Milwaukee Chicago Est. 2014
Halford & Pierce places senior partners into interim CFO engagements for mid-market companies under pressure. 8 to 36 months. Leadership in the seat, not advisory. Accountability for the outcome.
The mandate
We do one thing: take the CFO seat for the duration of an inflection. The engagements differ; the work is the same.
I.
Cash, controls, and reporting in the first thirty days. Bank covenant management, working-capital structure, the weekly cash discipline a board can trust.
II.
Operating model rebuild. FP&A standup. Finance team restructure. The work that gets a company through the inflection without the permanent CFO yet on the bench.
III.
Series C or D readiness. Investor relations cadence. M&A integration. The finance leadership a venture-stage or PE-backed company needs through the inflection.
How we work
Most consultancies write a memo and leave. We do the opposite. A Halford & Pierce partner takes the CFO chair on day one, runs the finance organization from inside it, and owns the outcome until a permanent CFO is placed and transitioned.
The model is built for the inflections a sitting CFO usually cannot handle alone: a sudden departure, a delayed raise, a covenant breach, a roll-up, a sponsor exit. We arrive in a week. We are gone when the work is done.
Partner-led intake call, NDA, scope letter, bank and lender briefing, board introduction. The partner walks in the door within 7 business days of engagement.
Cash, controls, and reporting. Weekly board update, 13-week rolling cash forecast, covenant compliance dashboard. The finance organization is operating under partner-level governance by day 30.
Operating model, team rebuild, transaction support, whatever the mandate requires. 8 to 36 months. Partner remains in the seat. Internal candidates mentored if the board has named successors.
We coordinate with the executive search firm, hand over to the named successor, and stay engaged through the first board meeting under the new CFO. Then we exit.
Capabilities
Nine deliverables that compose the partner mandate. Engagements pull from this list as the situation requires.
01
Mandate-specific finance leadership for inflections, transitions, and turnarounds. Partner sits in the chair for the duration.
02
Working-capital discipline, bank covenant management, lender briefings, 13-week rolling cash forecast.
03
Forecast architecture, KPI design, board-pack discipline, monthly close cadence under partner-level governance.
04
Close discipline, internal controls, segregation of duties, ERP and reporting-stack rationalization.
05
Operating model rebuild, finance team restructure, sponsor-mandated value creation programs.
06
Day-one finance, post-merger integration, ERP consolidation, synergy tracking through the value-capture window.
07
Bank relationships, debt restructure, refinancing support, cash-forecast governance with weekly board reporting.
08
Board-pack design, sponsor reporting cadence, lender and investor communication standards.
09
Quarterly cadence, equity-investor communication, fundraise data room standup, lender briefings.
Engagements
Founded 2014. Partner-only delivery model. The numbers below reflect the firm to date.
Partners average 22 years of senior finance leadership across Fortune 500, mid-market private equity portfolios, and venture-stage SaaS.
Came in for 9 months as interim CFO during a delayed Series C raise. Restructured the FP&A function, rebuilt the data room, closed the round at 1.4× the prior valuation. Permanent CFO placed by the search firm in month 7, transitioned at month 9.
18-month engagement during a roll-up integration. 3 acquisitions in 12 months, ERP consolidation, finance team cut and rebuilt. Exited successfully at the sponsor's hold-period close.
12 months bridging the retirement of a 32-year CFO. Worked alongside the family principals, mentored 2 internal candidates, transitioned to one of them at month 11. $4M+ in working capital recovered through receivables and inventory discipline.
Full engagement list available under NDA at request.
Begin a conversation
Initial calls are partner-led, thirty minutes, no obligation. We will be direct about whether the engagement fits and whether the timing works. If the answer is no, we will tell you that, and we keep a short list of peer firms we trust.
By telephone
(414) 555 0162Direct line to the partner on intake duty. Same-week call back, often same-day.
By email
intake@halfordpierce.comBrief description of the situation and timing. Replies inside one business day, signed by the responding partner.
In person
770 N Water Street, Suite 2400
