Accounting for owner-led professional-service firms
Your revenue grew. The financial back office still thinks the business is smaller.
I help agencies, consultancies, studios, and specialized service firms clean up the books and build a monthly owner view of cash, obligations, pay, profit, and runway.
Washington-licensed CPA. Former treasury and tax manager for roughly $3 billion of real estate across 45+ properties and 60+ entities. Fixed-fee engagements, scoped before work begins.
The owner questions
A useful accounting system answers the question in front of the business.
A P&L can be correct and still leave the owner guessing. The reporting structure should reflect how the firm sells, delivers, collects, pays people, and makes decisions.
- Can we afford the next hire without turning a slow month into a crisis?
- Which services create margin, and which only create activity?
- What can the owner safely take out after taxes and working capital?
- Why did profit improve while cash became tighter?
- What needs to be true before we add a location, partner, or service line?
The work
Build the layer between bookkeeping and a full-time controller.
Accounting foundation
Reconciliations, chart-of-accounts structure, close calendar, and corrections to the workflow creating repeat problems.
Owner reporting
A concise monthly view of available cash, obligations, margin, owner pay, runway, and material changes.
Decision support
Models for hiring, pricing, owner distributions, capacity, or expansion using a base case and an uncomfortable case.
Ongoing rhythm
Documented ownership and a repeatable close so useful reporting does not depend on the owner chasing every task.
Especially useful for
Firms where people, projects, and collections drive the economics.
The common thread matters more than the label: revenue is real, the team is growing, and the owner still has to translate the accounting before making a decision.
Start with the mess
You do not need to clean the books before asking for help.
Describe the unreliable number or delayed decision. I will reply personally and tell you whether the Reset looks like the right starting point.
Scope: Accounting, management reporting, and business decision support. Not audit, review, compilation, investment, legal, or securities advice. Services are offered only where permitted by applicable licensing and practice rules. Full disclosure.