Sector of demonstrated depth

Professional Services Firms

Project-based revenue, billable utilization, and realization rates make professional services finance fundamentally different. Catalyst brings the discipline of a Wall Street operator to firms where the unit economics live in a timesheet.

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Where it usually hurts

You’re probably here because…

You can't tell which client engagements actually make money — gross margin lies inside utilization and write-downs.

You're growing top-line but partner take-home is shrinking and nobody can explain why.

Your billing, time tracking, and accounting systems don't talk — so the P&L lags reality by 30+ days.

How we engage inside this sector

The Catalyst playbook for Professional Services Firms

Project / client profitability discipline

Tear apart utilization, realization, and effective rate by client and discipline. Surface the loss-leader engagements you didn't know existed.

Partner / owner economics reporting

Build the partner P&L, distribution model, and tax planning view that owner-operators actually need — separate from the operating P&L.

Systems integration: time, billing, GL

Glue the practice management system to the GL so monthly close reflects work delivered, not just invoices issued.

Outcomes you can expect

Client-level gross margin reported monthly, not annually
Utilization and realization KPIs the leadership team trusts
Partner economics view tied to operating decisions

Anti-commoditization

How to vet anyone you talk to in this sector

Metric	Industry Red Flag	Catalyst CFO Advisors
Years in Finance Leadership	5 - 10 years; often an ex junior or non-exec finance FTE	25+ years across Wall Street, asset management, and CFO/COO seats since 1999
AI & Automation Depth	"We use ChatGPT" — no track record building or running AI in production	~10 years embedding AI in finance ops; venture work spans AI compliance, healthcare/telehealth, AI scheduling, and the AI/automation practice inside Catalyst
Founder-Operator Experience	Zero — first-time fractional, never sat in the exec seat	12+ years running Catalyst plus CFO/finance leadership at venture-backed, PE-sponsored, and privately funded companies across multiple industries
Capital Raised & Deployed	Has only modeled or advised — never closed a round	>$25M secured for SMB clients; institutional Series A and strategic capital across multiple ventures
Wall Street Pedigree	No institutional or capital markets experience	Partner at a boutique institutional equity asset manager; helped grow firm AUM from $3B to $15B; sell-side equity research at global bank franchises
CFO + COO Scope	Lacks senior finance experience, little or no operational experience	Both functions; packaged as Fractional CFO, Fractional COO, Interim CFO, and Interim COO
Crisis Leadership	Has not led through a market collapse, bank failure, or cyber attack	Macro (since 1999): recessions, the GFC, COVID-era disruption, inflation/rate cycles, banking-system stress. Company-specific: cyber attacks, liquidity strain, and national payments-infrastructure outages
Time-to-Value	Weeks of "discovery" before producing anything useful	Two-week onramp; first operating model in days; close cycle reduced from 15 to <3 days at clients
One-Sided Commitment	Tries to lock into 6–12 month engagements	All CCA contracts are month-to-month — if we don't produce ROI, we don't get paid.

Other sectors of demonstrated depth

VC-Backed Startups

Seed-to-Series-C teams that need investor-grade reporting without a $400K full-time CFO.

Explore the sector

Founder-Led Lower Middle Market

$10M-$100M owner-operated companies bridging from gut-feel to systems-driven decisions.

Explore the sector

PE Portfolio Companies

Sponsor-backed platforms and add-ons needing operating CFO depth between portfolio CFOs.

Explore the sector

Ready to put a real CFO at the table for your professional services firms engagement?

Schedule a 30-minute discovery call. We'll walk through your situation and tell you straight whether fractional, interim, or something else is the right next move.

Schedule a Discovery Call

Sector of demonstrated depth

Professional Services Firms

Schedule a discovery call Browse services

Where it usually hurts

You’re probably here because…

You can't tell which client engagements actually make money — gross margin lies inside utilization and write-downs.

You're growing top-line but partner take-home is shrinking and nobody can explain why.

Your billing, time tracking, and accounting systems don't talk — so the P&L lags reality by 30+ days.

How we engage inside this sector

The Catalyst playbook for Professional Services Firms

Project / client profitability discipline

Tear apart utilization, realization, and effective rate by client and discipline. Surface the loss-leader engagements you didn't know existed.

Partner / owner economics reporting

Build the partner P&L, distribution model, and tax planning view that owner-operators actually need — separate from the operating P&L.

Systems integration: time, billing, GL

Glue the practice management system to the GL so monthly close reflects work delivered, not just invoices issued.

Outcomes you can expect

Client-level gross margin reported monthly, not annually
Utilization and realization KPIs the leadership team trusts
Partner economics view tied to operating decisions

Anti-commoditization

How to vet anyone you talk to in this sector

Metric	Industry Red Flag	Catalyst CFO Advisors
Years in Finance Leadership	5 - 10 years; often an ex junior or non-exec finance FTE	25+ years across Wall Street, asset management, and CFO/COO seats since 1999
AI & Automation Depth	"We use ChatGPT" — no track record building or running AI in production	~10 years embedding AI in finance ops; venture work spans AI compliance, healthcare/telehealth, AI scheduling, and the AI/automation practice inside Catalyst
Founder-Operator Experience	Zero — first-time fractional, never sat in the exec seat	12+ years running Catalyst plus CFO/finance leadership at venture-backed, PE-sponsored, and privately funded companies across multiple industries
Capital Raised & Deployed	Has only modeled or advised — never closed a round	>$25M secured for SMB clients; institutional Series A and strategic capital across multiple ventures
Wall Street Pedigree	No institutional or capital markets experience	Partner at a boutique institutional equity asset manager; helped grow firm AUM from $3B to $15B; sell-side equity research at global bank franchises
CFO + COO Scope	Lacks senior finance experience, little or no operational experience	Both functions; packaged as Fractional CFO, Fractional COO, Interim CFO, and Interim COO
Crisis Leadership	Has not led through a market collapse, bank failure, or cyber attack	Macro (since 1999): recessions, the GFC, COVID-era disruption, inflation/rate cycles, banking-system stress. Company-specific: cyber attacks, liquidity strain, and national payments-infrastructure outages
Time-to-Value	Weeks of "discovery" before producing anything useful	Two-week onramp; first operating model in days; close cycle reduced from 15 to <3 days at clients
One-Sided Commitment	Tries to lock into 6–12 month engagements	All CCA contracts are month-to-month — if we don't produce ROI, we don't get paid.

Ready to put a real CFO at the table for your professional services firms engagement?

Schedule a 30-minute discovery call. We'll walk through your situation and tell you straight whether fractional, interim, or something else is the right next move.

Schedule a Discovery Call