Pareto CFO
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Value creation partners

Focus on the 20% that drives 80% of your business value.

We’re the finance value creation partner for PE and VC-backed businesses — combining senior finance leadership with AI-enabled insight to focus on what matters most and accelerate enterprise value.

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The Pareto principle, applied

Finance shouldn’t become a priority only when it becomes a problem.

You’re focused on building products, winning customers and scaling the business. Your investors expect something more: clear financial insight, credible forecasts, board-ready reporting and confidence in the numbers.

Pareto CFO brings senior finance leadership into your business at the point you need it — without the commitment of a full-time CFO.

But we do more than keep score. We combine experienced CFO leadership with AI-enabled finance to cut through the noise, strengthen decision-making and focus on the financial levers that create the most value.

You don’t need more finance. You need finance focused on what matters most.

Services

Five ways we create value. One standard of finance.

Every business needs something different from finance at different stages of its journey. Start with one service, combine several, or flex our support as your needs change.

Every engagement is led by senior finance professionals, enabled by technology and AI, and focused on a simple principle: concentrate effort where it creates the most value.

01 Ongoing leadership

Senior finance leadership embedded in your business — without hiring a full-time CFO before you need one.

We work alongside founders, CEOs and leadership teams to own the financial agenda: bringing clarity to performance, strengthening decision-making and ensuring the board and investors have confidence in the numbers.

Behind your CFO sits the wider Pareto finance team, giving you the capability of a finance function rather than a single individual.

Best for Founder-led, PE and VC-backed businesses that need experienced financial leadership but are not yet ready — or do not yet need — a permanent CFO.
What's included
Board & investor reporting Clear board packs, KPI reporting and investor updates that explain performance, not just report it.
Forecasting & cash Rolling cash-flow forecasting, integrated financial models and scenario planning so you understand runway, liquidity and what comes next.
Budgeting & planning Budgets, operating plans, growth scenarios and headcount planning connected to the strategic plan.
Management reporting & close Reliable management accounts, reconciliations, controls and performance analysis delivered to an agreed reporting timetable.
Performance & decision support Unit economics, margins, pricing, investment decisions and the KPIs that matter most to enterprise value.
Stakeholder management A credible senior finance voice with boards, investors, lenders, auditors and other key stakeholders.
Finance team oversight Leadership of your internal finance team or Pareto-supported bookkeeping and accounting function.
Talk to us about Fractional CFO support →
02 Specialist advice

Senior financial expertise for the decisions that need deeper thinking.

Not every challenge requires an ongoing CFO. Sometimes you need experienced financial judgement around a specific decision, model or technical issue.

We define the question, analyse what matters and give management a clear answer they can act on.

Best for Leadership teams facing a significant financial or strategic decision, or businesses that need specialist finance capability without a long-term engagement.
What's included
Pricing & unit economics Margin, CAC, payback, customer profitability and cohort analysis to understand where value is actually being created.
Business cases & investment decisions Independent financial challenge around hiring, new markets, products, capex and major commercial decisions.
Financial modelling Building, reviewing and stress-testing models for management, boards, investors and lenders.
Strategic planning Scenario analysis, long-range planning and translating strategy into measurable financial outcomes.
Technical accounting & reporting Support with complex accounting matters, financial reporting and judgement-heavy areas where additional expertise is required.
Board advisory An experienced finance voice at board level on a retained or ad-hoc basis.
Founder financial capability Practical coaching that helps founders and leadership teams understand and use their financial information.
Book an advisory conversation →
03 Deals & capital

From raising capital to buying, integrating or selling a business, we make sure the numbers are ready for the deal.

Transactions put finance under scrutiny. Investors, lenders and buyers want reliable numbers, credible forecasts and answers quickly.

We prepare management before diligence starts and work alongside advisers throughout the transaction so finance becomes an enabler of the deal rather than an obstacle.

Best for Businesses raising equity or debt, pursuing acquisitions, completing bolt-ons or preparing for an exit.
What's included
Fundraising Investor-grade financial models, financial materials, scenario analysis and support through investor diligence.
Due diligence readiness Data-room preparation, financial clean-up, supporting schedules and management support through the Q&A process.
Exit readiness Preparing financial information, supporting quality-of-earnings analysis and resolving issues before buyers find them.
Buy-side & bolt-ons Financial assessment, deal modelling, acquisition support and post-completion planning.
Debt & refinancing Lender information, covenant modelling, refinancing analysis and ongoing compliance reporting.
Post-deal integration Day-one finance priorities, reporting, controls, systems and integration of acquired businesses.
Discuss an upcoming deal →
04 Systems, data & process

Build a finance function that can scale as quickly as the business.

As businesses grow, finance often accumulates spreadsheets, manual processes and disconnected systems.

We redesign the operating model — people, processes, systems, data and controls — using automation and AI where it genuinely improves the outcome.

The objective is simple: less time producing numbers and more time using them.

Best for Businesses scaling rapidly, integrating acquisitions or operating with slow closes, fragmented systems, manual processes or financial information that management does not fully trust.
What's included
Finance operating model Define what finance should own, how the team should work and where responsibilities sit.
Finance technology Selection and implementation support across accounting, billing, expenses, payments, reporting and related systems.
Process & controls Month-end redesign, reconciliations, approval workflows and scalable financial controls.
Data, reporting & KPIs A reliable reporting architecture and single source of truth for the metrics management actually uses.
AI & automation Automated workflows, AI-assisted analysis and reporting, and appropriate governance around their use.
Team design Organisation structure, role definition, recruitment support and capability development.
Plan your finance transformation →
05 Rapid deployment

Senior finance capability deployed quickly when the business cannot afford to wait.

