Embedded, CFO-level leadership for growing and transitioning organizations. Sized to what the business needs now, without the commitment of a full-time hire before the moment calls for one.
Most finance functions are sized for the business that existed when they were built, not the one running today. The patterns below surface first when a function has outgrown its moment, and leadership usually senses them long before anyone names them.
These symptoms are rarely a people problem. They point to a function that has outgrown the moment it was built for.
The work I do is building the reporting, controls, and systems that let leadership trust their own numbers and decide with confidence, and telling the finance story clearly enough for whoever needs to see it.
I'm a hands-on finance executive who steps in to lead finance, taking ownership of decisions and outcomes and putting the infrastructure in place that carries an organization to its next stage.
For more than two decades, I've led in situations where growth, complexity, or change outpaced the systems in place, and built the financial and operational structure the next stage required. My experience spans nonprofit and private-sector organizations, including real estate, international development, and a large nonprofit with global operations. I've worked across regulated, audit-intensive environments as well as businesses navigating significant transition and restructuring.
Different sectors, different challenges, the same work, which is exactly why the playbook travels: building the operating backbone, visibility, and discipline that turn the numbers into a clear view leadership can steer by, and leading from inside the operation, not beside it.
Most finance leaders lean toward one or the other. I move between the boardroom and the details, working with founders or board members on strategy, and just as comfortably getting in the weeds to steady the monthly close, tighten the chart of accounts, or bring discipline to cash. The value is in the connection: I bring together the plan and the execution, so the strategy reflects what's actually happening on the ground.
I've reported to owners, CEOs, boards, lenders, investors, donors, and auditors, and I know what each of them needs to see. I translate the numbers into the story each one is actually asking about, and maintain the reporting and controls that keep their confidence.
My track record is long tenures where I saw the work through to results, not a diagnosis handed off to someone else to run. I build for where the business is going, not just where it's been, so the systems and processes keep working as it continues to grow.
Two ways in: an ongoing seat on the leadership team, or a defined piece of work with a clear end. Which one fits depends on what you need, and how much of it.
Full finance ownership, building and operating the finance function as an active member of the leadership team: reporting, KPIs, forecasting, budgeting, cash, controls, compliance, risk, systems, process. You get a CFO, not just a project.
A standing CFO seat that runs on a few days a month. Present for the decisions that matter and the work between them, without the cost or commitment of a permanent hire. For the long term, at a level of involvement the business can sustain.
High-touch, near-full-time CFO leadership for organizations that need serious hands-on involvement but still want flexibility over a permanent hire. The full depth of the seat, at a heavier cadence, for as long as the situation demands.
Executive finance leadership layered on top of a function that already works: strategic guidance, reporting, planning, board support, and the judgment behind the big decisions. Best when your close, books, and day-to-day finance are already solid.
A rapid, structured assessment of the finance function, operational workflows, reporting, and key risks. You come away with findings, priorities, and an implementation roadmap. Partially creditable toward a longer engagement.
A fixed-scope engagement to design and install specific finance infrastructure: reporting, SOPs, controls, forecasting, dashboards, workflows, or other operational finance initiatives. Built, documented, and handed off to your team to run.
Full-time executive leadership on a contract basis for a transition, a restructuring, a sudden leadership gap, or any time-sensitive stretch that needs a steady, senior hand now. Scoped to the situation.
I work with leaders who want a senior finance partner without building a full-time executive seat around one, and with organizations where the finance function needs to perform at a higher level than it has before. Whatever the sector or stage, what they share is a need for experienced finance leadership that can operate at both the strategic and practical level, and an appreciation for an approach grounded in practicality, collaboration, and taking ownership beyond traditional boundaries.
Tell me a little about where things stand, and we'll set up a time to talk.
miri@emberadvisoryny.com