CFO Diagnostic, Get Clarity Before You Commit
If you are running a real business, you already know the frustrating part. You can have bookkeeping handled, your reports can look clean, and you can still feel blind. Cash can still feel unpredictable, margins can still slip, payroll can still create stress, and decisions can still feel like guessing. That is not a bookkeeping problem. That is a control problem.
The CFO Diagnostic is a one time engagement built to solve that problem at the root. It is designed to sit above your existing bookkeeping, your AI stack, and your tax compliance team, and to answer the questions that actually determine outcomes. What is happening inside your numbers, why it is happening, where the risk is hiding, and what you should fix first.
Polaris CFO 2.0 is built around financial oversight plus operational correction, using a finance and Lean Six Sigma approach that goes beyond monitoring and reporting. The CFO Diagnostic is the fastest way to establish clarity and build a 90 day plan before you commit to anything ongoing.
If you want to review the full service framework first, read CFO 2.0 Services.
What the CFO Diagnostic Is, and What It Is Not
The CFO Diagnostic is not bookkeeping. It is not a bookkeeping cleanup. It is not a software implementation. It is not a generic fractional CFO reporting package that hands you dashboards and leaves the fixes to you. It is a structured assessment designed to identify the operational drivers behind cash flow, margin, and decision clarity, then translate that into a written roadmap.
Think of it as the difference between looking at a vital sign monitor and actually treating the condition. Numbers show symptoms. Oversight finds causes. Correction changes outcomes. That is the mindset behind CFO 2.0, and it is why the Diagnostic exists as Step 1.
Who This Is For
The CFO Diagnostic is built for business owners who have already made the “responsible” moves and still do not feel in control.
You might already have AI bookkeeping, QuickBooks automation, an internal bookkeeper, an offshore team, or a CPA preparing your tax return. That is fine. CFO 2.0 is designed to work with all of the above because it is not dependent on who does the books. It sits above the books to provide oversight, interpretation, and operational correction guidance, complementing your compliance team rather than replacing it.
This diagnostic is especially useful when the business is growing and complexity is rising, when revenue is up but profit is not behaving the way it should, when cash feels tight despite “profit,” when labor costs are climbing, or when decisions feel slower and riskier than they should.
What You Receive
Your deliverable is a written summary and a prioritized 90 day roadmap. The goal is not to overwhelm you with analysis. The goal is to identify the few high leverage corrections that reduce surprises, release cash, and protect margin.
1. Financial oversight and interpretation
We review your financial performance and trends with a CFO lens. That includes identifying what is driving change, what is noise, what is risk, and what requires immediate attention. This is not “look at the P and L and nod.” This is interpretation that translates into decisions.
2. Cash flow behavior and control gaps
Cash flow is often the real pain point, even when revenue looks strong. The diagnostic identifies where cash is getting stuck, whether the issue is billing timing, collections discipline, approval layers, close speed, purchasing behavior, or mismatched terms. We also identify the control gaps that cause recurring cash surprises.
3. KPI and variance insight that connects to operations
KPIs are only valuable if they lead to correction. We identify which indicators matter most for your business model, and where variance is pointing to operational breakdowns. The diagnostic is built to connect KPI movement to real drivers, pricing, labor, throughput, rework, and capacity.
4. Operational bottlenecks and process breakdowns
Most financial pain is operational. Bottlenecks, rework, delays, and inconsistent handoffs quietly destroy margin and cash. CFO 2.0 is designed to identify root causes and fix them, not just report them, and the diagnostic identifies where those root causes are showing up in your business.
5. Risk and control gaps
As businesses grow, risk does not always show up as a dramatic event. It often shows up as quiet leakage. Weak approvals, inconsistent billing practices, poor visibility into job profitability, and unclear accountability can drain profit long before it becomes obvious. The diagnostic identifies those gaps and prioritizes what to tighten first.
The 90 Day Roadmap, What It Typically Includes
Your roadmap is not a generic list. It is prioritized, sequenced, and designed for execution. It typically includes a small number of corrective initiatives that are measurable and tied to specific outcomes, such as cash release, margin protection, close speed, pricing discipline, or labor efficiency.
Examples of roadmap focus areas include tightening the billing cycle, improving collections cadence, shortening the close to improve decision speed, establishing KPIs that drive action, rebuilding pricing logic to align with labor and capacity, and reducing rework by identifying failure points in the process.
The purpose of the roadmap is to eliminate random action. Most businesses do not fail due to lack of effort. They fail due to misdirected effort. The roadmap ensures your effort produces control.
What Happens After the Diagnostic
After the CFO Diagnostic, you choose the path that fits your business.
If your bookkeeping is stable and you want ongoing oversight without execution, CFO 2.0 Lite is designed for exactly that. It is monthly financial review, cash flow monitoring, KPI and variance interpretation, and quarterly planning, delivered as a repeatable rhythm without day to day bookkeeping work.
If your business has operational friction, pricing issues, labor inefficiency, or cash system breakdowns that require implementation guidance and process improvement initiatives, CFO 2.0 Core may be the right next step.
FAQ
Do I need Polaris to do my bookkeeping first?
No. CFO 2.0 is designed to sit above whoever does your books, including internal staff, outsourced teams, or AI bookkeeping.
Is this just a financial statement review?
No. The purpose is not to review statements for the sake of review. The purpose is to identify what is driving cash flow and margin outcomes, find root causes, and produce a prioritized roadmap.
Will you replace my CPA?
No. CFO 2.0 complements your tax and compliance team. It focuses on oversight, decision support, and operational correction, while your CPA remains essential for compliance and tax planning.
What if my books are messy?
The diagnostic can still be valuable, but the roadmap may include stabilizing the reporting inputs so oversight is reliable. We will be direct about what we can assess now and what needs cleanup first.
Disclaimer, this page is educational and not legal, tax, or investment advice.