CFO-Level Financial Partnership. Without the Full-Time Cost.
Most Alberta businesses in the $5M–$50M range have a bookkeeper and an external accountant. Neither is doing what a CFO does. AJM fills that gap.
The Gap Between Bookkeeping and CFO
A bookkeeper records transactions. An external accountant files your returns and produces financial statements. Neither one is telling you what your numbers mean, where your margin is going, whether your cash position supports your growth plan, or what your financials look like to a lender.
That gap costs money — in bad decisions, in financing terms that could be better, in missed opportunities, and eventually, in transaction value when you go to sell. It also costs time: the hours you spend trying to get answers from financial reports that weren’t designed to answer your questions.
The fractional CFO model gives you senior finance capability on a structured retainer. You get the analysis, the management reporting infrastructure, and the strategic financial input your business needs — without the overhead of a full-time hire.
Signs You Need a Fractional CFO
- Your monthly financials arrive weeks after month-end and don’t answer your operational questions
- You’re making pricing, hiring, or capital decisions without confidence in the underlying numbers
- Your accountant is focused on compliance, not on helping you run the business
- Lenders or investors are asking for reporting you don’t currently produce
- You’re growing revenue but profitability isn’t keeping pace
- You have multiple cost centres, product lines, or projects but no visibility into which are profitable
- You’re planning a significant capital investment and don’t have a reliable financial model
Fractional CFO Scope
The specific scope depends on your business and what’s needed. These are the core areas AJM covers in fractional engagements.
Management Reporting
Design and build reporting packages that give you operating decisions, not just compliance output. Monthly close rhythm, KPI dashboards, and variance analysis against budget.
Budget & Forecasting
Annual budget development, rolling forecasts, and scenario modelling. Built on your actual cost structure, not industry templates.
Cost & Margin Analysis
Visibility into cost by product, service line, customer, or project. Identifies where margin is being lost and what to do about it.
Cash Flow Management
13-week cash flow forecasting, working capital optimization, and cash position reporting that’s ahead of problems, not behind them.
Lender & Investor Support
Covenant monitoring, lender reporting packages, board-ready financial presentations, and capital planning support.
Financial Infrastructure
Chart of accounts, reporting systems, close processes, and data quality — the foundation that makes all other financial work faster and more reliable.
Planning a Future Transition? Fractional CFO Engagement Pays Forward.
Businesses that use AJM’s fractional CFO service for 12–18 months before engaging succession advisory arrive at Phase 1 with cleaner data, documented EBITDA, and a financial reporting infrastructure that significantly compresses the diagnostic timeline — and improves the outcome.
Michael Yeung’s buyer-side experience informs how we structure the reporting infrastructure from day one — not just for operational management, but for what an acquirer’s due diligence team will need to see.
What Makes AJM Different as a Fractional CFO
Three Principals, Not One
Your fractional CFO engagement draws on all three AJM principals. Arthur leads the financial work; Michael Cooper brings operational context; Michael Yeung informs the forward-looking financial structure from a buyer/investor perspective.
Data-First, Always
AJM doesn’t offer opinions disconnected from your data. Every recommendation is grounded in what your actual financial data shows — not benchmarks, not industry averages.
Alberta-Specific
We work exclusively with Alberta businesses in the $5M–$50M range. That’s not a marketing constraint — it’s a focus choice that makes us better at what we do within it.
Succession-Ready From Day One
If transition is on the horizon, we build reporting infrastructure from the start that will serve both operational management and eventual due diligence requirements.
What Owners Ask
Fractional CFO Fees: What to Expect in Alberta
Calgary has a competitive fractional CFO market — experienced finance professionals coming out of the energy sector have kept pricing rational. Here is an honest picture of what engagements typically cost.
Monthly retainer covering 10–25 hours. Typically includes management reporting, cash flow oversight, and financial decision support. Right-sized for businesses that need CFO-level thinking without a full-time commitment.
25–40 hours monthly. Covers management reporting, board or lender reporting, financial infrastructure build, and strategic support. Scope is defined by deliverables, not hours — outcomes are the metric.
Used for defined projects: preparing for a sale, building a financial model, securing financing, or standing up a reporting function. Project engagements typically run 3–6 months.
What drives the price up: active M&A, financing or succession work, multi-entity structures, audit or board reporting requirements, and industry complexity — particularly oilfield services and real estate development. AJM scopes every engagement after a discovery call so the fee reflects what your business actually needs. Book a call to get a specific scope.
Stop Making Financial Decisions Without the Data to Support Them.
Book a discovery call. We’ll assess your current financial infrastructure and tell you directly what a fractional engagement would change.