Insight · Partnership · Reliability

Clear financial information. Better business decisions.

Fractional CFO support for founders of $2-30m businesses.

We help you spend less time managing the finances, so you can spend more time growing the business.

Working alongside your existing bookkeeper, accountant or finance team, we strengthen reporting, cash flow visibility and forecasting, and provide experienced financial input into the decisions that shape your business.

You get senior financial leadership without the cost or commitment of hiring a full-time CFO.

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Why we exist

Your financial information should help you run the business.

Bookkeeping, accounting and tax support provide an essential foundation. But as a business grows, the challenge is not simply producing the numbers. It is understanding what they mean, what is driving performance and what the business needs next.

Founders are making important decisions about cash, pricing, hiring, investment and growth. Without a clear financial view, those decisions can become reactive or rely too heavily on instinct.

The Finance Layer exists to bridge the gap between having financial information and using it to make better decisions.

How we work

A finance partner who understands the business behind the numbers.

Everything we do comes back to three principles.

Insight

Clear financial information you can act on.

We turn financial data into practical information: clear reporting, useful commentary and a strong understanding of what drives performance. The aim is to help you understand what is happening, why it is happening and what to do next.

Partnership

Finance that works alongside the business.

We work closely with owners, teams and advisers to understand the business and support better decisions. We become an active finance partner who understands the commercial context behind the numbers, not a reporting function sitting in the background.

Reliability

A finance function you can depend on.

Good decisions rely on accurate information, clear responsibilities and consistent processes. We help establish dependable reporting, forecasting and cash flow routines, so the financial side of the business feels properly managed rather than constantly chased.

Services

Senior financial leadership shaped around your business.

Every business has a different finance team, different systems and different priorities. We tailor the scope and level of support to the needs, complexity and priorities of the business. Here is what that can cover:

CFO

Strategic finance and decision support

An experienced finance partner who works with you to guide key decisions and provide oversight across the finance function.

Reporting

Management reporting and insight

Monthly management reports and dashboards that show what is really happening across margins, performance and budget-to-actual, in terms you can use.

Cash Flow

Cash flow and working capital

Profit and cash are not the same thing. We help you understand where cash is tied up and how to improve working capital.

Planning

Budgeting, forecasting and modelling

Forward-looking numbers to support your decisions: budgets, rolling forecasts and models for hiring, pricing, investment and growth.

Operations

Finance function oversight

We make sure responsibilities are clear and information flows properly, coordinating month-end, tightening processes and supporting your existing bookkeeper or finance team.

Governance

Governance, funding and stakeholder reporting

Board and investor reporting, lender and covenant reporting, and funding preparation for when you are raising capital or reporting to stakeholders.

Who we help

Built for growing, founder-led businesses.

We work with growing, founder-led businesses that need senior financial leadership without hiring a full-time CFO. These are typically privately owned businesses generating $2 million to $30 million of revenue, though the right fit depends more on the needs and complexity of the business than its size alone.

You may be a good fit if:

The financial information is being prepared, but it is not giving you the insight you need

Profit is improving, but cash remains tight

Too many finance decisions still fall back to the owner

You are growing, hiring or investing without a clear financial plan

You are preparing for funding, board reporting or investor discussions

We work best with businesses that value reliable information, practical advice and a genuine working relationship with their finance partner.

About

CFO experience, hands-on execution.

Tom McDonald

FOUNDER & FRACTIONAL CFO

Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance, Governance Institute of Australia

Chartered Accountant, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

Tom is a Chartered Accountant and CFO with more than 15 years' experience across ASX-listed companies, high-growth private businesses, investment management, multi-entity groups, venture-backed scale-ups and founder-led businesses.

He has led finance functions through growth, funding, restructuring and change, covering reporting, cash flow, forecasting, board and investor reporting, governance, capital raising, team leadership and the commercial decisions in between.

He is just as comfortable in the detail as in the boardroom, working with owners, teams, investors, lenders and advisers. He started The Finance Layer to give growing businesses that same finance leadership, without hiring a full-time CFO or building a large internal team.