Q&A: Advisory isn’t an add-on

Your firm offers both fractional CFO and business advisory services. Do you find that most clients choose one or the other, or do they end up engaging your firm for both?

Our clients typically engage us for both because the two are so interconnected.

The fractional CFO component focuses on the financial infrastructure: accurate reporting, cash flow, forecasting, profitability, budgeting and understanding the story behind the numbers.

Business advisory takes that information a step further. We're looking at the CEO's bigger picture. Are they building the right team? Is their pricing sustainable? Can their infrastructure support another million dollars in revenue? Are they building a business that creates long-term wealth and enterprise value?

For us, the financials aren't the final deliverable. They're the foundation for better decisions. That's why we integrate both disciplines rather than treating them as separate services.

You started off in business consulting and, from there, incorporated strategic financial support. How did you build a team capable of handling both foundational accounting work and higher-level strategic advisory services?

I built the team around a philosophy I've carried throughout my career: financial accuracy and strategic insight must work together.

Early on, I recognized that I couldn't provide meaningful advice if I couldn't trust the underlying financial information. So, we developed the accounting capabilities necessary to support our advisory work.

As KWK evolved, I became intentional about bringing in professionals who could do more than produce financial statements. Technical proficiency matters, but so does business acumen, critical thinking, communication and the confidence to advise a CEO. 

We've also built our delivery model around collaboration rather than having every client depend exclusively on me. The goal is a firm where clients benefit from a team of financial professionals, with consistent processes and shared accountability. We're continuing to strengthen that infrastructure as we scale.

You previously offered standalone bookkeeping services, but eventually eliminated that offering to bring strategic advisory into every client relationship. How did that transition work in practice? Did you lose clients or were some willing to upgrade to advisory services?

It started with recognizing that providing clean books wasn't always addressing what the business owner actually needed. A CEO could have perfectly reconciled accounts and still be uncertain about cash flow, hiring decisions, profitability or how to finance their next stage of growth. We became more intentional about evaluating what clients needed beyond the monthly financial statements. Rather than automatically offering bookkeeping as a standalone service, we began structuring engagements around the financial infrastructure and advisory relationship. That also meant being honest about fit. Not every business is ready to invest in an ongoing CFO relationship, and that's okay. So, yes, we lost a couple of clients, but most stayed! I'd rather guide someone toward the right solution than sell them services they aren't positioned to benefit from.

Today, we can work alongside a client's existing bookkeeper when that function is working well. We don't need to replace every part of their financial team to deliver strategic value.

Because advisory was always your firm's focus, you've never had to make the transition that many traditional accounting firms are navigating today. What do you think those firms often overlook when trying to make that shift?

I think the biggest misconception is that advisory is simply an additional service you offer once the accounting work is finished. It's an entirely different way of thinking about your role in the client's business.

Advisory requires understanding the CEO's goals, asking questions that go beyond the financial statements and sometimes having uncomfortable conversations about what's preventing the business from growing. It also requires a different operating model. You need professionals who can interpret financial information, communicate recommendations and connect today's decisions to future outcomes. You also need the capacity and processes to deliver that consistently.

Most importantly, advisory has to be proactive. If you're only discussing what happened last month, you're still operating primarily in the past. The real opportunity is helping CEOs understand what their numbers mean for what comes next. That's the difference between reporting financial performance and guiding business growth.

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