Virtual CFO services for growing New Zealand businesses
Senior financial leadership without the full-time salary. We turn your numbers into clear decisions - management accounts, forecasting, and board-ready insight, delivered every month.
What is a virtual CFO?
A virtual CFO gives you the strategic financial leadership of a Chief Financial Officer on an ongoing, part-time basis - without the cost of a senior full-time hire. You get monthly management accounts, cash flow forecasting, and plain-language advice on the decisions in front of you, from someone who knows your business and is genuinely invested in where it is heading.
At Cohelm, that means pure strategic advisory. We are not your bookkeeper and we are not your tax agent. We work alongside your accountant, picking up where compliance stops and decision-making begins.
Is a virtual CFO right for your business?
You are probably ready for a virtual CFO if:
- Your business has outgrown what your accountant can offer, but a full-time CFO ($250K+ a year) is more than you need or can justify.
- You are making significant decisions - hiring, expanding, raising capital, taking on debt - and want them informed by clear, current numbers.
- You have raised capital and need investor-ready reporting and a tighter grip on your runway.
- You want one senior advisor who understands your business deeply, not a rotating cast of consultants.
Typical clients are owner-managed New Zealand businesses turning over roughly $2M to $20M, and funded startups that need CFO-level rigour before they need a CFO-level salary.
How is this different from my accountant?
Your accountant is essential. So is a virtual CFO. They just do different jobs.
Your accountant
Compliance-focused
Backward-looking
Annual cycle
A virtual CFO
Strategy-focused
Forward-looking
Monthly rhythm
Together
Compliance handled, decisions informed.
We complement your accountant - we never replace them.
Senior CFO capability, without the senior CFO cost
A full-time CFO in New Zealand costs $250K+ a year, before overhead. Most growing businesses do not need that. They need senior financial thinking, applied consistently, at a fraction of the cost. We do not sell packages off a shelf or publish tiered pricing - every business is different. Each engagement starts with a conversation and a CFO Diagnostic, so the scope and fee fit your stage and complexity. You get exactly the level of support your business needs, and nothing you do not.
A proven monthly rhythm
Every month follows the same five steps: Review, Tidy, Report, Forecast, Insight. It sounds simple. That is the point - consistency matters more than complexity.
See our full processWhy business owners choose Cohelm
- Pure strategic advisory. We do one thing, and we do it properly.
- A senior practitioner, every time. You work directly with Ashley Brough, founder, who has managed finance across multi-entity groups and guided businesses through funding, growth and sale.
- Built for clarity. Plain language, board-ready, every insight paired with a recommended action.
- AI-augmented, human-led. We use modern tooling to deliver senior-quality reporting efficiently, so more of your investment goes into insight.
- New Zealand based. We understand the local context and the realities of running a business here.
Common questions
Ready for clarity?
Let's start with a conversation about where your business is today and where you want it to go.
Get in Touch