This page is for bankers, attorneys, tax CPAs, M&A advisors, business brokers, insurance and wealth advisors, and other professionals who serve closely held business owners.
If a client's finance function has outgrown its current setup, Purdy Advisory provides fractional CFO, controller-level advisory, financial systems, and fixed-scope finance projects, without competing for your tax, legal, banking, insurance, or investment relationship.
Best fit: $5M to $100M closely held businesses where ownership needs stronger financial visibility, monthly close discipline, cash forecasting, banking and treasury structure, systems selection, or CFO-level support. Founder-led or PE-backed. Manufacturing and distribution are common. East Texas anchored, remote nationwide.
The goal is to strengthen the client's finance function while preserving your relationship with that client.
Common referral situations
Commercial bankers. Treasury and banking operations work is a particular sweet spot and is regularly accepted as a standalone engagement. Good introductions include clients with:
Unreliable covenant tracking or covenant headroom that needs structured monitoring
Financials the credit committee cannot fully underwrite
Treasury and account structures that grew without design
A refinance, expansion line, or post-credit-decision finance need
Reporting reliability gaps the bank has had to work around
Transaction attorneys. Good introductions include:
Owners thinking about a sale, recapitalization, or acquisition who need the finance house in order before the deal team arrives
CFO-side support during diligence
Post-close integration of an acquired entity's financials and reporting
Succession planning where the next generation needs financial visibility the current owner has carried in their head
Tax CPAs. Good introductions include:
A client who has outgrown an internal bookkeeper or part-time controller
A client asking finance-leadership questions that fall outside the tax scope (cash flow, systems, reporting)
A client needing a real monthly close
A client preparing for a transaction that will require CFO-grade engagement
The practice does not provide tax preparation services and does not pursue tax work. The tax relationship stays with you.
M&A advisors and business brokers. Good introductions include:
Sell-side preparation for owners getting financials ready for the market
Buyer-side support for acquirers needing post-close integration help
Owner-operator clients who need a sustained finance function before a transaction conversation is realistic
Insurance brokers, wealth advisors, and SBA specialists. Good introductions include:
A business-owner client whose finance complexity has outpaced their current setup
Owners with wealth concentrated in a business that lacks reporting discipline
SBA applicants whose financials do not support the loan they want
Peer fractional executives. Clients where you've identified the finance function as the next gap. Cross-referrals welcome.
What Purdy Advisory provides
Three retainer pillars: Fractional CFO, Client Advisory Services, and Financial Systems Advisory. Plus a set of fixed-scope project engagements outside the retainer pillars. Full descriptions are on the Services page.
For the purpose of an introduction, the relevant summary is this. The practice covers the work an owner-operated business needs from a CFO and a controller, including monthly oversight, reporting reliability, 13-week cash forecasting, banking operations, ERP/GL/FP&A selection and implementation, and CPA-prepared financial statements without assurance. Project engagements include single-period assessments, transaction support, M&A integration, lease accounting implementations, and treasury build-outs.
What Purdy Advisory does not provide
Scope boundaries you can rely on:
No tax preparation. Tax engagements are referred to and coordinated with the client's existing CPA.
No audit, review, or independence-required compilation engagements. Financial statement work is delivered as Preparation engagements under SSARS 21 (AR-C 70) only, with management retaining written responsibility for the financial statements and no assurance provided. Independence-required attest work remains with the appropriate provider.
No legal advice. We coordinate with the client's attorney on transaction, governance, succession, and structural matters.
No banking displacement. Engagements work with the client's existing banking relationships. Treasury and banking operations work supports the client's primary banking partners, not a redirect away from them.
No insurance or investment advice. We coordinate with the client's existing brokers and advisors, not compete with them.
How the handoff works
A clean introduction is a single email or call to keith@purdy.cpa or 903.520.0223. Useful context to include: the client's name and company, a sentence or two on the situation, what you have already discussed with them, and whether they are expecting to be contacted. If you prefer a warm introduction over a forward, copy the client on the email and let them choose to respond.
What happens next: a 30-minute call with the client, a working session if the fit looks right, a written proposal if the engagement is going to be a fit. If it is not a fit, we tell the client directly and close the loop with you. No leaving you wondering what happened.
Engagements proceed under written engagement letters with fixed-fee or retainer scope. The practice does not perform free consulting in the sales process. Detailed analysis begins only under paid scope. Referring partners are kept informed at the level the client authorizes: typically a confirmation of engagement, a confirmation of completion, and any natural loop-closure point relevant to the original introduction.
When this isn't the right fit
The practice is intentionally not for every situation. If the client's primary need is any of the following, a different referral is the better path:
Tax preparation or tax planning
Audit, review, or an independence-required compilation engagement
Bookkeeping at retainer levels below the practice's minimum
Pre-revenue startups or businesses below $5M in revenue
Personal financial planning, wealth management, or insurance advisory
We will say so directly rather than try to make the engagement fit.