FREE TRAINING THIS WEEK ON BECOMING A CFO
For CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers and tax professionals
Everything you need to add a CFO Advisory service to your practice
You get the systems, the training and the tools the day you join, and a year of coaching and community while you put them to work.
If you have been looking for an accounting firm coach, this is coaching with one specific outcome, a CFO Advisory service with paying clients.
Book a Right-Fit Call A 30-minute call with an Enrollment Advisor
500+
active members building their practices
1,100+
CFO Advisors trained
$2,000/mo
average client fee our members charge
NASBA
registered CPE sponsor
Why become a CFO Advisor
Your clients already ask you the questions a CFO Advisor answers
Almost every small business owner wants a business that grows and pays them well. To get there, they need someone who understands financial strategy and someone who can get them to act on the right things. Very few of them have either one.
You already have the first half. A CFO Advisory service lets you charge a monthly retainer for the second, on a repeatable process that takes two to four hours a month per client.
What a CFO Advisor does day to day
A done-with-you mentorship program
Ongoing coaching, a community and the systems, for a full year
If you have looked at hiring an accounting firm coach, this works the same way, with every hour of coaching aimed at one outcome: a CFO Advisory service with paying clients.
Day one
The systems, the training and the tools, the day you join.
Six months
A weekly roundtable with your cohort, led by an executive coach and a CFO Mentor.
One year
Access to the community, training, tools and resources, then a monthly fee to stay on.
Built for bookkeepers, CPAs, tax preparers, employed accountants and fractional CFOs.
Systems for everything
Three systems to find, sign and serve your clients
You run a practice that has already been proven, so you are not inventing one from scratch.
Find them
Lead generation
Start with the clients you have, partner with the bankers, attorneys and insurance advisors who serve the same owners, or meet owners through associations.
Sign them
The Four-Step Conversion Process
A sales process for people who do not like selling, built on real conversations that build real relationships.
Serve them
The One Clear Path
Your repeatable monthly service, delivered in two to four hours a month per client.
Inside The One Clear Path
How you get every client from Point A to Point B
Point AAn owner who is unsure about their numbers and reacting to whatever the month throws at them.
Point BAn owner who understands their business, knows what to focus on, and knows what to do next.
- 01Set targets
- 02Review actuals
- 03Create the forecast
- 04Score it
- 05Build the 30-day action plan
- 06Meet and repeat
You set targets at the start. Steps 2 through 6 repeat every month, with every client, in any industry.
The tools behind the systems
Downloadable tools you make your own and use with every client: the CFO Workbook for your practice, the Client Workbook for every engagement, and templates for service agreements, proposals and promotion.
Coming soonThe Client Center, software built on our methodology where you review each client's numbers every month and build the action plan. The toolkit keeps growing the whole time you are a member.
Excel · Client Workbook
Coming soon: Client CenterSee how these systems would work in your practice
Book a Right-Fit CallGet practical training
Six self-paced courses
You work through them on your own schedule, and your roundtable helps you apply each one to your practice. Every course ends with an exercise, so you finish each one having done something in your practice.
- 01
Foundation Training
An introduction to The CFO Advisory System: what business owners want, what a CFO Advisor does, and the mindset the role takes.
- 02
Client Identification
Your target clients, what they are going through, and the three lead generation strategies, built on relationships.
- 03
Advisory Conversion
The Four-Step Conversion Process, from offering a Right-Fit Meeting to offering the advisory engagement.
- 04
Client Onboarding
Administrative setup, the kickoff meeting before, during and after, and a full walkthrough of the Client Workbook.
- 05
Monthly Performance
The One Clear Path, the twelve cash flow drivers, and what to do before, during and after every monthly meeting.
- 06
Annual Planning
The annual planning meeting, the 5-year plan, and how the full CFO Advisory System fits together.
Become a Certified CFO™
A certification you earn by building the practice
You complete all six courses and their exercises, and you land at least one CFO Advisory client. That last requirement tells a prospect you have built the service and delivered it to a real business.