Some situations need more than advice. They need experienced people to step in, take control and solve the problem.

We deploy senior finance support at short notice to stabilise the situation, establish reliable information and give management, boards and investors confidence in the path forward.

Best for Unexpected CFO departures, liquidity pressure, covenant issues, difficult audits, post-deal situations or other critical finance challenges.
What's included
Interim CFO leadership Immediate senior finance leadership while the business stabilises or recruits permanently.
Cash & liquidity control Rapid cash visibility, short-term forecasting and working-capital actions.
First 100 days Post-investment or post-acquisition reporting, controls, priorities and value-creation initiatives established quickly.
Lender & covenant situations Reliable information, scenario modelling and credible communication with lenders and investors.
Audit & reporting recovery Resolve underlying issues, rebuild supporting information and get delayed reporting or audits moving again.
Finance stabilisation Prioritise the critical issues, establish control and leave behind processes the permanent team can operate.
Get urgent support →
The Pareto principle

A few causes drive most of the results.

In almost every business, around 20% of clients, products and cost lines drive 80% of profit, margin and spend. Finding that vital few is where we start.

Our approach

A finance team, not a single pair of hands.

Traditional fractional finance often gives you one person. Pareto gives you a broader capability.

A senior finance leader owns the relationship and works alongside management, backed by experienced finance professionals, accounting support, AI-enabled workflows and a trusted network of specialists where additional tax, legal, audit or regulatory expertise is required.

You get the right level of expertise for the problem — without building the entire capability in-house.

WEEKS 1–4

Diagnose

Understand the numbers, people, systems and strategy.

Establish what is working, where value is being lost and which issues actually matter.

MONTHS 1–3

Focus on the vital few

Prioritise the handful of changes that will make the biggest difference — whether that is cash, reporting, forecasting, controls, systems or decision support.

Then deliver them.

ONGOING

Scale with you

Flex the team and capability as the business changes.

Scale up for fundraising, acquisitions, transformation or an exit. Scale down when the business reaches steady state.

And when the time comes to build the capability permanently in-house, we help you make that transition.

AI-enabled finance

AI does the heavy lifting. We do the thinking.

We use AI and automation to remove low-value work from finance — giving our people more time to analyse, challenge and advise.

But automation without control creates risk. We combine new technology with experienced financial judgement and appropriate governance, so management, investors and auditors can trust the output.

01

Faster finance

Automate repetitive processing, reconciliations and reporting workflows to shorten the time between month-end and meaningful insight.

02

Smarter forecasting

Use driver-based models, scenario analysis and AI-assisted modelling to understand the financial impact of decisions faster.

03

Always-on insight

Use automated analysis to identify anomalies, trends and emerging issues — allowing finance to investigate what matters rather than manually searching for it.

04

Better reporting

Accelerate variance analysis, management commentary and reporting preparation while keeping financial judgement and review with experienced professionals.

05

AI adoption

Help internal finance teams identify practical AI use cases, select appropriate tools and establish the governance needed to use them responsibly.

Who we serve

Built for ambitious businesses — and the investors behind them.

Founders & CEOs

Finance that helps you run the business, not just report on it.

As the business grows, financial complexity grows with it. We give founders and CEOs the information, challenge and financial leadership needed to make better decisions without building a large finance function too early.

What that means for you
Clarity on cash, runway and performance
Reliable forecasts and management information
Better-informed commercial decisions
Board and investor-ready financial reporting
A finance capability that scales with the business

PE & VC investors

A finance value-creation partner across the investment lifecycle.

We work alongside management and investment teams to strengthen portfolio-company finance — from establishing reliable reporting after investment through growth, bolt-ons and eventual exit.

What that means for you
Reliable board and portfolio reporting
Stronger forecasting and cash visibility
Finance transformation and scalable controls
First-100-day and post-deal support
Acquisition and integration capability
Fundraising, refinancing and exit readiness
A finance function capable of supporting the investment thesis
Founders

Chartered accountants who've done it inside PE and VC-backed businesses.

David Ralph

David Ralph

Founder & Fractional CFO

CA (SA) with 12 years of experience working with PE and VC-backed businesses. Passionate about helping founders scale with financial clarity and confidence.

LinkedIn →
Paddy Bindon

Padraic (Paddy) Bindon

Co-founder & Finance Director | CA (SA)

Paddy helps businesses build finance functions that are ready to scale, raise capital and transact. With a background spanning audit, finance transformation and technical accounting, he specialises in turning complex financial reporting, processes and controls into clear, investor-ready finance — with deep experience across acquisitions, due diligence and audit readiness.

LinkedIn →

Finance delivery team

A dedicated team supporting the day-to-day finance engine — from month-end close and reconciliations to payroll oversight and accounts management — giving our CFOs more time to focus on insight, decisions and value creation.

Specialist advisory network

A trusted network of audit, tax, legal and regulatory specialists we can bring in when needed — giving you access to the right expertise without building it all in-house.

Trusted by founders
“David Ralph is the kind of CFO every founder wishes they had from day one. He took our financials from chaotic to crystal clear, and his calm, strategic approach gave us real confidence during fundraising.”
Brooke AndrewsCEO & Founder
“David doesn’t just crunch numbers — he translates them into decisions. Clarity on our numbers, confidence in our forecasting, and a finance partner who truly understood the pace and pressure of a high-growth startup.”
Lee VeitchCo-Founder & Managing Director, SuperAwesome

Let's find your 20%.

Spend 30 minutes with David or Paddy to identify where finance can have the greatest impact on your business — from better insight and stronger controls to scaling, fundraising or your next transaction.

No hard sell. Just a focused conversation about what matters most.

david.ralph@paretocfo.io

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