Whether your business is having financial troubles or undergoing transition, such as a merger or acquisition, McCracken can provide the right fractional CFO for you.
Provide us with your contact details and we will reach out within 24 hours to schedule a call and better understand your needs.
Fractional CFOs, also known as part-time CFOs, are a great option when you need an executive-level finance professional but don't have the need for a full-time CFO.
Without an expert, it's easy to feel lost when faced with new and growing financial challenges. Bringing on a fractional CFO can illuminate the path forward and transform the baptism by fire into informed and strategic leadership.
If any of this applies to you, then a fractional CFO could help you and your business:
Fractional CFOs are an investment, one that usually pays for itself several times over. Here are a few real-life examples we were involved in:
A company was facing a financial crisis as it had failed to pay payroll taxes, and the IRS was coming down on them.
The fractional CFO got to work, poring over three years worth of disorganized financials. In the end, the fractional CFO reduced the company’s tax liability, the company paid what was owed, and they have remained compliant ever since.
A company was preparing for a sale process and needed an experienced fractional CFO to ferry them through to the other side.
Because of the involvement of a CFO with deep M&A experience, the company was able to secure a significantly higher sale price in the transaction.
A company was struggling to get accurate financial information from its accounting function and needed counsel from an experienced industry professional.
A McCracken CFO partner engaged with the company on a fractional basis, the company got their finance department back on track, and management regained clarity regarding the company’s financials. Additionally, the company was able to identify underutilized tax breaks, saving them $800k.
McCracken is a boutique CFO advisory firm with partners across the country, here to help you maximize value for your organization. Our CFO partners are all proven leaders in the office of the CFO, with years of experience supporting a wide array of industries and company sizes.
We provide leadership development programs where we train and educate finance professionals and teams on how best to lead in the office of the CFO. So far, we have been fortunate enough to serve more than 1,000 businesses in over 40 US cities.
We developed the curriculum for our development programs alongside CFOs, leadership specialists, and subject matter experts in conjunction with notable universities and institutions, including Georgia State University, Rollins College, and Northwestern University. McCracken is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.
Mike, the founder and CEO of McCracken, is a former partner with EY, where he ultimately reported directly to the CEO and Chairman. Afterward, he founded Tatum, which became the first national and largest professional CFO firm with 37 practice offices throughout the country.
After selling Tatum, Mike leveraged his close relationships with talented CFOs and other leaders in business and founded McCracken.
No matter how turbulent your financial situation may be, we have ferried companies through the same challenges to safety.
If you call us today with an urgent matter and you need a fractional CFO, one of our CFOs can be on a plane, headed to your offices tomorrow. Before the week is over, we will be helping you put your financial house back in order.
We have partners, associates, and clients in over 40 US cities. ²
And more..
We start with a simple, consultative call to understand your business landscape:
Based on this call, we offer you our recommendation, be it to bring on a fractional CFO, a controller, or another option. Our focus is on building relationships by delivering value, so if the optimal solution doesn't require our involvement, we'll tell you upfront.
If we feel that a fractional CFO is the best option to solve your problems, we will present you with a list of partner profiles who we believe match your needs. We handpick these CFOs from our firm based on their experience, prioritizing the following:
Once you identify the CFOs you’d like to speak with, we set up calls where you and our firm dive deeper into your business’s issues, allowing you to see what a potential engagement would look like.
Ideally, by the time this call is over, you should have two things:
Assuming that you decide to move forward with a fractional CFO, all of McCracken stays by your side throughout the entire engagement. We are always a phone call away, ready to offer additional support or counsel for any questions you have.
You don't know what you don't know, which makes it difficult to ask for help in areas where you are not sure what the improvements are or if they're even needed. We will commonly perform an assessment of your organization's finance function at the start of any engagement. It is the CFO's job to inform the CEO about both what is needed from a finance perspective as well as where finance can contribute additional value to the overall vision of the company.
Fractional CFOs work a flexible number of hours based on the changing needs of the business they serve. This could be a few hours a month up to 10 or 20 hours a week.
Fractional CFOs are used to working flexibly and on-demand. This means that you may need them close to full-time for a few weeks before converting to a low number of hours for ongoing guidance. Your business may not need the full-time support of a CFO, but having fractional guidance to support your controller and advise your CEO can be an invaluable asset in creating company strategy.
A startup can benefit from the council of a seasoned industry CFO from day one, but realistically the startup won't have demands on their finance and accounting function that warrant the involvement of a CFO until they've raised seed capital. Preparing for future rounds of funding is just one of the many areas that a fractional CFO can add value to a startup.
A fortune 500 CFO may not make the best fit in a startup environment. Similarly, a fractional CFO with a background in telecommunications is unlikely to have the expertise needed in a healthcare organization. A CPA can be a great credential to find in a CFO, but not every company will need a CFO with a heavy background in accounting. Circumstances vary for each company depending on the stage and needs of the organization.
A fractional CFO's involvement depends greatly on the stage and needs of the organization. In smaller companies, the fractional CFO may personally take on a broad set of responsibilities, including managing the books, negotiating contracts, and more. In a larger company, the fractional CFO may oversee and guide the controller who manages the accounting function as well as other leaders in the finance function.