Fractional CFO & COO · Operations · Exit Readiness
Steady hands.
Sharp minds.
Most owner-led businesses have accurate books that still are not deal-ready. We get your financials and operations to where they hold up under pressure, whether you are scaling, taking on a sponsor, or planning your exit. Senior operators who have sat in the seat. No junior consultants. No retainer lock-ins.
Exit
Owners 55+
planning a sale or transition
Growth
Founders $5M+
scaling past the next ceiling
Sponsors
PE-backed
teams under value-creation pressure
What we do
Fractional CFO and COO,
at the helm.
Two seats, one operator. We cover the CFO seat and the COO seat together, because in an operations-heavy business the numbers and the operating system are the same problem. Four integrated practices, finance, operations, strategy, and AI, delivered by someone who has actually sat in the seat.
Fractional CFO
Board-ready reporting, cash management, and strategic financial leadership embedded in your business on your terms. Whether you're answering to a sponsor, a board, or yourself, you need CFO-level thinking without the full-time commitment.
- Board and owner reporting packages
- 13-week cash flow forecasting
- Budget and variance analysis
- Lender, investor, and bank relations
- Exit and transaction readiness
Operations advisory
Process improvement and operational infrastructure built to scale, whether you're navigating a growth phase, preparing for investment, or professionalizing the business you've built. We stay in the work until the changes are embedded.
- Operational assessment
- KPI design and dashboards
- Process documentation and systemization
- Cost and margin improvement
- Post-acquisition integration
Strategy & transition
Value creation planning, ownership transition, and the hard conversations that move a business forward. Whether you're preparing for a sale, planning for retirement, or handing the reins to the next generation, we help you get there on your terms.
- Value creation planning
- Ownership transition and succession planning
- Exit readiness roadmap
- Acquisition evaluation
- Strategic planning facilitation
AI advisory
Strategic AI implementation for businesses that need results, not experiments. We identify the highest-value opportunities, build governance frameworks, and embed AI into operations with the same financial discipline we bring to everything else.
- Operational AI assessment and opportunity mapping
- AI strategy and governance framework
- Pilot implementation with measured ROI
- Team training and capability building
- Scaling roadmap and quarterly reviews
Most businesses don't have a strategy problem. They have a visibility problem. Get the numbers right, and the path forward usually becomes obvious.
Helm Advisory
No junior delegation
Every engagement is led and delivered by senior operators. You hired us, you get us.
Operator-first perspective
We've run the P&L, managed the close, and sat in the board meeting. Our advice comes from experience, not theory.
Growth-focused by default
Every conversation starts with where you're trying to go. We build the financial infrastructure to get you there, whether that's scaling, transitioning, or exiting.
Honest, not comfortable
We'll tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. That's the only version of advisory that works.
AI Advisory
AI is everywhere now.
The question is whether it shows up on your P&L.
Adoption is settled. The hard part in 2026 is proving the return. We help small and mid-market companies make AI land on the P&L, with a CFO's discipline rather than another software demo. Most of the gains never get measured, so they never get believed. Take the 2-minute AI-Readiness Scorecard.
The Problem
Adoption isn't the issue.
Execution is.
Around two-thirds of small businesses report using AI in some capacity. But most are still in the exploration phase, using ChatGPT for the occasional email draft while their competitors build it into operations. The headline numbers mask a deeper problem.
The strategy gap
Most AI projects don't fail on the technology. They fail because no one defined what success looks like. Businesses ask "what can AI do for us?" instead of "where are we losing time and money, and can AI fix it?" Without a clear business case, pilots stall and budgets evaporate.
Only 22% of orgs have a defined AI strategy, Pythian, 2026The skills gap
You bought the tools. Your team doesn't know how to use them. Ninety-four percent of CEOs say AI skills are a top priority, yet only about a third of leaders have actually prepared their workforce. The result: expensive licenses sitting idle while employees default to old workflows.
