A fractional CFO for family-managed businesses, where the numbers have to be neutral.
In a family business the finance function is not only about control. It is the one place where every branch of the family, and the professional managers around them, can see the same facts. We build that function: an MIS all sides trust, group cash managed as one pool, related-party dealings documented, and a finance team ready for the next generation.
Decisions on instinct worked at ₹20 crore. At ₹100 crore across four entities, they cost money.
The first generation built the business on relationships and judgement, and the books were kept to satisfy the auditor. Now there are three or four companies, a second generation with MBAs, professional managers who want targets, and a bank that lends to each entity separately. Cash sits idle in one company while another borrows at 11%. Family salaries, rent and loans move between entities without agreements. The MIS, where it exists, is the founder's memory.
None of this is mismanagement. It is the natural result of growing faster than the finance function. But it is also where value leaks: in interest paid on cash the group already has, in margins nobody measures by branch, in a succession that stalls because the next generation cannot see what they are inheriting.
A fractional CFO is well suited to this stage. Senior enough to be listened to by the founder, independent enough to be trusted by every branch, and part-time enough to be affordable before the group is ready for a full-time CFO.
Signs this is your group
- One entity borrows while another holds fixed deposits
- Inter-company balances that nobody can explain or reconcile
- Family members paid through different entities with no policy
- The second generation wants dashboards and the first wants to be asked
- Bank lines renewed entity by entity, each with its own story
How we work with a family-managed group.
- 01
One set of numbers for everyone
A consolidated monthly MIS covering every entity, division and branch, on a chart of accounts that is the same across the group. Margin by business, cash by entity, and a monthly review where founder, next generation and managers see the same page.
- 02
Group cash as one pool
Inter-company lending documented and priced, surplus cash set against borrowing, bank limits consolidated or restructured, and a group 13-week cash forecast. The interest saving is often the first visible win.
- 03
Family and company money, separated
A policy for family remuneration, rent, loans and personal expenses, with related-party agreements and arm's-length benchmarks. This protects the family in audits, tax scrutiny, bank diligence and any future sale, listing or division.
- 04
A finance function that outlasts the founder
Delegation of authority, approval limits, a close calendar and a finance head who reports on process, not on personal loyalty. We hire or develop that person, and we step back as they step up.
Structure without taking the family out of the business.
Concrete deliverables, owned by named people, on a fixed monthly fee.
Every month
- Consolidated group MIS and entity P&Ls
- Group cash forecast and inter-company position
- Bank and covenant summary across entities
- Margin by business, branch and family-run division
- Review with the family board or council
Foundations
- Group chart of accounts and reporting structure
- Related-party and family-remuneration policy
- Inter-company agreements and settlement rules
- Delegation of authority and approval matrix
- Finance-head role definition and hiring support
What family groups typically see.
Shown as ranges across comparable, anonymised engagements. Your numbers depend on your starting point.
Ranges from anonymised engagements, including a multi-entity group and a family-managed enterprise among our representative engagements.
Related pages and tools.
Fractional CFO for family businesses: common questions
Will the founder accept an outside CFO?
In our experience, yes, when the CFO reports facts rather than opinions and respects how the business was built. The monthly review is designed so the founder's judgement and the next generation's data meet on the same page. We are not there to replace instinct; we are there to make it checkable.
Do you get involved in succession or family disputes?
We stay on the finance side: clean numbers, documented related-party dealings and a cash position every branch can verify. That removes most of the fuel for disputes. For family constitutions, shareholder agreements and succession planning we work alongside your legal advisers and, where needed, partner specialists.
We have one CA firm doing all entities. Is that a problem?
Not by itself. The issue is usually that each entity is reported separately and nobody consolidates. We add the group view and the inter-company discipline; your CA continues with compliance for each company.
Can you help hire our first full-time finance head?
Yes. We define the role, set the process the person will run, help select and then support them for the first months. Most groups make that hire a year or two into the engagement, and our retainer reduces as they take over.
Give every branch of the family the same numbers.
Book a 30-minute strategy call. Bring the entity list and the bank sanction letters and we will show you the group cash picture the banks are not seeing.