Fractional CFOFractional controller
Part-time controllership for growing companies in Vancouver: a disciplined month-end close, reporting that explains the results, visibility over cash and the controls a business needs as it scales. Numbers your leadership team can decide on, and that hold up with a lender, an investor or a buyer.
When companies call us
Companies usually reach this point after a period of growth, when the books are kept but no one owns the close, the controls or the reporting.
Month-end takes weeks, or does not happen at all. A fixed close calendar puts reconciled numbers in front of you on the same day each month.
Financial statements arrive without context. Management reports with commentary show what changed and why.
Receivables, payables and inventory are tracked in different places. One view of cash, and a forecast, flags needs before they arise.
A budget built with the people who run the business, then tracked against actual results every month.
The same person can approve, pay and record a transaction. Approval limits and segregation of duties reduce the risk without slowing the business.
Clean records and supporting schedules, ready before the auditor, the lender or the buyer asks for them.
How we help
Fractional controller services for startups, scale-ups and owner-led companies in Vancouver that have outgrown basic bookkeeping but do not yet need a full-time controller. We own the close, the reporting and the controls, and connect them to the decisions, the lenders and the investors that rely on them.
A close on a fixed timetable and a monthly package that explains the results: what changed, why, and what it means for the months ahead.
Collections, payables and inventory monitored each week, with a cash forecast that shows needs before they arise.
A budget and forecast built with leadership and tracked against results, so decisions are made on current numbers.
Approval limits, documented processes and the right accounting system and dashboards, so the business can grow without bottlenecks or blind spots.
Covenant reporting, supporting schedules and a clean ledger, ready for your lender, your auditor or a buyer’s due diligence team.
Leadership for your in-house accounting staff or external bookkeepers, so the right work is done at the right level.
Finance in Vancouver
Vancouver’s economy runs on privately held, owner-led companies in technology, construction and real estate, natural resources, trade and logistics, and consumer brands. As they grow, most of them raise money from the same circle: the commercial banking teams of the major banks, British Columbia’s large credit unions, BDC, private lenders, and the angel, venture capital and private equity investors and family offices active in the city.
Each of them makes decisions on the numbers a controller produces. We work alongside these lenders and investors on financings and transactions, so we know what they ask to see, and we build the monthly reporting to answer it before they ask.
Read how banks use EBITDA and debt service coverage to assess a business loan.
Banks and credit unions ask for timely statements, covenant calculations and, for operating lines, borrowing base reports. Delivered on time and consistent from one period to the next, they make renewals, increases and new facilities easier to negotiate.
Angel, venture and private equity investors expect a regular package: results against budget, cash runway and the KPIs that drive the business. When it arrives on schedule, board time goes to decisions rather than to questions about the numbers.
Companies here often add locations, entities or U.S. customers faster than their finance setup can follow. The right system, chart of accounts and dashboards keep the close fast and the reporting consistent as the business grows.
A financing, an acquisition or a sale tests years of records at once. A disciplined close and clean supporting schedules shorten due diligence and give the other side fewer reasons to adjust the price or the terms.
Our view
A forecast built on late or unreconciled numbers is a guess. Before a business can plan, raise capital or sell, it needs books that close on time every month, and reports that explain what happened.
That is the controller’s job. We set the close calendar, own the reconciliations and the controls, and deliver a monthly package the leadership team can act on. When the business needs planning and financing support as well, the work can grow into a fractional CFO engagement.
Watch: Fractional CFO for Growth
How an engagement works
Most engagements start with a clean-up of the books, then move to a regular monthly cycle. You receive a written proposal with the scope, the monthly cadence and the fee before any work begins.
Already have a bookkeeper? We can oversee them rather than replace them, so the right work is done at the right level.
Want numbers you can run the business on?
Selected clients
Frequently asked questions
Runs or oversees the finance function part time: the month-end close, management reporting, cash oversight, budgeting and internal controls, and the reporting that lenders and investors rely on.
A bookkeeper records transactions. A controller makes sure they are complete and accurate, closes the books on time, produces the reporting and owns the controls around it.
A controller looks after the accuracy and timeliness of the numbers. A CFO uses them to plan, raise capital and make decisions. See our fractional CFO service.
Not necessarily. We can oversee an in-house team or an external bookkeeper, so the right work is done at the right level.
Yes. We prepare the reporting your lenders and investors ask for, join the meetings where it is discussed when that helps, and answer their follow-up questions.
Yes. We prepare the records, schedules and reporting a lender, auditor or buyer will ask for, before they ask.
It depends on transaction volume and the state of the books. A clean-up takes more time at the start; after that, the proposal sets a monthly cadence and fee.
No. Vancouver is our home base, and we work with companies across British Columbia, including Victoria and Kelowna, and across Canada. Most of the monthly work is done remotely, with meetings in person when they help.
Have a question that isn’t covered here? Ask us directly.
Related insights
Start a conversation
Tell us how the books are kept today and what you need from them. We will come back with the questions that matter for your situation.
What happens next
Office
Alphabridge Group Inc.555 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC V7X 1M8
We use your details only to respond to your inquiry.
Whether it is a deal, a raise, a valuation or the way the business is run, we are glad to talk it through.
vasant@alphabridge.co
+1 778 903 4883
Five practices, organized around the decisions our clients face.
Sector depth across the businesses we advise, from early-stage ventures to established operators.
Perspectives on transactions, valuation, capital, performance and strategy.
An independent strategic finance firm, founded in 2016 and led by its principal on every engagement.
