Many companies reach a point where bookkeeping and year-end accounting are no longer enough, but a full-time CFO is not yet justified. A fractional CFO fills that gap: an experienced finance executive who works with your business on a recurring, part-time basis and takes ownership of financial strategy, reporting discipline, and decision support.
Cipher Financial’s fractional CFO engagements are led personally by Ira Levy, CPA, CA, MBA — a finance executive with more than 20 years of experience, including CFO roles at public companies.
What a fractional CFO engagement covers
- Strategic finance leadership — a senior voice in management discussions, planning cycles, and major decisions.
- Forecasting and budgeting — annual budgets, rolling forecasts, and the models that keep them honest.
- Cash-flow management — visibility into cash position, burn rate, runway, and working capital, with early warning on pressure points.
- Board and investor reporting — clear, credible reporting packages that stand up to scrutiny from directors, investors, and lenders.
- KPI development — the handful of measures that actually drive your business, tracked consistently.
- Finance-team leadership — direction and mentoring for bookkeepers, accountants, and controllers already on your team.
- Systems and process improvement — closing faster, automating manual work, and building reporting you can trust.
- Financing preparation — models, materials, and diligence readiness before you approach investors or lenders.
- Growth planning and decision support — pricing, hiring plans, capital spending, expansion, and scenario analysis grounded in numbers.
When a fractional CFO is the right fit
A fractional CFO tends to make sense when one or more of these is true:
- Revenue has grown past the point where the founder can manage finance from the side of their desk — typically between $1 million and $20 million.
- Investors, lenders, or a board now expect regular, reliable reporting.
- A financing, audit, or transaction is on the horizon.
- Cash is tight or unpredictable, and decisions are being made without clear visibility.
- The accounting team is competent but has no senior finance leadership.
Fractional CFO versus full-time CFO
A full-time CFO in the Greater Toronto Area is a significant executive commitment — compensation, equity, and management overhead. A fractional CFO delivers the same calibre of judgement, scaled to what the business actually needs: typically a set number of days per week or month, adjusted as the company grows. Many clients eventually graduate to a full-time hire; a good fractional CFO builds the foundation that makes that transition smooth.
How engagements are structured
Engagements are shaped around your situation — ongoing support on a monthly cadence, a defined project, or a combination. Scope, cadence, and deliverables are agreed in writing before work begins, and can be adjusted as needs change.