Recent Posts
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...
Sell-Side Quality of Earnings: The CFO’s Opportunity to Control the Narrative
A Quality of Earnings (QoE) report is often viewed as a diligence requirement. In reality, it’s one of the most strategic tools a company can leverage during a sale process. Because buyers are not simply evaluating EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes,...
When Should I Implement a New System?
Many businesses wait far too long to implement new systems. At first, existing processes seem manageable. Teams create temporary fixes, build additional spreadsheets, and rely on manual workarounds to keep things moving. Spreadsheets multiply. Manual work increases....
Virtual Data Rooms Done Right: Best Practices for Transactions and Capital Raises
Management teams often turn to the CFO to collect and manage the business information shared with prospective investors, lenders, or buyers. As a fractional CFO, I have built and managed many transaction data rooms and have seen how strongly this step influences...
I Missed a Business Target — Now What?
Every business misses targets at some point. Revenue comes in short. A launch doesn’t convert the way it modeled. A deal you were counting on moves to next quarter. It happens in early-stage companies. It happens in mature ones. It happens even when the strategy is...
Should I Invest Before or After Growth?
One of the most common questions we hear from business owners is simple: “Do we invest now to drive growth, or wait until the growth is already happening?” It sounds like a timing question, but it’s really a capital allocation decision under uncertainty. Both...
The Overlooked Risk in Business Exits: Communication
Florida CFO Group partners have led numerous full-cycle transactions, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in realized value for business owners. We recognize that exiting a business is often viewed as a defining milestone — the realization of worth after years...