About Helm Advisory
Helm Advisory was founded on a simple premise: growing businesses deserve the same caliber of financial and operational leadership as the largest companies — without the overhead of a full-time executive hire.
Our Story
Helm Advisory was founded in 2025 by a CFO who spent years inside PE-backed and founder-led businesses — not advising from the outside, but sitting in the seat. Building finance functions from the ground up, managing through acquisitions and integrations, navigating cash crunches, and reporting to boards and sponsors who expected clear answers and fast execution. That experience shapes everything we do.
The firm grew out of a pattern that kept showing up: mid-market businesses face the same financial and operational complexity as much larger companies, but they rarely have access to the senior leadership resources needed to navigate it. They get by with stretched-thin teams, part-time bookkeepers filling strategic gaps, or traditional consulting firms that send a partner to the pitch and a junior analyst to do the work. None of that is good enough when the decisions actually matter.
Helm Advisory exists to bridge that gap. We bring experienced operators — people who have managed the P&L, run the close, and sat in the board meeting — directly into your business. No junior delegation, no handoffs, no slide decks without substance. We do the work alongside your team, build the capability to sustain it, and leave you stronger than we found you.
2025
Founded by operators, for operators
CFO
Seat experience across PE-backed and founder-led businesses
0
Junior consultants on any engagement. Ever.
4
Integrated practices — finance, operations, strategy, and AI
How We Work
We don't parachute in with a playbook and leave you to figure it out. Every engagement follows the same core principles — because the best advisory work happens when you're in the room, not reviewing from the sidelines.
We don't observe from a conference room. We sit alongside your leadership team, attend the meetings that matter, and work inside your systems. The goal is to operate as a trusted extension of your business — not a vendor you have to manage.
The person you meet in the first conversation is the person who does the work. Every engagement is led and delivered by the same senior operator. No bait-and-switch, no delegation to junior staff, no "team" that you've never met doing the actual analysis.
We build internal capability so the improvements stick after we step back. Our goal is to hand you the playbook, train your team, and make ourselves unnecessary. If you need us again, we're here — but we'd rather leave you self-sufficient.
Regular updates, honest assessments, and no surprises. We tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. If something isn't working, you'll know immediately. If a plan needs to change, we'll say so clearly and explain why.
Industries We Serve
Our sweet spot is operations-heavy, privately held businesses where financial leadership and operational clarity make a measurable difference. We understand industries where the work is physical, the margins are tight, and the complexity is real.
Operations-heavy industries
Waste management, recycling, logistics, manufacturing, and other industries where the work happens in the field — not just on a screen. We understand the financial and operational realities of businesses that move physical material.
Privately held businesses
Companies in the $5M to $100M revenue range that have outgrown their early-stage infrastructure but aren't ready for — or don't need — a full-time CFO. The sweet spot where senior financial leadership creates outsized impact.
PE-backed portfolio companies
Post-acquisition integration, value creation planning, board-ready reporting, and the financial infrastructure that sponsors expect. We've been on both sides of that table and know what good looks like.
Founder-led businesses in transition
Whether you're preparing for growth, planning a succession, or building toward an exit — we help founders get the financial house in order and build the operational maturity that creates real enterprise value.
No retainer lock-ins. No junior consultants. Just senior-level work.