Fractional & interim CFO leadership · Toronto & across Canada
Experienced financial leadership
for growing and public companies.
Cipher Financial provides fractional and interim CFO leadership to growing private companies, public companies, and companies preparing to go public. Engagements draw on public-company reporting, IFRS, financial modelling, transaction, and capital-markets experience, without the cost of a full-time CFO hire.
CPA, CA, MBA | 20+ years of financial leadership | Public-company CFO experience
Who we help
Companies at financial
inflection points
The common thread is a business whose financial complexity has outgrown its finance function.
Public companies
TSX and TSXV issuers that need CFO-level reporting discipline: IFRS statements, MD&A, and audit committees, without carrying a full-time executive.
Companies preparing to go public
Businesses heading toward a listing that need audited-quality statements, credible forecasts, and the infrastructure to report as an issuer from the first quarter.
Venture-backed and high-growth companies
Funded businesses whose boards and investors expect real reporting, runway clarity, and a defensible plan behind every number.
Owner-managed businesses and startups
Companies from pre-revenue to roughly $20 million in revenue that have outgrown bookkeeping but are not ready to hire a full-time CFO.
Areas of expertise
One senior finance partner,
engaged the way you need it
Finance leadership
- 01 Fractional CFO Services
Senior financial leadership for growing companies that need CFO-level judgement — without the cost of a full-time executive.
- 02 Interim CFO Services
Experienced CFO coverage when your finance leadership seat is suddenly empty — or about to be.
- 03 Controller & Finance-Function Oversight
Senior direction for a capable accounting team that needs leadership, structure, and a faster close.
Public markets & transactions
- 04 Public-Company & Financial Reporting
Reporting discipline for issuers — IFRS financial statements, MD&A, audit coordination, and the calendar that keeps it all on time.
- 05 TSX, TSXV & Going-Public Advisory
Financial readiness for companies preparing to list — and the reporting infrastructure to succeed after the bell rings.
- 06 Capital Raising & Transaction Support
Get the numbers, materials, and diligence house in order before investors start asking questions.
- 07 Mergers, Acquisitions & Due Diligence
Senior financial support through the most consequential transactions a company undertakes — on either side of the table.
Planning & visibility
- 08 Financial Modelling & Forecasting
Models built by someone who has had to defend them — to boards, investors, auditors, and lenders.
- 09 Cash-Flow Management
Know exactly where cash stands, where it is going, and how long it lasts — before the answer becomes urgent.
Which service fits your situation?
Answer five quick questions and get a suggested starting point. Nothing is recorded — this is guidance, not advice.
Question 1 of 5
Suggested starting point
This suggestion is general information based on your answers — it is not professional financial advice or a proposal. Every engagement begins with a conversation about your specific circumstances.
Why Cipher Financial
What a boutique
actually means
A CFO, not a bench
Work is led personally by a CPA, CA and MBA with more than twenty years in senior finance roles. The person who scopes the engagement is the person who does the work.
Public-company calibre
Experience as CFO of reporting issuers brings reporting discipline, audit-committee fluency, and comfort under scrutiny to every engagement, public or private.
Right-sized engagement
Days per month, not headcount. Support scales up for a financing or audit season and back down when the pressure passes.
Built to work with your team
Bookkeepers, accountants, auditors, lawyers, and bankers stay in place. The job is making the whole finance ecosystem work, not replacing it.
Public-company expertise
Reporting-issuer experience,
from the CFO's chair
Quarterly deadlines, IFRS judgement calls, audit committees, and financings under pressure. Whether you are public today or preparing to list on the TSX or TSX Venture Exchange, you get a finance leader who has carried that responsibility personally.
- IFRS quarterly and annual reporting
- MD&A and continuous disclosure support
- Audit and audit-committee coordination
- TSX / TSXV listing readiness
- RTO and qualifying-transaction financial support
- Post-listing finance infrastructure
Clients include
Logos identify client organizations Cipher Financial has served. Logos do not imply endorsement, and trademarks remain the property of their owners.
Representative experience
Engagement stories,
told properly
Detailed engagement summaries are being prepared with client approval — real situations and honest outcomes, not marketing claims. Relevant experience for your specific circumstances is always available to discuss privately.
Is your company ready
for a fractional CFO?
Eight questions covering revenue stage, growth, reporting expectations, cash visibility, and your current finance team. Built for founders, CEOs, and boards weighing senior finance support, and honest enough to say "not yet" when that is the answer.
The result appears immediately, with no contact information required. It is informational only, not professional advice.
Question 1 of 8
Your result
This result is informational only. It is not professional advice, a formal proposal, or an assessment of your specific circumstances — those take an actual conversation.
Common questions
What is a fractional CFO?
A fractional CFO is an experienced chief financial officer who works with your company on a part-time, recurring basis — typically a set number of days per week or month. You get CFO-level judgement on strategy, forecasting, cash flow, and reporting, scaled to what the business actually needs and without the cost of a full-time executive hire.
How is a fractional CFO different from a controller or bookkeeper?
A bookkeeper records transactions. A controller manages the accounting process and produces accurate statements. A CFO looks forward: forecasting, cash strategy, financing, board and investor relationships, and the financial side of major decisions. Most growing companies need all three layers — a fractional CFO supplies the top layer part-time and often improves the layers below it.
When should a company hire a fractional CFO?
Common triggers: revenue growing past the point where the founder can manage finance alone (often between $1 million and $20 million), investors or lenders expecting regular reporting, an upcoming financing, audit, or transaction, unpredictable cash flow, or an accounting team that lacks senior leadership. If two or more of those sound familiar, a conversation is worthwhile.
Can Cipher Financial assist public companies?
Yes — public-company work is a core strength. The firm's principal has served as CFO of Canadian public companies and supports issuers with IFRS reporting, MD&A, audit coordination, audit-committee reporting, internal controls, and interim CFO coverage.
Can Cipher Financial help a company prepare to go public?
Yes — on the financial side. That includes listing-readiness assessment, IFRS conversion, audit preparation, forecasts and working-capital models, use-of-proceeds schedules, and building post-listing reporting infrastructure. The firm works alongside your legal counsel, auditors, sponsors, and investment dealers; it is not a law firm, sponsor, or dealer itself.
From Insights
Five signs your company has outgrown its finance function
Bookkeeping kept up, but the business grew. Here are the five signals that a company needs CFO-level help — and what to do about each one.
All insightsThe next step is a conversation,
not a contract
Schedule a discussion or send a short note about your situation. You will get a considered reply, not a sales sequence.