to the full cost structure of a permanent hire.
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Learn more about the cost of a Fractional CFO here.
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Work with DesCPA
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DesCPA provides Fractional CFO and business advisory support for small and mid-sized businesses that need experienced financial leadership without the commitment of a full-time hire.
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As a woman-owned accounting and advisory firm, DesCPA works closely with business owners to connect financial insight to real decisions. Our approach is practical and collaborative, focused on helping clients understand how their financial data affects cash flow, profitability, and long-term sustainability.
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Rather than delivering reports in isolation, we work alongside business owners to apply financial insight as decisions are being made. The goal is not just to interpret numbers, but to use them to support better outcomes as the business grows and becomes more complex.
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This approach is well-suited for businesses that:
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Are growing beyond basic accounting support
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Need regular financial input tied to operational decisions
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Want experienced financial leadership without hiring full-time
Testimonial
“I love how the meetings are professional and organized. It has been a huge weight off my shoulders to have a professional involved in firm finances and I genuinely enjoy the meetings. Lydia has wonderful energy and insight, and I feel that she truly cares about my business.”