Exceptional financial leadership should not be a privilege reserved for the largest organizations.
Charles River CFO brings Big-4-trained financial leadership to growth companies, private equity-backed businesses, nonprofits, and financial institutions that need serious expertise without the full-time commitment.
We do not just fill the seat.
We lead the function.
The difference shows up in the first ninety days. A placement waits for direction. A CFO gives it.
Charles River CFO is a financial leadership firm, presented as Big-4-caliber expertise on a flexible model, not a staffing agency and not a bookkeeping service. We deliver strategic financial leadership and the hands-on execution to implement it.
Eight questions finance leaders bring us. Pick the one keeping you up.
Six ways to engage us, all led by the same CFO bench.
Fractional, interim, or fully outsourced. The model flexes. The leadership does not.
Start with a Financial Assessment.
A focused, two-to-four-week review of your finance and accounting operations, benchmarked against best practice. You leave with a written, prioritized set of actionable recommendations, whether you act on them yourself or bring us in.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ASSESSMENT →AI-enabled finance, run by people who know the difference.
Every engagement runs on modern tooling for close, reporting, and forecasting, so your CFO spends time on judgment calls, not data entry.
LEARN MORE →Automated reconciliation and variance analysis shorten the monthly cycle.
Scenario models built on live data, not last quarter's spreadsheet.
Continuous monitoring surfaces issues between board meetings, not at them.
You are not behind. You are between the finance function you have and the one this moment needs.
Do you need a CFO, a controller, or a full outsourced function?
A short diagnostic that tells a leader exactly what level of financial leadership their organization needs right now. No sales call required to get the answer.
Biotech runway, board reporting, and audit readiness from seed to exit.
With Kevin Sarney, Life Sciences CFO. Teaching, not pitching. Live Q&A.
Perspectives from our CFOs on the issues your finance function is navigating right now.
A partner for your clients, not a competitor for them.
We refer work back. Every engagement stays inside your client relationship, not ours.
Bench strength for clients who need more than an engagement letter can cover.
Deal-room-ready finance ahead of a raise, sale, or diligence process.
Portfolio-company CFO coverage that reports the way your fund expects.
Lender-ready reporting and financial cleanup ahead of a covenant review.
Straight answers, before you ask.
A Fractional CFO is ongoing, part-time strategic leadership for a company that does not yet need, or cannot yet justify, a full-time hire, typically running 12 months or longer. An Interim CFO fills a full-time seat during a transition, search, or company-defining moment, typically 4 to 12+ months, then hands off to a permanent hire.
Fractional CFO engagements typically start around $4,000 per month and scale with scope. Interim CFO and finance leadership engagements typically run $30,000 to $50,000+ per month, reflecting full-time coverage. Both flex up or down as the need changes.
We field a full bench, CFOs, controllers, and outsourced accounting and finance operations staff, so a client can get exactly the level of coverage the moment requires, from a single project to a fully outsourced function.
Life sciences and biotech, technology, credit unions and community banks, nonprofits, manufacturing, and general business including professional services, real estate, and healthcare, each led by a named CFO who is a former Big 4 CPA.
Financial leadership, when it matters most.
Tell us the moment you are in. We will match you to the CFO who has already been through it.