59% of enterprise leaders report an AI skills gap, DataCamp, 2026The governance gap
Most small businesses deploying AI have no written policies governing how it's used. That means no guardrails around data privacy, no quality controls on AI-generated output, and no audit trail when something goes wrong. This is a liability waiting to happen.
Est. 77% of SMBs using AI have no formal AI policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2025The consulting trap
Traditional consulting firms deliver strategy decks and proof-of-concepts, then leave. The client can't sustain what was built, leading to either ongoing consulting spend or project abandonment. AI capability can't be rented, it has to be built inside your organization.
42% of companies scrapped most AI initiatives in 2025, S&P Global, 2025AI doesn't fail because the technology is wrong. It fails because no one tied it to a P&L outcome, trained the team to use it, or measured whether it actually moved the needle. Fix those three things and the technology takes care of itself.Helm Advisory
Our Approach
Operator-led. Outcome-measured.
Built to stay.
We don't sell AI tools. We don't build custom models. We do what we've always done at Helm: sit inside the business, understand the numbers, and build infrastructure that works after we leave.
Phase 01 · Weeks 1–2
Operational assessment
We map your workflows, identify where time and money are actually being lost, and determine which processes are genuine candidates for AI, and which aren't. No hammer-looking-for-a-nail. We start with the bottleneck, not the buzzword.
Deliverable: Prioritized opportunity map with estimated ROI per workflow
Phase 02 · Weeks 3–4
Strategy and governance framework
We build your AI policy, define success metrics tied to P&L outcomes, and select the right tools for your specific use cases. The strategy is built around your operations, your team's capabilities, and your budget. No generic playbook.
Deliverable: AI strategy document, governance policy, tool selection rationale
Phase 03 · Weeks 5–12
Pilot, measure, embed
One high-impact workflow. Ninety days. Clear KPIs. We implement alongside your team, not above them, and measure results against the baseline we set in Phase 01. When it works, we document the playbook. When it doesn't, we pivot before you've burned budget.
Deliverable: Working pilot with measured results, internal playbook, team training
Phase 04 · Ongoing
Scale what works
The first pilot makes the case for the next one. We help you expand AI into additional workflows using the governance framework and measurement discipline built in Phase 02. The goal is a team that can run this without us.
Deliverable: Expansion roadmap, team capability assessment, quarterly review cadence
Why Now
The window is closing.
In previous technology cycles, small businesses lagged large enterprises by years. With AI, the gap is closing in months. The businesses that move from experimentation to strategic implementation now will pull ahead.
91%
of small businesses using AI report measurable revenue increases, driven by better processes, freed-up capacity, and smarter resource allocation.
Revenue impact among strategically implemented AI is not incremental. It correlates with capacity gains, process improvements, and better decision-making at every level of the P&L.
83%
of growing small businesses have adopted AI. Among declining businesses, adoption is dramatically lower.
The correlation between AI adoption and business growth is widening every quarter. The gap is no longer about access to tools, it's about having the strategy and discipline to use them.
$3.70
average return for every $1 invested in AI, when implemented with defined goals and disciplined execution.
The qualifier matters: measured ROI requires a clear business case, baseline metrics, and ongoing measurement. Without those, most AI spend produces no trackable return.
Who This Is For
Built for operators,
not experimenters.
This practice is designed for business owners and leadership teams who know AI matters but don't have the internal bandwidth or expertise to implement it strategically.
PE-backed companies
Under pressure to create value and report progress on operational efficiency to sponsors who are asking about AI on every board call.
Founder-led businesses scaling past $5M
Growing fast, team stretched thin, know they need to work smarter but can't afford to experiment without a plan.
Operations-heavy businesses
Waste management, recycling, logistics, manufacturing, industries with clear process data and immediate ROI potential from automation.
Companies preparing for exit
Buyers and investors are asking about AI readiness. Having a documented strategy and measurable results changes the conversation.
Why Helm
The same principles.
