Discipline before headcount
Close ownership, cash visibility, and controls that work with a lean team.
Who we help / Nonprofits
See the whole financial position before the next decision is made.
Nonprofits with $2 million to $20 million-plus budgets carry grants, cash pressure, audits, and finance teams that need to scale. We lead the finance function through that stage.
Where the pressure shows
Around a five-million-dollar budget, the finance job becomes bigger than the person doing it.
As awards, programs, and scrutiny increase, the finance function takes on a different level of responsibility. The pressure usually appears in four places first.
Building the finance institution
Finance-team design, revenue concentration, audit readiness, and long-range planning.
Close speed and data quality
Programs and transactions begin moving faster than reconciliations, coding, grant schedules, and management reporting. Decisions are then made from numbers that are already behind.
Revenue concentration and cash timing
A larger budget can still carry fragile liquidity when awards are conditional, reimbursements arrive late, renewals remain uncertain, or a small number of funders support the plan.
Full cost and operating capacity
Program growth adds staff, systems, occupancy, and administrative load. The approved budget may not show the complete cost of delivery.
Governance and assurance load
Boards, finance committees, auditors, funders, and regulators each need reliable support, consistent policies, and a record that can withstand review.
The board-level view
What a board packet should be able to answer.
Board members should not have to translate accounting language in the room. The packet should isolate the resources, risks, and decisions that matter now.
What can we actually spend?
Start with bank cash, then remove restrictions, board designations, near-term payables, and committed program costs. What remains is the money available to operate, and it is usually smaller than the bank balance.
Which revenue is real?
Separate cash received, signed awards, conditional grants, reimbursements, renewals, and pipeline. A prospect is not funding and an award is not always available cash.
What will current programs cost to finish?
Combine actual spend with contracts, approved hires, artist or consultant fees, match requirements, and forecast-to-complete costs before approving new work.
How much can we trust this report?
Show the close date, unreconciled accounts, missing support, grant exceptions, and open audit items. Confidence in the decision starts with confidence in the underlying records.
What the role covers
What leadership needs to see
Six areas leadership needs to see at the same time: what the organization can spend, what programs cost in full, whether the close can be trusted, and what boards, auditors, and funders will ask next.
Liquidity
Usable cash and funding timingSeparate bank cash from spendable cash after restrictions, designations, payables, and program commitments.
Funding
Revenue concentration and scenario planningShow dependence on major funders and conditional awards, and the actions required under each funding case.
Program economics
True program cost and full-cost decisionsConnect direct activity, staffing, shared costs, and administration so leaders understand what delivery requires.
Reporting
Close quality and leadership reportingCreate dependable reconciliations, grant balances, budget-to-actuals, and a clear record of what remains unresolved.
Capacity + controls
Finance-team capacity, approvals and operating controlsDefine approvals, segregation of duties, and close ownership, and shape the structure the finance team needs next.
Governance + assurance
Board, audit, grant and regulatory compliancePrepare decision-ready board reporting and coordinated support for audits, funder reviews, policies, schedules, and regulatory obligations.
How we work
Our values show up in the finance function.
Stewardship
Every material dollar has a purpose, an owner, and a reporting path.
No surprises
Leadership sees financial risk early, with the assumptions and uncertainties stated plainly.
Right-sized controls
Controls reflect the organization’s size, funding model, team, and risk.
Beyond one person
The close and reporting become less dependent on any one person and more reliable over time.
When the pressure rises
Senior oversight without building a full finance department.
- Organizations preparing for an audit or major grant
- Teams that need a reliable monthly close and board package
- Leadership managing cash pressure or rapid program growth
- Finance teams that need clearer ownership, controls, and systems
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