The numbers need a leader too.
Strategic finance with you, not at you. Kristina Walls leads Stoneforge's financial practice – a part-time CFO and a full-time thinker, embedded in your leadership team, turning the forecast, the cash position, and the decisions ahead of you into plain language.
"A great forecast doesn't predict the future – it helps you shape it."
The business is growing – but the financial signals are mixed.
Revenue is up, but cash feels unpredictable. Margins seem strong, yet profit isn't showing up where it matters. Forecasts get made, but they don't guide the decisions. Every founder eventually faces this turning point – the moment when instinct alone is no longer enough to lead. Instinct got you here; insight takes you further.
Your numbers shouldn't confuse you – they should guide you.
Not sure the numbers are where it's stuck? The 30-second test points you to the right conversation →
Your part-time CFO, full-time thinker.
Most owner-led businesses have the books kept and the taxes filed, and still make their biggest decisions in the dark – because bookkeeping records the past, and the decisions ahead of you need someone thinking about the future. That's the seat Kristina takes: embedded in your leadership team, the translator between the numbers and the goals, a strategic voice when things are moving fast.
The point is never the report. The point is that when you're weighing the hire, the price change, the loan, or the acquisition, someone who knows your numbers cold is sitting on your side of the table – and you understand every word she says, because plain language is the discipline.
Eight kinds of clarity, one seat.
Cash-flow forecasting
“We're making money – so why does cash still feel tight?”
A live view of the months ahead, so the tight week is seen coming in April.
Scenario planning
“We don't know what will happen – so we're hesitant to make a move.”
The hire, the price change, the slow quarter – played out in the numbers before you commit to any of them.
KPI development & dashboards
“We have no idea what's working – or when we're winning.”
The handful of measures that actually steer your business, on one screen the team reads without an interpreter.
Unit economics & margin clarity
“We're growing, but our margins are shrinking – and we don't know why.”
What each kind of work really earns after everything it consumes – so pricing stops being folklore.
Budgeting & planning
“We build budgets – but no one uses them.”
A plan the business actually runs against, revisited on a rhythm.
Capital strategy
“We're not sure if – or how – we should raise capital.”
When to fund growth from cash, when to borrow, and on what terms – decided ahead of the need.
M&A support
“We don't know if this deal makes sense – or how to evaluate it.”
Buying, selling, or weighing either: the diligence, the modeling, and a steady head through the process.
SBA loan readiness
“We're applying for an SBA loan – but we're not sure what they're really looking for.”
The package, the projections, and the story a lender needs – prepared properly the first time.
One method, seen through the numbers.
The financial practice runs on the same cadence spine as the revenue work – because a rhythm that holds is what turns advice into change, whichever side of the business it lands on.
Weekly checkpoints
What moved in the numbers, what it means, and what happens next – short, standing, never skipped.
Monthly priorities
The results read honestly, and the one or two financial decisions that matter most right now, made.
Quarterly reviews
A step back: the plan against reality, the model against the market, and the aims reset where they've drifted.
What does a Fractional CFO actually do?
A fractional CFO gives an owner-led business senior financial leadership without the full-time cost – embedded in the leadership team, guiding decisions, stress-testing plans, and making sure the financial strategy matches the ambition. At Stoneforge that seat is held by Kristina Walls: cash-flow forecasting, scenario planning, KPIs, unit economics, budgeting, capital strategy, and M&A support.
How is a fractional CFO different from a bookkeeper or controller?
Bookkeeping records the past; a controller keeps it accurate. A fractional CFO thinks about the future. We are not a bookkeeping firm, we're not here to retroactively explain what already happened, and we're not a stopgap controller brought in to plug holes – the work is shaping the decisions ahead of you: the hire, the price change, the loan, the acquisition.
How do fractional CFO engagements run?
On the same cadence spine as all Stoneforge work: weekly checkpoints on what moved in the numbers and what happens next, monthly priorities where the one or two financial decisions that matter most get made, and quarterly reviews that put the plan against reality. Remote-first, embedded alongside your existing bookkeeper or accountant – we don't replace what works.
What does a fractional CFO cost?
It is heavily scope-dependent, and most engagements land between $2,000 and $8,000 a month. Where yours sits in that range comes down to what the seat is carrying: the depth of forecasting and planning the business needs, how many decisions are in motion – the hire, the price change, the loan, the acquisition – and the cadence the work demands. Against the cost of a full-time CFO, you're paying for the strategic hours you actually need, and none you don't.
Who is a fractional CFO wrong for?
A business that just needs the books kept has a bookkeeping need, not a leadership one. And if what you want is a one-off model or a document for the bank with no intention of running against it, the rhythm – which is where the value lives – would be wasted. The fit is owner-led businesses, $1–20M, facing decisions the current numbers can't answer.
Owners on the financial practice.
"Waterhouse engaged Kristina as a fractional CFO and financial planning and analysis advisor at a critical juncture in our professional service firm's life cycle. Beyond instituting financial controls and a more rigorous revenue and expense forecasting process, Kristina has served as an invaluable thought partner guiding hiring, compensation, benefits and other strategic planning initiatives critical to scaling our firm. I recommend her without hesitation!"
"As the CEO of Cloudality, I hired Kristina to add value to our startup which had no operational KPIS or long range planning when I stepped into the role. Working with Kristina and the Stoneforge team has been transformative for our business. From the beginning, Kristina brought not just financial expertise, but a true strategic lens — helping us understand the story behind our numbers and use that insight to make better, faster decisions."
"Kristina has been supporting FotoFetch as CFO for the past 4 years and has been critical to our daily operations and management. I highly recommend Stoneforge for any businesses financial and business management needs. The experience set of Kristina's financial knowledge paired with James GTM and business acumen will be a significant asset to any operation looking to expand its brain trust in those areas."
"I reached out to Kristina to help me with cash flow and financial strategy for my consultancy. Kristina took the time to understand my enterprise aims. She guided me through a process that has demystified the financial management of my business. The positive impact of this has been immediate."
"Kristina works with me on the financial development of our business and our conversations are something I always look forward to – collaborative and insightful. The information they give me is great and the dashboards are fantastic."
Kristina Walls has spent more than twenty years in strategic financial leadership – founding and running her own financial consulting firm, and holding finance leadership roles inside large technology businesses before that. What owners notice first, though, isn't the résumé. It's the translation: complexity in, clarity out, every single time.
If the numbers feel murky, the next step is a conversation.
Tell us what you're trying to decide, and we'll tell you plainly whether this is the right fit.
The first conversation is about your aims and your numbers – and if a fractional CFO isn't what you need, Kristina will say so and point you at what is.