Owner, CFO and operating partner at a table in a plant mezzanine office, the machining floor and gantry crane behind the glass

Strategic Finance & Operating Partnerships

CFO and operating partner support for owner‑led businesses.

LIMESTONE provides ongoing strategic finance, CFO leadership and hands-on operating support for owner-led businesses. Engage a CFO partner, an operating partner or both to improve financial visibility, cash planning, profitability, management accountability and execution of agreed priorities.

You can engage us directly, without a prior Quality of Earnings or pending transaction.

The two roles

Two different jobs in one business.

Most good businesses cannot hire either of these roles full-time, and do not need to. Take one role or both, part‑time, depending on what the business needs; these are senior seats, and we take a limited number of engagements at a time.

CFO PartnerRyan Anoskey, CPAMakes the financial picture clear.
One business
Operating PartnerJared Luegers, CFATurns decisions into operating results.
CFO Partner

Finds where the cash goes and when it comes back.

Cash
Operating Partner

Changes the habits that tie cash up.

CFO Partner

Shows margin by customer, product and job.

Margin
Operating Partner

Reprices the work that loses money.

CFO Partner

Builds reporting the team runs without the owner.

The team
Operating Partner

Maps the seats and builds the bench.

CFO Partner

A 13-week cash forecast.

Work product
Operating Partner

A 90-day action register.

Illustrative responsibilities. Either seat alone, or both; the level of involvement is chosen below.

The Operating System

One plan, run from inside the business.

A quality of earnings, an Exit Readiness Review or an operational read ends in a list: the levers worth money, the seats that have to change, the decisions that run through the owner. The two seats turn that list into a value plan and run it month by month until it is done.

Already run an operating system, or work with a coach or implementer? We add the finance and the value plan to what is already working. We do not replace your operating system, and we do not compete with your coach.

The plan

The levers the project sized, three to five at a time, each tied to what the business is worth.

The seats

The leaders and seats the plan takes, and the hires behind them, so the work stops running through the owner.

The numbers

A 13-week cash view and the few measures that show whether the plan is moving.

The specialists

Process documentation, systems and AI work go to independent providers you engage; we scope that work and keep it tied to the plan.

One problem, two roles

Margins are falling while revenue grows.

Hoosier Supply Co. grew revenue about 5 percent last year and gross margin slipped by just under a point, with the slip sitting in quoted work (12 percent against 34 on the rest of the book). The CFO Partner finds where the margin went. The Operating Partner changes the pricing practice, and a weekly review shows whether it held.

Each role can be engaged alone. The example shows both on one problem.

Hoosier Supply Co. · Working papersIllustrative
01InvestigateCFO Partner

Gross margin by customer, trailing twelve months · $ in thousands

CustomerRevenueGross profitMargin
Account A, quoted work2,62034113.0%
Account B2,07055927.0%
Account C, quoted work1,61016110.0%
Account D1,14034230.0%
All other3,5601,38038.8%
Total11,0002,78325.3%

Quoted work earns 12 percent. The rest of the book earns 34.

02RecommendBoth seats

Three options · change in annual gross profit, $ in thousands

OptionGross profitRevenue at risk
Hold prices, trim cost+950
A 20 percent floor on quoted work+340635
Reprice the two lowest accounts+150255

The floor is recommended, with a weekly margin review while it takes hold.

03TrackOperating Partner

Action register · week 8

ActionOwnerDueStatus
Price file recalibratedEstimating leadWeek 2Done
Floor applied to new quotesSales leadWeek 3Done
Weekly margin reviewOwner, CFO PartnerWeeklyRunning
Account A repricedOwnerWeek 6Open

Quoted-work margin at week 8 is 17 percent, from 12.+5 pts

Hoosier Supply Co. is our sample company, and the figures are rounded.

How involved

Three levels of involvement, for one role or both.

The role and the level are separate decisions. Choose the role the business needs, then how involved that partner should be. Starting fees are per role.

CadenceWe maintainWe executeStarting feeBest when

01AdvisoryJudgment on a cadence

Cadence
Two discussions a month
We maintain
Nothing routinely
We execute
Nothing; your team produces and executes
Starting fee
From $2,500 a month per role
Best when
A capable team wants senior judgment

02Strategic AdvisoryJudgment plus one maintained view

Cadence
Two discussions a month, plus a review rhythm
We maintain
One workstream, such as a cash view
We execute
Nothing beyond the maintained workstream
Starting fee
From $4,000 a month per role
Best when
One decision needs a maintained view

03EmbeddedAn operator in the building

Cadence
A management cadence, weekly where agreed
We maintain
One or two workstreams per role
We execute
Hands-on leadership within the agreed scope
Starting fee
From $7,500 a month per role
Best when
A priority needs someone in the building

Starting fees are per partner role for qualifying scopes; one role or both. Duration and terms are set in the engagement letter. Bookkeeping, tax, payroll and systems builds are not included at any level.

How an engagement starts

Start where the need is; the level can change as the work changes.

  1. 01

    Book a call

    A straight conversation about the business and what you want out of it.

  2. 02

    See where you stand

    The free Foundation Check gives you a self-rated read of the business.

  3. 03

    A scoped first step

    A fixed-fee project, a readiness review or a financial model where one is the natural way in, or straight to a role and a level.

  4. 04

    Work together

    Advisory, Strategic Advisory or Embedded, one role or both, on a monthly engagement scoped in writing.

Three engineers work over a plotted site plan in a small firm’s office.

In the room

What the partner adds in the room.

Over months the partner earns the team’s trust and hears what nobody says to the owner directly. At Embedded the partner is in the building when a decision has to be made; at Advisory and Strategic Advisory the partner brings that judgment to the scheduled discussions.

get started

Tell us what is happening in your business.

Name the decisions or responsibilities that need help. We will recommend Advisory, Strategic Advisory, Embedded or a focused fixed-fee project, with one role or both. No diligence project is needed first. The independence rules are in the FAQ.