River Edge Advisors is a CPA-led fractional CFO team for growing companies nationwide: a fractional CFO, a controller and a dedicated accounting staff (bookkeeping, AP, AR and payroll management) working as one team, backed by a firm of 75+, so you get senior finance judgment and the people who do the work in one engagement.
One person can't be your whole finance function
A fractional CFO on their own can build a forecast and sit in on the board meeting. But the forecast is only as good as the books under it, and someone still has to reconcile the accounts, pay the bills, chase the receivables and close the month. When that work sits with a part-time bookkeeper or a software rule, the CFO spends their hours fixing numbers instead of using them.
A fractional CFO team closes that gap. The same firm that keeps your books also closes the month, prepares the reporting and advises on what to do next. Nobody has to translate between three vendors, and nothing waits on one person's calendar.
What a River Edge fractional CFO team does
Fractional CFO
Forecasting and cash planning, budgets, board and investor reporting, lender conversations, pricing and margin analysis, and a senior partner for the decisions that move the business.
Controller
A monthly close on a fixed date, accruals and reconciliations, multi-entity consolidation, internal controls, and financial statements you can hand to a bank, an investor or an auditor.
Accounting staff
Day-to-day bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivable and collections, and payroll and benefits managed with your provider. This is where fractional bookkeeping lives: part of the team, not a separate vendor.
Dashboards and tools
Live dashboards and custom reporting built on the books the team closes, so the numbers on the screen match the numbers in the financials.
Already looking specifically for bookkeeping? See fractional bookkeeping services, which run inside the same team.
Fractional CFO team vs. the alternatives
There are four common ways a growing company gets finance leadership. Here is how they differ by model.
| River Edge fractional CFO team | Solo fractional CFO | Bookkeeping-only service | Full-time CFO hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | A CPA-led team: CFO, controller and accounting staff | One senior person | Bookkeepers, often working from software rules | One executive, who still needs a team under them |
| Monthly close and reconciliations | Done by the team, on a fixed date | Usually left to your bookkeeper | Yes, transaction-level | Managed by the CFO, done by staff you hire |
| Forecasting, board and lender reporting | Included, built on books the same team closed | Yes | Limited or none | Yes |
| AP, AR and payroll management | Available in the same engagement | No | Sometimes | Needs more hires |
| Coverage when someone is out | A team of 75+ behind your account | Depends on one person | Varies | Depends on one person |
| Industry depth | Healthcare, real estate, MCA and alternative lending, logistics, tech | Varies by individual | Generalist | Varies by hire |
| Commitment | A monthly engagement sized to the work | Part-time contract | Monthly subscription | Salary, benefits and a search |
A comparison by model, not by firm: every option has its place. The River Edge model fits companies that want senior finance judgment and the people who do the daily work, in one engagement, without building a department.
What the team puts in front of you every month
- Close date. The day each month's books are final. Late books mean decisions made on old numbers.
- Cash and 13-week forecast. What is coming in and going out, week by week, so a cash crunch is visible weeks ahead.
- Gross margin by line of business. Which customers, locations, products or lanes actually make money.
- Receivables aging and days sales outstanding. How quickly revenue turns into cash, and who is slipping.
- Budget versus actual. Where the month landed against plan, and why.
- Lender and investor metrics. Covenants, borrowing base, runway or distributions, depending on how you are financed.
What this looks like in practice
A twelve-entity close, cut from six weeks to ten days
A healthcare group with twelve entities needed six weeks to close the books after each month-end. We handled the accounting and reporting across all twelve entities, and the close went from six weeks to ten days.
Read the case study →SPV accounting and reporting, without an internal finance team
A client needed accounting and reporting for an SPV. We handled the accounting and reporting for the SPV, and the client did not need to hire an internal finance team.
Read the case study →More results, including a logistics company whose margin rose 9 points and an alternative-finance lender with about 180 loans reconciled monthly, are on our case studies page.
Built around how your industry makes money
The team brings industry depth, not a generic template: healthcare groups and home care agencies, real estate owners, investors and syndicators and property managers, MCA funders and alternative lenders, logistics and trucking companies, and technology and SaaS companies. River Edge manages accounting and back office for 40,000+ real estate units. We work with clients nationwide from our office in Cedarhurst, New York.
Three steps, no rebuild required
You don't need to clean anything up before talking to us.
- Free review of last month's books. Send us last month's financials. We walk you through what stands out: what doesn't tie, where cash is going, and what we would fix first.
- Cleanup and setup. If the history needs work, we catch up and correct it, set up the chart of accounts and reporting around how your business actually runs, and fix the close calendar.
- Monthly rhythm. Books closed on a fixed date, a reporting package you can act on, and fractional CFO time for planning, lenders, investors and the board as you need it.
Questions owners ask
What is a fractional CFO team?
A fractional CFO team is an outside finance department you share instead of hire: a part-time CFO for strategy and reporting, a controller for the monthly close, and accounting staff for bookkeeping, payables, receivables and payroll. At River Edge Advisors the whole team is CPA-led and comes from one firm of 75+ people.
How is a fractional CFO team different from a solo fractional CFO?
A solo fractional CFO gives you senior judgment but usually relies on your own bookkeeper for the books underneath. A fractional CFO team also does the daily accounting and the close, so the forecasts and reports are built on books the same team keeps and reconciles.
Is a fractional CFO team the same as outsourced bookkeeping?
No. Bookkeeping is one part of it. A bookkeeping-only service records transactions; a fractional CFO team also closes the month, prepares management, lender and board reporting, forecasts cash and advises on decisions.
When should a company switch from a fractional CFO team to a full-time CFO?
Usually when finance leadership is needed every day: frequent capital raises, a large internal finance staff to manage, or public-company reporting. Many companies use a fractional team for years before that point, and we can help hire and hand over when it comes.
Do you work with companies outside New York?
Yes. River Edge Advisors is based in Cedarhurst, New York, and works with clients nationwide.
How do we get started?
Request a free review of last month's books. We will walk you through what stands out and what we would fix first, with no obligation.
See what a finance team would change
Send us last month's books. We'll walk you through what stands out: what doesn't tie, where cash is going, and what a CFO, controller and accounting team would fix first.
- → Tell us about your business and the questions you want to answer.
- → We discuss what we see: where cash is going, what doesn't tie, what we'd fix first.
- → A follow-up conversation to walk through it. No obligation either way.