NOW Advisors

What NOW Advisors does

NOW CFO is a U.S.-based, full-service financial consulting firm headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, specializing in fractional CFO, controller, accounting, and bookkeeping services for growth-stage and mid-market businesses. Founded in 2003/2004, the firm operates through a national network of 20+ physical offices across major U.S. metros (Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Austin, Columbus, Cincinnati, Albuquerque, and others) and a network of 300+ consultants, supported by an executive team led by CEO Randy Christensen, Founder/Chairman Jim Bennett, CFO Shawn Dinkelman, COO Alex Benanti, CIO Jeff Gibbs, and Chief People Officer Christina Jackson. The firm has served 15,000+ clients since inception across diverse verticals including manufacturing, healthcare, energy, aerospace, financial services, technology, SaaS, nonprofits, and PE portfolio companies.

NOW CFO's product architecture is modular, anchored on four core professional service lines — Outsourced CFO Services, Outsourced Controller Services, Outsourced Accounting Services, and Outsourced Bookkeeping — supplemented by a Recruiting & Permanent Placement line. Eleven specialized sub-products extend the offering: Accounting Clean-Up, Annual Operating Plans & Financial Strategy, Audit Preparation, Budget Management, Business Accounting & Financial Statements, ERP & Financial Systems Implementation, Financial Modeling & Cash Flow Forecasting, Inventory Management, Risk Mitigation & Internal Controls, SEC Compliance & Reporting, and Transaction Accounting. The technology backbone is industry-standard rather than proprietary: consultants deploy and implement mainstream platforms including QuickBooks, NetSuite, SAP, Sage Business Cloud, Acumatica, Xero, Zoho Books, FreshBooks, Bill.com, and Wave on client engagements. No proprietary AI/ML capability is documented.

The business model is pure professional services: hourly billing with no long-term contracts, no minimums, and flexible scaling up or down with client needs. NOW CFO claims clients save 30-50% versus in-house accounting teams. Go-to-market is direct, sales-led, and consultative — prospects receive a free initial consultation, are matched to consultants by industry and expertise, and can engage on fractional, interim, project-based, or permanent-hire terms. Permanent placement engagements carry a 90-day guarantee. Lead generation runs through content marketing (the NOW CFO Blog), LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Instagram organic social, email newsletters, earned media (Inc. 5000, MountainWest Capital Network Utah 100), and SEO. In July 2025, CenterOak Partners, a Dallas-based lower-middle-market private equity firm, acquired NOW CFO; in January 2026, the firm appointed Alex Benanti as COO. The company has been recognized on the Inc. 5000 list in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Name

NOW Advisors

Legal name

NOW CFO, LLC

Website

https://nowcfo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

NOW CFO is a Salt Lake City-headquartered, PE-backed financial consulting firm providing fractional CFO, controller, accounting, and bookkeeping services through 300+ consultants across 20+ U.S. offices, serving 15,000+ growth-stage and mid-market clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Consulting Services

NAICS

Offices of Certified Public Accountants (541211), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Outsourced Finance & CFO Services (BPAHABAE)

Keywords

• Fractional CFO services
• Outsourced accounting
• Financial consulting
• Controller services
• Executive recruiting finance

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fractional CFO & Controller Services: Ongoing or project-based engagements providing CFO, Controller, and Staff Accountant level services billed on an hourly basis with no long-term contract requirements. Services can be scaled up or down based on client needs.
2. Outsourced Accounting Services: Full outsourced accounting coverage from bookkeeping to financial reporting and audit preparation, priced hourly with cost savings of 30-50% compared to maintaining in-house accounting teams.
3. Permanent Placement/Recruiting Services: Executive search and permanent hire placement services for finance and accounting roles, including a 90-day guarantee for placed hires. Process takes approximately 8 weeks from sourcing to candidate presentation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NOW CFO is a full-service financial consulting firm providing flexible outsourced CFO, controller, accounting, and bookkeeping services to businesses nationwide. The firm also offers executive search and permanent placement for finance and accounting roles with a 90-day guarantee. Services are delivered by 300+ professionals across 20+ U.S. office locations on a fractional, interim, project, or permanent basis with no long-term contracts.

