Welcome to CEL Capital

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At CEL, we become a strategic extension of your leadership team. Whether you are finding your footing, navigating growing pains, or long-term planning, our engagement is built to scale with you. This is about unlocking smarter decisions, stronger teams, and long-term value.

It All Starts With Clarity

Discovery Session - 

Before we dig in, we get aligned. The Discovery Session is a focused, no-cost call designed to quickly surface where organizations are, where they are headed, and what is getting in their way. It’s our opportunity to ask pointed questions, listen intentionally, and determine whether there's a strong mutual fit — because we only move forward if we believe we can add meaningful value.

We zero in on your current financial landscape, strategic priorities, and operational pain points to get a grounded view of your reality. You’ll get a sense of how we think, how we work, and how we might support your next phase — whether that is stabilization, growth, or transition.

It’s your first step toward financial clarity, structured leadership, and a smarter path forward.

Then, We Build a Plan

Executive Workshop -

Once alignment is confirmed, we transition into the Executive Workshop — a 60-minute, high-impact working session designed to cut through the noise and deliver immediate clarity. You bring the context and challenges. We bring the structure, analytical rigor, and strategic lens to unpack what’s working, what’s not, and where to go next.

Here’s how we do it:

  • We start by framing your goals against operational realities — financial, structural, and strategic.

  • We surface friction points, hidden inefficiencies, and areas of opportunity through guided discussion and real-time analysis.

  • We then map these insights into actionable next steps aligned to your business stage, team capacity, and broader growth trajectory.

By the end of the session, you’ll walk away with two critical assets:

  • An Optimization Playbook — a clear breakdown of key findings, blind spots, and priority actions

  • A Strategic Roadmap — a tailored 90–180 day plan that connects short-term execution with long-term outcomes

This is not a surface-level consult. It’s a fast-moving, insight-rich session built to shift momentum and give you a plan worth acting on.

Three Tiers. One Mission.

Every business has a different level of maturity with different financial needs. Our tiered advisory model allows us to deliver the right level of support at the right time, aligning strategic focus with operational complexity.

Each tier includes structured check-ins, rolling forecasts, access to our senior advisory team, and clear deliverables. The deeper the complexity, the more embedded our role.

  • This tier is designed for companies needing structure and discipline — not spreadsheets for the sake of it, but financial tools that support growth. We act as your outsourced CFO, establishing your chart of accounts, implementing cash flow forecasting, creating monthly financial reports, and designing your first real budget.

    Typical Services Include:

    • Setting up reporting infrastructure (QuickBooks Online, Ramp, etc.)

    • 13-week cash flow forecasting

    • Budget creation and variance tracking

    • Financial KPI dashboarding

    • Foundational SOPs for finance & compliance

    • Owner advisory sessions (monthly)

  • At this stage, the finance function becomes more operational. You need more than reporting — you need insight. We help you implement financial systems, establish monthly close routines, integrate AP/AR automation, and drive margin improvement. Think: Controller + CFO-level support, without the full-time headcount.

    Typical Services Include:

    • Monthly close oversight and financial statement review

    • Budget-to-actual analysis with department heads

    • Systems integration and automation advisory

    • Gross margin improvement and cost control initiatives

    • Scenario planning and operational benchmarking

    • Biweekly strategic finance meetings with leadership

  • This is boardroom-level finance. We operate as a true strategic partner, helping you prepare for institutional capital, a liquidity event, or simply stewarding an increasingly complex organization. You’ll have regular executive finance briefings, forward-looking financial models, governance tools, and support on investor or M&A conversations.

    Typical Services Include:

    • Board & investor reporting packages

    • Long-range planning (3–5 year financial modeling)

    • Capital strategy (debt/equity structuring, investor decks)

    • Exit planning, valuations, and due diligence prep

    • Audit readiness and financial controls review

    • Monthly Executive Strategy Sessions with Founders/Board

Execution Services That Move the Needle

Financial strategy is only as valuable as its execution. At CEL, we pair advisory with action — embedding ourselves in your business to implement, lead, and operationalize the strategies we build together. These services can be bundled with advisory support or engaged independently, based on your needs.

  • When your business is in transition — whether due to a sudden departure, a new round of funding, or an upcoming acquisition — having the right leadership in place is critical. We step in as fractional CFOs, Controllers, or project-based Finance Executives to stabilize operations, lead the finance function, and keep your business moving forward.

    Typical Situations:

    • Departed CFO, Controller, or VP of Finance

    • M&A transaction in process or on the horizon

    • Post-raise leadership support

    • Special projects requiring executive-level financial oversight

    What We Do:

    • Lead finance function on an interim basis (30–90 days or longer)

    • Oversee internal team performance and workflow execution

    • Represent finance during board meetings, investor calls, or due diligence

    • Clean up financial operations and reporting for handoff to a new leader

    • Drive short-term turnaround efforts with a senior finance lens

  • Sometimes what you need is project horsepower — tactical execution led by people who understand both the “why” and the “how.” We bridge the gap between your strategic goals and day-to-day reality, executing high-impact projects that accelerate your finance operations.

    Typical Situations:

    • Implementing a new accounting or expense management system

    • Rebuilding a broken or incomplete chart of accounts

    • Standardizing reporting packages across departments or entities

    • Launching a budgeting and forecasting process for the first time

    • Migrating data or cleaning historical records for an audit

    What We Do:

    • Project manage system rollouts (QBO, Ramp, Fathom, etc.)

    • Build and implement SOPs for AP, AR, month-end close, and compliance

    • Conduct operational and cash flow diagnostics

    • Reconstruct, reconcile, and clean financials

    • Build internal dashboards for financial visibility and performance

  • Our end goal isn’t dependency — it’s sustainability. That’s why we invest in your people, not just your processes. We work alongside your internal finance team (or help you build one), training and upskilling them to carry forward the structure, strategy, and discipline we implement together.

    Typical Situations:

    • Internal team lacks financial acumen or technical depth

    • First-time finance hires needing onboarding or mentorship

    • Owner-led finance function transitioning to team-based model

    • Burnout or performance issues due to unclear expectations or lack of process

    What We Do:

    • Train AP/AR staff, junior accountants, or FP&A analysts

    • Document and delegate key workflows to internal roles

    • Define roles, responsibilities, and performance metrics

    • Help hire and onboard new internal finance talent

    • Provide fractional mentorship or “office hours” for your team

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs

Q: What’s the difference between an Advisory Tier and Execution Services?

Advisory Tiers focus on strategic leadership and financial direction. Execution Services are the hands-on support functions that bring those strategies to life — think implementation, leadership coverage, and team development.

Q: Is there a long-term commitment?

No. Each engagement begins with short-term clarity — the Discovery and Executive Workshop — before any longer-term commitments are proposed. Our goal is to deliver value before asking for it.

Q: How long is the average engagement?

It depends on your needs. Some clients hire us for a quarter. Others have worked with us for years. Our model is flexible — built for impact, not lock-in.

Q: Do I need to buy advisory and execution together?

Not at all. Some clients just need strategy. Others need muscle. Many want both. We’ll meet you where you are and adjust as your needs evolve.

Q: Do I need to buy advisory and execution together?

Not at all. Some clients just need strategy. Others need muscle. Many want both. We’ll meet you where you are and adjust as your needs evolve.