Most engagements touch more than one over a multi-year relationship. Start where the question feels most urgent — we will scope the rest.
Most advisory engagements pull in a CFO consultant who has to call your tax preparer for half their answers. Ours don't.
Capital plans, entity choices, exit timing, and partner buy-ins are stress-tested against the tax bill before the recommendation lands. We do not hand off and hope.
The CPA who closes the month is in the strategy session reading the same numbers. No translation layer, no waiting on a finance hire to interpret what accounting produced.
Our principal ran the books and the strategy as Controller for a private-equity sponsor across a portfolio of operating companies. The advice has been on the receiving end of every recommendation we give.
We do not parachute in with a deck. We build the working rhythm a CFO would, scaled to your stage and your appetite for change.
We read three years of financials and tax returns, talk to your other advisors, and sit with your operating team. You get a written diagnosis that names the two or three things actually limiting decisions, not twelve generic recommendations.
Tax structure, entity work, capital plan, working-capital cadence, exit positioning. Every milestone has a quarter, an owner, and a measurable signal that it landed. We deliver this on a page, not a slide deck.
Real-time access for the call before the decision, not the post-mortem after. Buy-side analysis on a deal, comp band for a new hire, opinion on a partnership structure, read on a vendor's pricing model. Whatever the month brings.
Not a status update. A working session on what the quarter taught us, what the roadmap should adjust for, and what the next 90 days commits to. The same conversation you would have if you had a CFO in the seat full time.
When we sold the practice, three CPA firms told us the deal was tax-neutral. Milestone modeled it differently — found a structure that put an additional $380,000 in our pocket at closing, and walked us through every option until we could explain it ourselves.
— Founder, Bay Area Manufacturing Business
14-employee operation · Milestone exit engagement, 2025
WHY SPECIALIZED ADVISORY
Most CPAs offer "advisory" as a buzzword next to tax. We run advisory as a real practice — for owners building, transitioning, or defending a business.
Holding companies, IP licensing entities, partnership splits, S-corp v. C-corp decisions. The blueprint that determines how much of your growth actually reaches you.
Goodwill allocation, installment sales, F-reorgs, ESOP feasibility. The five-year runway that turns a successful business into a successful exit.
Buy-side and sell-side QofE, working-capital pegs, deal modeling, and post-LOI diligence. The CPA seat at the deal table.
Embezzlement examinations, business interruption claims, partner disputes, divorce financial discovery. When the numbers need defending — or finding.
Three-statement models, cash flow forecasts, sensitivity analysis. The financial picture an owner needs to make a decision — not just to file a return.
We sit at the table with your other professionals — not in a separate silo making conflicting recommendations.
A general rule: if the decision shapes the next 5–10 years (sale, restructure, family transition, dispute), you almost always want a CPA who has run the play before. Day-to-day operational choices typically do not need us.
Bankers find buyers and run the auction. Attorneys draft the documents. We model the after-tax outcome, advise on structure, and stay involved through diligence to keep the numbers honest. Many clients use all three — we work alongside both.
It depends on scope. A formation or restructure might be a one-time project with a flat fee. M&A or succession is usually 6–18 months of weekly involvement. Forensic engagements vary from a 2-week investigation to multi-year litigation support.
Yes — about 40% of advisory engagements come from clients whose tax and books live elsewhere. We coordinate with your existing firm so nothing falls through the cracks.
Formation/restructure: $5K–$25K flat. M&A or succession: $25K–$150K depending on deal size. Forensic: scoped per matter. Every engagement is quoted upfront before signing.
Always. We routinely sign mutual NDAs before the discovery call so you can describe the situation fully. If you have your own NDA template, we will use yours.
If any of these are in front of you today, the discovery call is free and worth the thirty minutes.
Multi-year exit planning typically nets 15–30% more after-tax than a reactive sale.
The deal terms shape your tax bill and your relationships for years. Worth modeling before signing.
New properties, new state nexus, new lines of business all change the optimal entity stack.
Generation transitions trigger gift tax, estate tax, and family dynamics — best planned over years, not weeks.
Forensic engagements are most effective when retained early, before discovery begins.
The financial discipline that earns institutional capital is a year-long buildout, not a quarterly cleanup.
A complimentary 30-minute call. Walk us through the decision in front of you — we will tell you straight whether advisory help is the right move, or whether you can handle it without us.