Product overview

NOW CFO is a full-service financial consulting firm offering flexible accounting and finance solutions across a modular service architecture. The core offerings include four primary service lines: Outsourced CFO Services (providing fractional, virtual, and interim CFO expertise), Outsourced Controller Services (plug-in accounting leadership for close and compliance), Outsourced Accounting Services (full financial cycle coverage), Outsourced Bookkeeping (day-to-day record keeping), and Recruiting & Permanent Hires (executive search and placement with 90-day guarantee). These core services are supported by specialized sub-products including Accounting Clean-Up, Annual Operating Plans & Financial Strategy, Audit Preparation, Budget Management, Business Accounting & Financial Statements, ERP & Financial Systems Implementation (NetSuite, SAP, Sage, QuickBooks, and others), Financial Modeling & Cash Flow Forecasting, Inventory Management, Risk Mitigation and Internal Controls, SEC Compliance & Reporting, and Transaction Accounting. The company serves 15,000+ clients across 20+ locations nationwide with 300+ professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Outsourced CFO Services Provides expert financial leadership integrated seamlessly into businesses without the full-time cost, offering CFO, Fractional CFO, Virtual CFO, and Interim CFO services scaled to business needs. For growing companies that need CFO-level strategy, financial planning and analysis, budgeting and forecasting, board and investor reporting, treasury management, and M&A support.
• Outsourced Controller Services Plug-in accounting leadership for close, compliance, and cash control, providing controller-level oversight without adding headcount through standardized close processes and investor-grade reporting. Covers month-end close, audit preparation, financial reporting, technical accounting, internal controls, and chart of accounts design.
• Outsourced Accounting Services Full-service outsourced accounting covering the complete financial cycle from transaction recording and reconciliations to financial reporting, budgeting, and audit preparation. Delivered by staff accountants and financial operations specialists.
• Outsourced Bookkeeping Delegates day-to-day record keeping to specialists, handling AP/AR management, transaction reconciliation, month-end close, accounting clean-up, and monthly financial reporting.
• Recruiting & Permanent Hires Executive search and permanent placement services connecting businesses with skilled accounting and finance professionals, including CFOs, Controllers, and Staff Accountants with a 90-day guarantee. Process takes approximately 8 weeks from sourcing to candidate presentation.
• Accounting Clean-Up Services Brings disorganized or outdated books up to date through thorough audit of existing records, bank reconciliation, exception identification, and cash-basis financial report creation.
• Annual Operating Plans & Financial Strategy Provides structured approach to resource allocation, financial planning, and performance tracking through expert guidance on corporate performance management, budgeting, and cash flow optimization.
• Audit Preparation Services Streamlines audit processes through financial statement preparation, audit process consulting, and business compliance readiness to reduce audit risk and overage costs.
• Budget Management Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 30-50% cost savings compared to maintaining in-house accounting team
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Bridgepoint Consulting: Provides fractional CFO, accounting, and finance consulting for middle-market and PE-backed companies. Comparable to NOW CFO's PE portfolio and mid-market client segment.
• Paro: Marketplace and talent platform connecting businesses with vetted fractional finance and accounting professionals. Overlaps with NOW CFO's recruiting line and increasingly with its consulting services.

Broad incumbents

• Alvarez & Marsal: Global professional services firm offering interim and fractional CFO, turnaround, transaction advisory, and performance improvement. Represents a larger, broader-scope incumbent serving some of the same PE-backed and mid-market clients as NOW CFO.

Direct peers

• Tatum (Randstad): A national firm specializing in fractional executives (CFO, CIO, CMO, HR) for mid-market and growth-stage companies. Directly comparable in the fractional/interim CFO market NOW CFO serves.
• Acuity CFO: Fractional CFO and financial advisory firm serving SMB and mid-market companies with outsourced CFO, controller, and accounting services. Closely comparable in service mix and target customer.
• B2B CFO: The largest pure-play fractional CFO firm in the U.S., serving SMB and mid-market companies with part-time CFO, controller, and bookkeeping services. Most direct comparable to NOW CFO in service model and customer segment.
• Bench (acquired by Empower): Outsourced bookkeeping and financial reporting for small businesses with a software-plus-human hybrid model. Direct competitor on the bookkeeping and small-business accounting services NOW CFO provides.
• 8020 Consulting: Provides fractional CFO, controller, and accounting consulting services to SMB and mid-market companies. Comparable in service offering, target customer, and flexible engagement model.
• Pilot.com: Tech-enabled bookkeeping, accounting, and CFO services for startups and SMBs. Competes head-to-head with NOW CFO on outsourced bookkeeping and fractional CFO offerings, differentiated by proprietary software.
• CFO Partners: Outsourced and fractional CFO services firm focused on SMBs and middle-market companies, with offerings in financial reporting, M&A support, and audit preparation that mirror NOW CFO's catalog.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nowcfo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCT-kd8ajChjZhK7BYEldrTQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/nowcfo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/now-cfo
• Instagraminstagram.com/nowcfo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NOW Advisors