A new frontier.
AI advisory at Helm works the same way all our work does: senior-led, operator-first, outcome-measured. We don't arrive with a slide deck. We arrive with questions.
Statistics sourced from publicly available research including MIT NANDA Initiative, SBA Office of Advocacy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, IDC, Salesforce, S&P Global, DataCamp, Pythian, and Microsoft. All sources are linked inline. See individual reports for full methodology and definitions.
About
Operator thinking.
Advisor discipline.
Helm Advisory was built for one reason: most advisory firms tell you what to do. We've actually done it.
Founded by a CFO who has spent years inside PE-backed and privately held businesses, building finance functions, managing through operational complexity, and navigating the full arc from early growth through to ownership transition. With deep experience in operations-heavy industries, we understand the financial and operational realities of businesses that move physical material, not just data.
Whether helping a founder scale past the next revenue ceiling, supporting an owner preparing for retirement, or sitting across the table from sponsors at a board meeting, the work is the same: get the numbers right and make better decisions.
We don't arrive with a slide deck and a framework. We arrive with questions, and we stay until the numbers tell a clear story.
Private
Business experience, founder-led to sponsor-backed
CFO
Seat experience, not advisory from the sidelines
0
Junior consultants on any engagement. Ever.
4
Integrated practices, finance, operations, strategy, and AI
Free 2-minute assessment
Would your business survive a buyer's diligence?
Ten questions show where EBITDA and value are leaking, and how deal-ready your numbers really are. Your answers stay private.
Questions
Frequently asked.
What is a fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO is a senior financial leader who works with your business on a part-time or project basis, providing CFO-level strategy, reporting, and financial leadership without the cost of a full-time executive hire. At Helm Advisory, every engagement is led by operators who have sat in the CFO seat, not junior consultants.
How does Helm Advisory help small businesses implement AI?
We take an operator-led approach: assess your workflows for genuine AI opportunities, build a governance framework and AI policy, implement a measured pilot over 90 days with clear KPIs, and then scale what works. Every recommendation is tied to P&L outcomes. We build internal capability, not dependency.
Why do most AI implementations fail?
Research shows that up to 95% of enterprise AI pilots fail to deliver measurable ROI. The primary reasons are not technology-related, they're strategic. Businesses lack a defined AI strategy, face workforce skills gaps, have no governance policies, and rely on consultants who leave without building internal capability. Successful AI implementation starts with one specific bottleneck, not a company-wide transformation.
Who does Helm Advisory work with?
We work with privately held and PE-backed businesses, including founder-led companies scaling past $5M in revenue, operations-heavy industries like waste management, recycling, logistics and manufacturing, and companies preparing for exit or ownership transition.
What makes Helm Advisory different from traditional consulting firms?
Every engagement is led and delivered by senior operators, zero junior consultants, ever. We've run the P&L, managed the close, and sat in the board meeting. Our goal is to build your team's capability and hand you the playbook, not create an ongoing consulting relationship. We're built to leave, not to stay.
When should I start getting my business ready to sell?
Earlier than most owners think. Getting financially ready to sell, with clean books, documented add-backs, reliable forecasting, and real management depth, takes three to five years to do well. Starting early gives you time to fix what a buyer's diligence team would flag and to grow value before the sale instead of scrambling at the last minute.
Do I need a CFO before I sell my business?
You rarely need a full-time CFO, but you do need CFO-level financials. Most owner-led businesses have accurate books that still are not deal-ready. They lack clean contribution margin, documented owner add-backs, and a credible forecast. A fractional CFO gets the numbers to where a buyer, bank, or board will trust them, which protects both the deal and the price.
Ready to get the numbers working for you?
No retainer lock-ins. No junior consultants. Just senior-level work.
Work with us
Let's find out if we're the right fit.
Most engagements start with a single conversation. Tell us what's going on and we'll be direct about whether we can help.
Response time
Within one business day
First call
30 minutes, no preparation needed