Financial Advisory

Financial Advisory Services That Build Sustainable Growth

Expert interim CFO services for middle-market businesses

Your business has reached a critical juncture. Maybe your longtime CFO retired unexpectedly. Perhaps your controller does excellent work but lacks the strategic thinking you need for your next growth phase. Or you’re preparing for a major transition—a sale, succession, acquisition, and integration—and realize your finance team isn’t ready. You might need to invest capital and secure bank financing, but lack the financial analysis to support that decision. Or maybe you simply don’t have the performance dashboards and financial visibility to make confident strategic decisions. Perhaps you’re unsure whether your product costing is accurate enough to support pricing decisions or identify which customers are truly profitable.

Whatever brought you here, you recognize that your financial leadership needs to operate at a higher level. You need immediate expertise but also want to build the right systems and capabilities—so when you do hire a permanent CFO, you’re making that decision strategically rather than desperately.

When your company’s finance function needs to level up, you need more than bookkeepers—you need strategic financial advisors who can build capabilities that last. JACO Advisory Group provides financial advisory services and interim CFO services that strengthen middle-market, closely-held, and family-owned businesses from the inside out.

Whether you’re facing leadership transitions, rapid growth, financial complexity, preparation for an exit, or the need for deeper financial analysis to support major investments, we provide CFO services for family businesses based on what actually creates lasting value—building sustainable capabilities, not creating dependency.

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When Finance Can’t Keep Up With Your Business

The difference between controller-level skills and CFO-level capabilities is often misunderstood:

  • Many business owners assume having a CPA means having CFO-level leadership, but it doesn’t.  Many finance departments can’t provide the timely, thorough performance insights needed for strategic decisions.
  • Finance departments that only “keep score” miss opportunities to drive better business decisions across sales, operations, and strategy.
  • Unexpected turnover in finance leadership creates an immediate crisis—lost institutional knowledge, disrupted stakeholder relationships, and operational blind spots.
  • Growing businesses outpace their finance capabilities faster than they realize, creating risk that becomes visible at the least opportune moments in your company’s life cycle.
  • Strategic transitions (sales, acquisitions, succession) expose the finance function’s weaknesses that have been masked during periods of normal operations.
  • Product costing systems fail to capture the true complexity of operations, leading to pricing decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information.

However, when interim CFO services are implemented with the right approach, businesses achieve remarkable outcomes: improved cash management, stronger strategic decision-making, successful transactions, and finance teams that create value for the rest of the organization. JACO ensures the finance department’s scalability for growth.

The Benefits of Financial Advisory Services From JACO

As a business owner, your finance function should be a strategic asset—not just a reporting and compliance department. Professional financial advisory services from JACO help you:

Build financial leadership capabilities that connect numbers to business strategy and drive better decisions across your organization.
Stabilize operations during critical transitions by providing immediate expertise when turnover or growth creates gaps.
Gain visibility into cash flow and working capital through practical tools like 13-week cash flow forecasting that transform financial data into management information.
Prepare for major transactions with the financial rigor that buyers, investors, or lenders expect during due diligence.
Support better pricing decisions and resource allocation through profitability analysis that reveals which customers, products, and initiatives actually create value.
Bridge capability gaps without permanent overhead by accessing CFO-level strategic thinking on an interim basis while building internal personnel capabilities.
Understand true product and customer profitability through accurate costing analysis that reveals which business you should pursue and which you should avoid.
Create scalable finance functions that can grow with your business without constant reinvention or added headcount.
After building your finance capabilities, we remain available for temporary support during unexpected turnover, seasonal peaks, or complex situations that require additional expertise.

Why Choose JACO for Interim CFO Services

Financial Advisors Who Build, Not Just Advise

We’re Builders, Not Fractional Providers

Unlike fractional CFO services designed for perpetual relationships, our interim CFO services are temporary by design. We come in to stabilize, build capabilities, and work ourselves out of a job—typically in 3-18 months, depending on your situation.

Business Owner Experience

Every senior advisor at JACO has owned or operated businesses. We understand what it’s like when your personal wealth is tied to a company’s performance, and how financial decisions affect real families. We’re not career consultants—we’re business leaders sharing hard-won experience.

