CFO & Accounting
Fractional CFO & Outsourced Controller Services in Raleigh, NC
A monthly close you can count on, and the forward-looking financial leadership built on top of it — flat monthly fee, from the same CPA who prepares your return.
Already need help with the return too? See our business tax services →
How the Two Layers Work
Controller first, then CFO
The controller layeris the reliable close — reconciled books and real financial statements delivered by Business Day 10, or that month is free. It's the foundation everything else stands on, and it's where the Protea Method places stages two and three: Compliant but Blind, and In Control.
The CFO layeris the forward-looking work — cash forecasting, KPIs, pricing, capital strategy — and it only works once the numbers underneath it are right. That's stages four and five: Steering, and Built to Value.
Most engagements start with the controller layer and add CFO work once the close is dependable. See the full five-stage framework for where your business sits today.
Know What You're Buying
Bookkeeping vs. Controller vs. CFO
These aren't three versions of the same thing. Each answers a different question — and serves a different moment in your business.
| Bookkeeping Commodity baseline | Controller Protea operates here | Fractional CFO Protea's CFO practice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Recording the past | Controlling the present | Steering the future |
| Answers | "Are the transactions recorded?" | "Can I trust these numbers — and are they on time?" | "Where are we headed, and how do we fund it?" |
| Scope | Transaction entry & categorization, bank/card reconciliation, AP/AR data entry, payroll processing | Month-end close, GAAP-basis financials, internal controls, reporting package, cash management, systems & process design | Forecasting & FP&A, budget vs. actuals, KPIs & unit economics, capital / banking & surety strategy, pricing, board- and lender-ready reporting, M&A readiness |
| You get | Clean, categorized books | Timely, reliable financials by Business Day 10 | Decisions, direction, and access to capital |
| Analogy | Keeps the score | Enforces the rules | Calls the plays |
Bookkeeping
Commodity baseline
Focus
Recording the past
Answers
"Are the transactions recorded?"
Scope
Transaction entry & categorization, bank/card reconciliation, AP/AR data entry, payroll processing
You get
Clean, categorized books
Analogy
Keeps the score
Controller
Protea operates here
Focus
Controlling the present
Answers
"Can I trust these numbers — and are they on time?"
Scope
Month-end close, GAAP-basis financials, internal controls, reporting package, cash management, systems & process design
You get
Timely, reliable financials by Business Day 10
Analogy
Enforces the rules
Fractional CFO
Protea's CFO practice
Focus
Steering the future
Answers
"Where are we headed, and how do we fund it?"
Scope
Forecasting & FP&A, budget vs. actuals, KPIs & unit economics, capital / banking & surety strategy, pricing, board- and lender-ready reporting, M&A readiness
You get
Decisions, direction, and access to capital
Analogy
Calls the plays
How the Two Halves Connect
The close feeds the return. The return shapes next year.
Clean monthly books make the return accurate and on time. The return, in turn, surfaces the decisions that matter for next year — entity structure, owner compensation, timing, and where you owe across state lines. When the same CPA sits on both sides, tax planning starts in June instead of March, and your CFO-level decisions are made with the tax consequences already in view.
What We Handle
Every layer of the finance function, under one fixed fee
Fractional CFO
Forecasting, FP&A, KPIs, pricing, and capital strategy — the forward-looking layer, once the close underneath it is reliable.
Learn moreOutsourced Controller
The real monthly close — reconciled, reviewed, and delivered by Business Day 10, every month, guaranteed.
Learn more13-Week Cash Flow Forecasting
A rolling, weekly-updated forecast that shows a cash crunch three weeks out instead of the week payroll is due.
Learn moreConstruction CFO & Accounting
Job costing, WIP schedules, retainage, and bonding capacity — where Protea was built.
Learn moreLender & Surety Financial Packages
The reporting package banks and surety underwriters actually trust — built, not assembled the night before a renewal.
Learn moreMulti-Entity & Intercompany Accounting
Consolidated and entity-level reporting for holding structures, OpCo/PropCo, and multi-LLC owners.
Learn moreExit & Transaction Advisory
The CFO capstone — sell-side readiness, QoE prep, and deal modeling, built on numbers you can already trust.
Learn moreWho This Is For
Built for businesses that need more than bookkeeping
Construction & trades
Job costing, WIP, and bonding capacity need to be tracked at the job level, not reconstructed at year-end.
Multi-entity real estate
Holding structures, intercompany transactions, and consolidated reporting across multiple LLCs.
Owner-operated businesses at $1M–$25M
Real enough to need senior financial leadership, not yet large enough to justify a full-time hire.
Businesses heading into a loan, bonding increase, or sale
The numbers you have today won't carry the conversation you need to have tomorrow.
Businesses that just lost their bookkeeper or controller
A messy handoff and a backlog that needs stabilizing fast, then systems that keep it that way.
How We Price It
Flat monthly fee, scoped to your business
Controller engagements start at $2,500/month. CFO engagements start at $5,000/month. Both are scoped to your entities, transaction volume, and reporting needs — and quoted as a custom fixed fee within one business day. Monthly clients get a bundle discount on tax work.
What We Don't Do
Being direct about the boundaries
We don't perform audits, reviews, or compilations.Protea is not an attest firm. If your lender or investor needs attested financial statements, we'll help you find a firm that provides them.
We don't bill hourly. Every engagement is a flat monthly fee, set before work begins.
We don't hand your account to a rotating staff. The CPA who scopes your engagement is the one in your books every month.
CFO & Accounting Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What business owners actually ask before hiring us for CFO or controller work.
Get a fixed-fee CFO & accounting quote
Answer a few questions about your business. You'll have a tailored, fixed-fee quote from Andrew within one business day.