Add senior oversight to the monthly close and reporting.
We lead the review, coordination, and reporting process so leadership receives more consistent financial information and the team knows what must be completed each month.
These are the situations that prompt teams to add a controller layer. If more than one applies, the gap is costing you.
"Our books technically close, but nobody has reviewed them. I have no idea if the numbers are right."
CEO, B2B SaaS
"Leadership asks why revenue is down and I don't have a good answer. There's no variance analysis."
CFO, Professional Services
"Every audit or due diligence request takes weeks to pull together documents that should already exist."
COO, E-Commerce
"We've had the same reconciliation error running for six months. Nobody caught it."
CEO, SaaS · Series A
"Our leadership team wants commentary on the numbers but we just send the statements and hope they don't ask questions."
Founder, Healthtech
"Our month-end close slips later every quarter and nobody really owns it."
COO, Services
What the controller layer covers
The work below covers the full scope of a controller layer. What your engagement covers, and at what depth, is scoped to your business before we start.
Senior review and sign-off on every close
A senior controller signs off on every reconciliation, entry, and balance before close. Nothing reaches leadership unverified.
Variance analysis with written commentary
A written monthly read on what moved and why, against both prior period and the operating budget we build and own.
Cash flow visibility and working capital tracking
We track working capital and flag tightening cash early, so cash flow becomes a management tool, not just a statement.
Documented close process
A written checklist runs the same close every month, removing variability and key-person risk.
Internal controls and segregation of duties
We close gaps in approvals, access, and reconciliations to cut error and fraud risk as the team grows.
Audit and due diligence readiness
Trial balances, schedules, entity records, and financing docs kept current, so you're ready when diligence hits, not scrambling.
Financial systems and process design
We configure your platform, chart of accounts, and close workflow, refining it as your business grows more complex.
Board and lender reporting
Reviewed monthly packages and the exact schedules your board, CPA, or lenders ask for, ready on cadence.
What controller work looks like each month
A structured monthly cadence, not ad hoc fire drills.
1
Phase 1
Books close
Transaction coding, reconciliations, and accrual entries finalized. We coordinate with your bookkeeper or handle the close directly.
2
Phase 2
Senior review
Controller reviews every account, flags discrepancies, and signs off. Nothing leaves review without being checked against the prior period.
3
Phase 3
Package delivered
Variance commentary, reconciled statements, and updated documentation delivered. Your team has what they need before the board or investor call.
4
Ongoing
Controls & process
We document what we find and build it into your close process, so the team gets more efficient each month, not just more supervised.
A reviewed close you can rely on
Reconciled statements, variance commentary, and the supporting detail your leadership and CPA rely on, on a predictable cadence.
What you receive depends on the scope we agree together. This is a typical shape, not a fixed list.
Review checksChecks run over the ledger before anyone signs the month off: duplicates, gaps, entries sitting in the wrong period. Anything they raise is looked at, not waved through.Run on every close, with what they found recorded.
Adjusting entriesDepreciation, prepaids and accruals posted before the month is called done, so the profit you read is the profit you earned rather than the cash that happened to move.Posted from the schedules that carry them month to month.
The client portal, shown with sample data.
Controller engagements in practice
Two engagements where the reporting foundation was the work.
Education / Services · growth-stage
Reporting put on a review cadence
Situation
Leadership wanted weekly, monthly and quarterly reporting, but the finance model ran about two months behind, no transaction-level ledger fed it, and the core reports were maintained by hand. Nothing was reviewed before leadership saw it.
What we did
Established the review and reporting process so monthly statements, budget versus actual, and the quarterly pack all rebuild from the accounting records rather than by hand, with each figure traceable back to the books. The monthly refresh became a routine rather than a rebuild.
Consumer / DTC · growth-stage
Every figure traceable back to the books
Situation
The company had no reliable forward view of cash. The existing forecast ran on broken formulas and stale data, and none of it reconciled to the accounting system, so there was no way to check whether a number was right.
What we did
Rebuilt the reporting so invoice and bill level detail comes straight from the accounting system, with payment timing applied and every figure tied back to the books. Leadership now reviews a rolling 13-week cash position rather than a spreadsheet nobody could verify.
Common questions about controller services
What will I receive each month?
The standard monthly package covers a reviewed close, reconciled accounts, financial statements, variance analysis with written commentary, and a summary of issues identified and resolved. Scope is agreed before we start.
Do I need accounting services as well?
Controller services sit on top of the accounting layer. If you already have a competent bookkeeper, we can provide controller oversight without replacing it. If the accounting is also inconsistent, we typically recommend handling both. Where Finsightic does both, the engagement defines who prepares and who reviews each area, so the review stays a separate step.
How does onboarding work?
We are up and running in days, not weeks. We review your chart of accounts, reconcile the prior period close, document your current process, and establish the close calendar before taking over the first cycle.
What size company is this for?
Most commonly companies with $1M to $20M in revenue, past the point where a bookkeeper alone is sufficient, but not yet ready for a full-time controller. Also common for companies preparing for a fundraise or audit.
What is the difference between a controller and a CFO?
A controller focuses on the accuracy and timeliness of the close. A fractional CFO uses those numbers for forward-looking work, forecasting, fundraising, board reporting, and strategic decisions.
What does variance commentary actually mean?
Each month we explain what drove the changes in your numbers, why revenue moved, why expenses shifted, why margins changed. This turns financials into a management tool.
Do I need a controller if I already have a bookkeeper?
A bookkeeper records transactions. A controller reviews that work, checks accuracy, documents the process and owns the close. The two are different jobs, and the controller layer is the one that adds the review.
When does a company typically need a controller?
Common triggers include closes taking too long, numbers that are frequently wrong, growing past $1M in revenue, or preparing for a fundraise or diligence.
Can you work alongside my existing bookkeeper rather than replace them?
Yes. We often review and manage bookkeepers rather than replace them. We set the close process, review their work, identify issues, and own the final deliverable.
What happens if there is an error in my books?
We identify it, trace it, correct it, and document what happened. We also review whether the error is symptomatic of a broader process gap.
Do you support multi-entity businesses?
Yes. Multi-entity work involves consolidated reporting, intercompany eliminations, and entity-level close management. We scope it specifically based on the number of entities and complexity, and adjust the engagement accordingly.
Do you handle tax filing?
No. We prepare clean accrual-basis books that your CPA can work from efficiently. We coordinate directly with your tax preparer.
What if I need to bring accounting in-house eventually?
We document everything, the chart of accounts, close process, recurring journal entries. Transitioning to an in-house team is straightforward because the process is already written down.
How do you handle the transition from a previous provider?
We review what the previous provider produced, identify gaps, reconcile the last clean period, and establish a baseline before beginning our first close.
Can you handle multi-entity consolidations?
Yes. Multi-entity close, intercompany eliminations, and consolidated reporting are part of the controller layer, so groups, holding structures, and real estate portfolios get clean entity-level books and a consolidated view that ties out.
We already have a controller, why switch to Finsightic?
Clients move to us for a defined, on-time monthly close, real controls and senior review, multi-entity and intercompany handling, and a fixed monthly fee, backed by a prompt reply with finance and operations handled by the same team, so nothing slips between roles.
Add dependable review between the books and the decisions.
A reviewed close, written variance commentary, and reporting your leadership can act on. We reply quickly.
