Begin by understanding the business and the quality of its financial information. Then agree on a small number of deliverables, test them with real decisions, and establish who will maintain them. The timeline should reflect your starting point.
Days 1–30: understand and prioritize
Start with the owner’s goals, business model, current commitments, and decisions on the horizon. Review available financial statements, reconciliations, cash balances, receivables, payables, and reporting processes.
The initial output can be a prioritized issue list: what is reliable, what needs cleanup, what poses an immediate cash concern, and which information is missing. If accounting records are incomplete, plan that work explicitly rather than treating uncertain numbers as a planning foundation.
Days 31–60: build a practical working view
Depending on the engagement, the next step may be a short-term cash forecast, a monthly reporting package, or a budget linked to business drivers. Assign an owner to the source information and record the assumptions.
Use one current business question to test the work. For a possible new hire, compare the expected cost, ramp-up period, cash timing, and the effect of slower-than-planned revenue.
Days 61–90: establish the decision routine
- Set a cadence for reviewing cash, financial results, and upcoming decisions.
- Clarify who updates the forecast and approves changes to assumptions.
- Keep a short action list with owners and due dates.
- Agree on which measures will show whether the engagement is useful.
Define deliverables before work begins
Specify the reports, meetings, entities, systems, and advisory questions included in the scope. Identify the information the business must provide and how access will be managed. Separate recurring work from cleanup or special projects.
The 90-day structure is an example planning framework, not a promise that every business will achieve the same result on the same schedule.
Review what should happen next
At the end of the initial period, evaluate what is working and what still depends on unreliable data or unclear ownership. Adjust the scope around the next set of business needs. Financial leadership is most useful when it becomes part of how decisions are made.
General educational information. This guide does not determine the treatment of your particular tax, accounting, or financial situation. Contact us to discuss the facts and applicable requirements.
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