budgeting-and-forecastingRuns the planning cycle — annual budget, rolling forecast, consolidation of business unit inputs, and the variance analysis that explains actuals against plan. Use this to build or challenge a budget, run a forecast cycle, consolidate departmental submissions, explain why results diverged from plan,
capital-allocationEvaluates where to spend limited capital — investment appraisal, hurdle rates, payback, and comparing proposals that are not alike. Use this to evaluate an investment or major purchase, compare competing funding requests, set a hurdle rate, decide between building and buying, or review whether past
capital-structure-and-covenantsDecides how the business is financed and what that financing then requires of it — debt versus equity, weighted average cost of capital as a hurdle rate, how much leverage cash flow can carry, and the financial, affirmative and negative covenants, definitions, test dates and cure rights that come at
chief-financial-officerOwns the financial position: planning, budgeting, forecasting, unit economics, cash, and the numbers the business is run and reported on. Use this to build or challenge a budget, model a decision's financial consequence, assess unit economics or runway, evaluate an investment or spend request, set f
cost-accountingEstablishes what something actually costs — fixed, variable and mixed cost behavior, absorption versus variable costing, job-order, process and activity-based methods, breakeven and operating leverage, and price/volume/mix decomposition. Use this to set a price floor, explain why revenue or margin m
financial-modelingBuilds and stress-tests financial models for forecasting, scenario planning, and decision support — revenue build, cost structure, driver logic, and the sensitivities that show where a plan breaks. Use this to model a decision's financial consequence, build a forecast or long-range plan, evaluate an
financial-reporting-and-closeRuns the period-end close and produces reporting — close calendar, reconciliations, accruals, variance analysis, and reporting that gets read. Use this to shorten or stabilize a monthly close, design a close checklist, investigate a variance, structure management reporting, or work out why the numbe
financial-statement-analysisReads a set of financial statements and establishes what changed and why — fluctuation analysis against prior period and against budget, profitability, liquidity, solvency and efficiency ratios, benchmarking, and the non-GAAP measures presented alongside them. Use this to interpret results, review a
internal-controls-and-auditDesigns and tests controls over financial reporting — segregation of duties, approval limits, evidence, and preparing for audit. Use this to design controls for a process, prepare for an external audit, respond to an audit finding, set approval thresholds, or assess where a small team's segregation
revenue-recognitionDetermines when and how revenue is recognized — performance obligations, contract terms that change the answer, and the deal structures that create accounting problems. Use this to work out how a contract should be recognized, review a non-standard deal before it is signed, understand deferred reven
taxStructures the tax questions a growing business faces — corporate income, sales and use, payroll, nexus, and the obligations created by hiring or selling somewhere new. Use this to work out what a new state or country obligates you to, prepare for a tax filing or audit, understand sales tax on your
treasury-and-liquidityManages cash and liquidity — cash forecasting, runway, working capital, banking structure, and currency and counterparty exposure. Use this to build a cash forecast, extend runway, improve working capital, decide where cash should sit, or assess exposure to a bank, currency, or customer concentratio
unit-economicsEstablishes whether the business makes money on each customer or unit — contribution margin, acquisition cost, payback period, lifetime value, and the cohort behavior underneath. Use this to assess whether growth is profitable, evaluate a channel or segment, support a pricing decision, judge how fas