Certified CFO™ is a registered certification mark filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Real mentors and a real community
A peer group that meets weekly, led by an executive coach and a CFO Mentor
For your first six months you meet weekly with your own cohort. New cohorts start every few weeks, so you join one that fits your schedule.
Carla Greenan
Executive coach. 23 years developing leaders at E&Y.
Kenya Haupt
Executive coach. 31 years developing leaders at PwC.
Ryan Kimler
Lead CFO Mentor. Certified CFO.
Imposter syndrome is the single biggest thing we see stop people. Your coach gets you past it and holds you accountable, and your mentor tells you what a client is going to ask before they ask it.
500+ active members
A moderated member forum where a question posted at night has an answer by morning.
Live masterclasses
Monthly deep dives with a recorded on-demand library, eligible for NASBA CPE credit.
Expert-led workshops
Monthly workshops on communicating your value, mindset and scaling your practice.
What your first year looks like
From sign-up to your first client
Today
Onboard and get started
Access to the community, training, tools and resources immediately.
Within a few weeks
Join your roundtable
Pick a cohort that fits your schedule and meet weekly for six months.
Right away
Implement the systems
Put them in place in your practice, with feedback from your group, coach and mentor.
On average, our most committed members land their first client in four to six months. Some get there faster and some take longer, and the biggest difference is whether you start with a book of clients.
What you'll get
Everything you need to start or add a CFO Advisory service
- Three systems to find, sign and serve CFO Advisory clients.
- Six self-paced courses, from Foundation Training through Annual Planning.
- Pricing and packaging for your new service.
- A weekly roundtable for six months, led by an executive coach and a CFO Mentor.
- Unlimited support through office hours, the forum and your roundtable.
- Tools and templates, including the CFO Workbook and the Client Workbook.
- The Successful CFO Advisor Mindset, training on the beliefs that hold advisors back.
- Live monthly masterclasses, eligible for NASBA CPE credit.
- Monthly expert-led workshops on communication, mindset and scaling.
- The forum and the Hub app on desktop, iPhone and Android.
- A path to Certified CFO™, earned by landing your first client.
- A money-back guarantee if you do the work and do not land a paying client within your first year.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before they join
Still have a question? Ask it on a Right-Fit Call.
How much does The CFO Project cost?
Current pricing, payment options and the guarantee are all on our pricing page.
See pricing and guaranteeHow much time does this take per week?
Plan on at least a few hours a week for the training, one hour with your roundtable, and the assignments. Once you have clients, The One Clear Path takes two to four hours a month per client.
Do I need experience as a CFO Advisor already?
You do not. The program is built for financial professionals who understand the numbers and have never offered advisory work. Foundation Training starts with what business owners want and what a CFO Advisor does.
What exactly is the guarantee?
We back the program with a money-back guarantee. The terms, and what we ask of you, are on our pricing page.
See pricing and guaranteeIs this different from a course I buy once?
It is. We support you the whole way, with six months of weekly coaching and accountability in a peer group led by an executive coach and a CFO Mentor. You also get access to live workshops and masterclasses that keep you growing your skills and your revenue.
How is this different from hiring a business coach for accountants?
Coaches in that space usually work on your practice in general. The CFO Project is built around one outcome, a CFO Advisory service with paying clients, with the systems, tools and training to get there.
What if I already have a full client roster?
Then you are in a strong position. The fastest path to your first CFO Advisory client is usually a client you already serve.
What if I don't have any clients yet?
That is a normal place to start. Lead generation is one of the three systems for exactly this reason, so plan for it to take longer.
Member results
CFO Advisors who started where you are
Straight from our members' Google reviews and the wins board inside the community.
See how this would work in your practice
Schedule a 30-minute call with one of our Enrollment Advisors. We'll show you exactly how we'll help you start a CFO Advisory business in our done-with-you program. You'll also learn how the program works, the investment options, and about our money back guarantee.
Book a Right-Fit CallNot ready for a call yet? Start with a free training session.