Recent Posts
AI and Leadership: The CFO’s Opportunity to Create More Than Efficiency
Artificial intelligence amplifies experience. Leadership converts it to the right results. The right results improve the lives of customers and employees while delivering better returns for business owners and investors. Experienced CFOs lead business teams to think...
Transition Planning: How to Hand Off Your Business Without Disrupting Operations
Closing the deal isn't the finish line. Whether you're selling your business, preparing for retirement, bringing in new leadership, or completing an internal succession plan, the transition period is often what determines whether the business continues to thrive. Even...
Vendor Relations: What Do New Owners Mean for Our Key Partners?
Whenever a company changes hands, vendors and partners immediately start asking the same question: "What does this mean for us?" And frankly, it's a fair question. New ownership almost always brings some level of change, sometimes subtle, sometimes significant. For...
Leadership Teams: Who Stays, Who Goes, and How Do We Handle It with Grace?
One of the hardest responsibilities a CEO faces isn't hiring a leadership team. It's knowing when that team needs to evolve. In the early stages of a business, leaders often surround themselves with people who are willing to take risks, wear multiple hats, and help...
Preparation Is Key: Maximizing Value Before a Business Sale
For a CFO, few moments carry more weight than the months leading up to a company sale. Whether your organization is preparing for a strategic acquisition, a private equity recapitalization, or a full exit to a financial buyer, the work you do before the first buyer...
We Got to Close! Wait…There’s Still More to Do?
For many business owners, closing day feels like the finish line. Years of building the company culminate in a signed purchase agreement, funds are transferred and everyone celebrates. It's understandable to think the hard part is over. But in many transactions,...
Earnouts: What They Are, Whether You Want One, and Where They Go Wrong
Earnouts are one of the most common, and most misunderstood structures in M&A. They’re typically positioned to “align interests” between buyer and seller. In reality, they often do something very different: they shift execution risk back to the seller after the...
Audit or Review: What Founders Need to Know Before It Matters
I hear this question from business owners all the time: “Do we actually need an audit, or can we just do a review?” It usually comes up for a reason and underneath the question is always the same concern: Is this really necessary, or just expensive accounting noise?...
The CFO’s Guide to Letters of Intent (LOIs): Negotiation, Traps, and Exclusivity
In middle-market M&A transactions, the Letter of Intent (LOI) is often treated as a preliminary document, something to move the process forward before the “real” legal agreement is negotiated. That thinking is a mistake. For CFOs and financial leaders involved in...
The Role of the CFO in Due Diligence: From Scorekeeper to Deal Architect
When most people think about due diligence, they picture endless document requests, spreadsheets and late-night emails from advisors. While that's certainly part of the process, it misses what is actually happening behind the scenes. Due diligence is not simply an...