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A practical CFO-level conversation
For CEOs, founders and NFP leaders who need clearer financial decisions
Your accounts may be tidy, your tax work may be under control, and your monthly reports may arrive more or less on time; but you may still be carrying too much of the financial thinking yourself, or there are niggles you can't quite put your finger on.
Cash flow may not feel as predictable as it should. Profitability may not be clear enough. The board pack may show what happened, without making the next decision any easier. Profit, staffing, pricing, funding, service delivery or governance decisions have grown and your current finance function wasn't built for looking forward, it is built to report on what has happened.
That is often the point where a CFO Strategy Call is useful.
The no-obligation call will be useful to you
The purpose of the call is firstly to understand what is happening in your organisation, where the financial pressure or uncertainty is showing up, and what could be made clearer, simpler or more useful.
We may also discuss if and how Diamond Advisory can help.
You will leave the conversation with at least two practical suggestions you can think about implementing in your organisation.
You will leave with at least two practical suggestions you can think about implementing in your business or organisation.
Depending on what is happening for you, that may include a clearer planning rhythm, a better way to connect your forecast to upcoming decisions, a sharper view of cash flow and capacity, a more useful board or leadership reporting structure, or a simpler way to test whether growth, funding, staffing or pricing plans are financially sound.
Think of the call as a useful first conversation, and a chance to experience the kind of strategy a Fractional CFO can bring, before deciding whether any further support is right for you.
Book your CFO Strategy Call
Use the form below to request a call, and please include a little context about what is happening in your organisation, so the conversation can be practical from the start.
The Full Story
When a CFO Strategy Call may be useful
A CFO Strategy Call is suited to CEOs, founders, business owners and NFP leaders who have reached the point where basic financial reporting is no longer enough.
You may be looking at revenue growth, but not seeing enough cash. You may be considering another hire, new funding, a pricing change, a contract renewal, a new service line, or a shift in operating model, but not have enough confidence in the numbers behind the decision. You may have a finance manager, accountant or bookkeeper in place, but still need more senior financial interpretation across the top. Or you may have a board pack full of information, but still no clear view of what needs attention, what has changed, and what decision management is recommending.
The call is designed to help you step back from the noise and look at the financial picture more clearly.
Common signs the conversation may be worth having
You may benefit from a CFO Strategy Call if:
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Cash flow feels tight or unpredictable, even when the business or organisation appears to be performing well.
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Reports are being produced, but they don’t clearly guide the next decision.
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The CEO, founder or executive team is spending too much time trying to interpret the numbers.
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Board reporting is too detailed, too late, too historical, or not focused enough on decisions.
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Growth is increasing complexity across staffing, systems, pricing, funding or service delivery.
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The finance team is capable, but needs senior oversight, coordination and interpretation.
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Forecasts exist, but they are not being used properly in management decisions.
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Profitability is unclear by service line, project, customer group, location or activity.
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Funding, grants, acquittals, restricted income or working capital timing are creating pressure.
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You are making bigger decisions than the current finance function was built to support.
If several of these sound familiar, the issue is unlikely to be solved by asking for another report. The most useful next step is usually to improve the financial rhythm around the organisation, so the right information is reviewed at the right time, by the right people, with a clearer connection to the decisions being made.
What we may cover on the call
The call will depend on what is happening in your organisation, but it may include:
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What financial information you are currently relying on, and whether it is helping or getting in the way.
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Where cash flow, profit, funding, staffing, pricing or growth pressure is showing up.
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Whether your management reports or board reports are giving leadership the right view.
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What decisions are coming up, and what financial clarity would make those decisions easier.
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Whether the current finance function has the right structure, rhythm and senior oversight.
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What could be improved quickly, without overcomplicating the finance function.
This is not about producing more finance work for its own sake. It is about improving the quality of the financial information, interpretation and control that leadership is using to run the organisation.
For business owners and founders
Founder-led and owner-led businesses often reach a stage where the finance function that worked at one size does not quite work at the next.
The accounts may still be prepared, the BAS may still be lodged, and the bookkeeper or accountant may still be doing their job, but you as the owner is now making larger decisions around staff, capacity, pricing, debt, equipment, expansion, contracts or succession.
At this point, the business needs more than compliance. It needs commercial financial leadership.
A CFO Strategy Call can help you look at the financial levers inside the business, including cash flow, profitability, pricing, overhead, staffing, working capital and growth capacity, and identify where better financial clarity would make the business easier to run.
For CEOs and executive teams
CEOs need financial information that supports judgement, not just reporting that records activity.
In a growing or changing organisation, the CEO often needs to know whether the current operating model is affordable, whether the forecast is credible, whether the board pack is focusing on the right issues, whether cash pressure is temporary or structural, and whether the finance function is keeping pace with the size and complexity of the organisation.
A CFO Strategy Call can help identify where the financial rhythm is working, where it is not, and where senior CFO-level support may improve visibility, accountability and decision-making.
For NFP leaders and boards
NFP leaders are often managing a more complicated financial picture than outsiders realise.
Funding agreements, restricted income, acquittals, payroll obligations, service delivery costs, governance expectations, board reporting, audit pressure and cash flow timing can all create financial complexity. A report may show the result, but still fail to explain what it means for sustainability, service delivery, staffing or board oversight.
A CFO Strategy Call can help NFP CEOs, executive teams, treasurers and boards look at the financial position more clearly, understand the trade-offs, and identify where reporting, forecasting, governance or cash flow visibility may need to be strengthened.
What happens after the call
If Fractional CFO support, Interim CFO support, board-level financial guidance or managed finance support would genuinely help, we can talk about what that might look like.
That may include ongoing Fractional CFO support, short-term Interim CFO support, board reporting improvement, cash flow forecasting, profitability analysis, NFP financial governance support, or support for your existing finance team.
If further support from us is not the right next step, that is fine. You will still leave the call with clearer thinking and at least two practical suggestions you can take back into the business or organisation.
If your organisation has outgrown basic reporting, but is not ready to hire a full-time CFO, a CFO Strategy Call is a sensible place to start.
It is a no-obligation conversation for Australian CEOs, founders, business owners and NFP leaders who want clearer numbers, better reporting, stronger cash flow visibility, improved forecasting, more useful board packs or senior financial guidance around the decisions now facing the organisation.
Book your
CFO Strategy Call