Strategic Partners, Not Transactional

Traditional financial advisory services focus on closing books and preparing reports. We think beyond the ledger to connect financial insights to business realities, help shape major decisions, and serve as strategic thought partners to your leadership team.

Operationally Engaged

Our financial advisors are as comfortable on the shop floor, with customers, prospective buyers, or lenders, as we are preparing financial statements. We understand how processes, people, and numbers work together to create value—and we bring that operational perspective to every financial decision.

Complete Capability Building

We don’t just provide interim leadership. We systematically build your team’s capabilities through a proven four-stage framework so your finance function can operate independently after we exit.

Flexible Transition Support

JACO can enhance your processes and systems, then help you recruit a permanent finance leader if you choose.

Meet Our Team

How We Helped a $95M Manufacturer Restore Lender Confidence Through Cash Flow Discipline

When a 75-year-old global capital equipment manufacturer violated loan covenants following a failed acquisition integration, their bank required third-party financial oversight. JACO implemented a 13-week cash flow forecast with variance reporting, providing the visibility management needed for better decision-making. The result? The company not only satisfied lender requirements but adopted the cash flow model as a permanent management tool that now drives their operations planning, optimizes working capital, and ensures spending discipline—transforming a compliance requirement into a strategic advantage.

READ THE FULL CASE STUDY

Our Four-Stage Framework:
Stabilize, Systematize, Sustain, Scale

JACO’s financial advisory services follow a clear progression designed to deliver immediate stability, lasting improvements, and future readiness:

Stabilize

We step in when something isn’t working—whether due to unexpected turnover, disruption in the finance function, rapid growth, or preparation for a major transition. Our first priority is stabilizing the current situation by restoring visibility, rebuilding stakeholder confidence (especially with banks and investors), and ensuring business continuity from day one.

Systematize

We replace inconsistency and institutional knowledge with repeatable execution. Core financial processes are documented, standardized, and measured so performance no longer depends on individual effort or heroics. Clear workflows, controls, and management metrics create discipline, improve efficiency, establish operating rhythms, and enable consistent results across your finance function—ensuring the right information reaches the right people at the right time.

Sustain

Once stabilized, we build a finance and accounting organization that can stand on its own. We evaluate team structure, roles, and critical processes to ensure your finance office operates reliably and efficiently. This includes implementing the right systems, elevating competencies, and strengthening your existing team so they can handle more sophisticated responsibilities.

Scale

Finally, we design a finance function that can grow with your enterprise. We help build a cross-trained, mentored team that’s integrated into your broader business strategy—especially sales and operations—so that growth doesn’t require constant reinvention or added headcount. The finance organization becomes a strategic asset that enables growth rather than a constraint that limits it.

Comprehensive Financial Advisory Services

At JACO, we are builders—steady, resourceful, and motivated to help shape what comes next. Our leadership goes beyond the numbers, beyond accounting, beyond financial statements and metrics. By connecting finance to the broader business, we ensure that growth is strategic, sustainable, and grounded in operational excellence. This means rolling up our sleeves to understand foundational processes, drive performance, and help elevate every part of the business.

Interim CFO & COO Services

When you’re facing critical transitions—unexpected turnover, rapid growth, or preparation for a sale—our experienced financial leaders step in to provide immediate expertise and steady leadership. We bridge the gap during key employee transitions, ensuring business continuity while systematically building the internal capabilities your team needs for long-term success.

Working Capital & Cash Flow Management

Many profitable companies run into cash flow problems simply because they lack visibility into the timing of cash in versus cash out. We implement practical cash management tools, including 13-week cash flow forecasting, that transform financial data into actionable management information. These tools help business owners make informed decisions about investments, inventory, hiring, and growth initiatives with confidence.

Financial Modeling & Product Costing Analysis

From pricing strategy optimization to profitability analysis, we help you understand which customers, products, and business lines truly drive value. Many middle-market businesses struggle with accurate product costing—they know their overall margins but can’t confidently say which specific products, customers, or orders are profitable.

Our financial modeling and cost analysis provide the clarity needed to support critical business decisions on capital investments, capacity allocation, and customer pricing. We establish the proper cost standards and allocation methodologies that ensure your costing remains accurate as your business evolves, identifying opportunities and mitigating risk that might otherwise be hidden in complex datasets.

