A budget that lives only in finance is a forecast that nobody is accountable for. We rebuild the budget and cash flow process so that it is owned by the operating leaders, not the finance team — which is the only condition under which it tracks.
When clients come to us
When the budget and the actuals have decoupled. When growth has outpaced the planning rhythm and the weekly cash position has become a surprise. When a new investor or lender expects a thirteen-week cash flow that the team does not currently produce. Often when a CFO is rebuilding the planning calendar from a clean sheet.
How we work
We start with a structured read of the current planning process — who owns what, when, on what data — and where it is breaking. From there we redesign the budget cycle around operational ownership, with a cash flow layer that connects to it. The output is a documented process the in-house team runs, not a one-off spreadsheet.
What we deliver
- Annual budget framework with owner-by-line accountability
- Rolling thirteen-week cash flow model
- Driver-based forecast linked to the operating plan
- Variance and reforecast cadence design
- Board reporting template for plan vs actual
- Process documentation and handover
Typical engagement
A planning rebuild runs four to eight weeks. On our side, a senior advisor leads with one analyst. On the client side, the CFO is the principal counterpart, with operating leaders involved through structured ownership sessions. The deliverable is the process; the spreadsheets are the artefacts.
Why CGLA
We design budgets that the operating team actually uses, not budgets that finance recopies into a deck once a quarter. The senior advisor on the engagement has sat on the operating side, which means the conversation with department heads is grounded in their reality, not a finance abstraction.