Due Diligence

Whether you’re considering an acquisition, preparing for a sale, or conducting an internal assessment, our due diligence services provide objective analysis of financial health, operational performance, and growth potential. Our product costing analysis reveals true profitability by customer, product line, and order—critical insights that inform valuation, identify synergies, and uncover risks that traditional financial reviews often miss. We bring the perspective of operators—not just accountants—who understand how the numbers connect to real-world business performance.

Financial Advisory Restructuring Services

For businesses facing financial pressure, we provide the expertise needed to stabilize operations, negotiate with stakeholders, and develop credible turnaround plans. Our financial advisors work alongside you to restore visibility, rebuild lender confidence, and implement the cash flow management and financial controls needed to navigate challenging situations.

Acquisitions, Integrations & Divestitures

Transactions require more than just financial acumen—they require skillful communication with multiple stakeholders and deep operational knowledge. We support companies through complex transactions, from initial due diligence through post-merger integration or divestiture completion.

Beyond Financial Advisory: Comprehensive Business Support

Our interim CFO services often connect to other strategic initiatives as companies strengthen their financial foundation:

Strategic Planning

Developing growth strategies based on solid financial understanding and market positioning.

Operational Performance

Improving efficiency and margins through better cost visibility and process optimization.

Succession Planning

Ensuring financial sustainability through leadership transitions.

Turnaround Management

Stabilizing distressed situations through credible financial planning and stakeholder communication.

We don’t just strengthen your finance function—we help your entire business perform better.

Frequently Asked Questions About Interim CFO Services

What’s the difference between fractional CFO and interim CFO services?

Interim CFO services are temporary by design. We come in for a specific period (typically 3-18 months) to stabilize your finance function, build capabilities, help recruit the right next leader, and then transition out. The goal is to work ourselves out of a job by making your organization self-sufficient.

Fractional CFO services are intended as ongoing, long-term relationships where the fractional CFO remains with your company indefinitely, typically working a set number of hours per week or month in perpetuity.

JACO specializes in interim CFO services because we believe in building sustainable capabilities, not creating dependency. That said, we remain available as a resource after our formal engagement ends—whether for periodic check-ins, support during unexpected transitions, or advice on complex situations as they arise.

Do you work with companies that already have a CFO or controller?

Yes. In many cases, we work alongside existing finance team members to augment their capabilities, fill gaps, or provide strategic leadership that complements their technical skills.

A great controller may be excellent at closing the books but lack experience in strategic planning, M&A, or complex stakeholder communication. We come alongside to build those capabilities while respecting and elevating the team that’s already in place.

This collaborative approach works because we’re not there to replace anyone—we’re there to build a stronger, more capable team.

Do you only work with businesses in crisis?

While we certainly help businesses facing unexpected challenges—like sudden CFO departures or financial pressure—many of our interim CFO engagements are with healthy, growing companies that recognize their finance function needs to operate at a higher level.

These include clients who are preparing for major transitions like sales, acquisitions, or succession. Others are experiencing rapid growth that’s outpacing their current finance capabilities. Some simply recognize that their controller, while excellent at their job, lacks the strategic expertise needed for the next phase.

The best time to engage an interim CFO is before you’re in crisis—when you have options and time to build capabilities thoughtfully rather than reactively.

What industries do you work with?

While JACO has deep expertise in manufacturing, industrial services, distribution, automotive supply chain, commercial construction, and retail (including ecommerce), we’ve successfully served clients across various industries. Unlike traditional strategic finance consulting, our approach combines financial expertise with operational insight, applying fundamental business principles across sectors.

Do you offer ongoing support after the engagement ends?

Yes. While our formal engagements have defined endpoints, we remain available as a resource. Many clients reach out periodically for quick consultations on complex situations, temporary support during unexpected transitions, or strategic sounding board conversations.

Ready to Strengthen Your Financial Leadership?

Whether you’re dealing with an unexpected transition, preparing for growth, or simply recognizing that your finance function needs to operate at a higher level, JACO’s financial advisory services can help you build the financial capabilities you need.

We begin with a straightforward conversation about your specific situation—no obligation, just clarity about whether our services might be the right fit and what that process would look like.

Remember: effective financial leadership requires both strategic thinking and tactical execution. We help you build both, creating a finance function that drives business performance rather than just keeping score.

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