Raftelis Financial Consultants

What Raftelis Financial Consultants does

Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. is a US-based specialty consulting firm founded in 1993 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The firm serves two primary sectors — water/wastewater utilities and local government agencies — delivering professional services across financial advisory, organizational assessment, strategic planning, asset management, executive recruitment, strategic communications, and utility development. Its client base spans municipalities, counties, special districts, and public utilities across the Southeast, Midwest, Northeast, and West Coast regions of the United States. Engagement formats include multi-year rate studies (e.g., Plymouth, MA), fair market valuations (e.g., Superior City Council at $58M), and executive searches for senior government leadership roles. Raftelis holds Registered Municipal Advisor status with the MSRB and is certified CCPA/CPRA-compliant with an incident response plan aligned to NIST SP 800-61.

The firm's proprietary technology asset is Ellio, a subscription-based SaaS analytics and benchmarking platform for utilities, composed of three modules: Ellio Performance (operational benchmarking), Ellio Financial (rate and fee benchmarking), and Ellio Analytics (aggregated peer comparison data). Ellio is powered by a decades-long data partnership with the American Water Works Association (AWWA), which feeds nationwide utility benchmarking data from hundreds of utilities, supplemented by user-uploaded data in standard formats. The platform supports multi-factor filtering by geography, size, and other variables.

Raftelis generates revenue through two streams: (1) project-based professional services fees for consulting engagements procured via direct enterprise sales, RFPs, and long-term contracts with municipal and utility clients, and (2) annual recurring subscription fees from Ellio, sold as a SaaS product with team-level access for subscribing organizations. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, supported by thought leadership content (insights articles), LinkedIn presence, industry conferences, and a direct consultation request channel on the website. In November 2021, the firm expanded its technical footprint through the acquisition of Westin Engineering.

Name

Raftelis Financial Consultants

Legal name

Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc.

Website

https://raftelis.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Raftelis Financial Consultants is a US specialty consulting firm serving water/wastewater utilities and local government agencies with financial advisory, rate studies, executive search, and asset management services, supplemented by its proprietary Ellio benchmarking SaaS platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Management & Performance Improvement Consulting (BPAHACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA), Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Utility rate consulting
• Municipal financial advisory
• Government management consulting
• Utility benchmarking software
• Executive recruitment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting fees for financial, organizational assessment, strategic planning, executive services, and other advisory services to local governments and utilities. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts with municipal clients.
2. Ellio Subscription Platform: Annual subscription-based SaaS platform for utility benchmarking and analytics. Billed annually with team access for entire organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Raftelis Financial Consultants is a management consulting firm that provides strategic, financial, organizational, and operational advisory services to local governments and water/wastewater utilities across the US. The firm supplements its consulting engagements with Ellio, a proprietary subscription-based SaaS analytics and benchmarking platform that aggregates utility data through a partnership with the American Water Works Association.

Product overview

Raftelis Financial Consultants operates as a consulting firm offering a portfolio of services to local government and utility clients, supplemented by its proprietary Ellio platform. Ellio is a subscription-based SaaS analytics and benchmarking platform comprising three modules: Ellio Performance (operational benchmarking), Ellio Financial (rate and fee benchmarking), and Ellio Analytics (data aggregation and peer comparison for water and wastewater utilities). The core consulting services include Financial, Organizational Assessment, Strategic Planning and Facilitation, Digital Technology and Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Executive Services, Strategic Communications, Asset Management, and Utility Development, Implementation and Program Support, organized under two primary sectors: Utilities and Local Government.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ellio: Ellio is Raftelis's analytics platform that provides utilities with benchmarking data to compare their rates and financial metrics against peers nationwide. It includes Performance, Financial, and Analytics modules.

Products and services

• Ellio Ellio is Raftelis's proprietary subscription-based analytics and benchmarking platform that enables water and wastewater utilities to compare their rates and financial metrics against peer utilities nationwide. It includes Performance, Financial, and Analytics modules and aggregates data through a partnership with the American Water Works Association.
• Financial Consulting Financial consulting services for local governments and utilities, including utility rate studies, fair market valuations, cost-of-service analysis, infrastructure funding strategies, and capital planning support.
• Organizational Assessment Organizational assessment services that review and improve the structures, processes, and effectiveness of local government and utility organizations.
• Strategic Planning and Facilitation Strategic planning and facilitation services that help municipal and utility leadership teams develop long-term strategies and align stakeholders.
• Digital, Technology, and Data Digital, technology, and data consulting services that help local governments and utilities modernize operations and adopt data-driven practices.
• Artificial Intelligence Consulting Artificial intelligence consulting and change management services that help public sector organizations adopt AI technologies strategically and operationally.
• Executive Services / Government Recruiting Executive search and recruitment services placing senior leaders such as city managers, department directors, and utility executives in local government roles.
• Strategic Communications Strategic communications consulting that helps local government and utility clients develop messaging and stakeholder engagement strategies.
• Asset Management Asset management consulting for utilities, supporting infrastructure planning, lifecycle management, and capital investment decisions.
• Utility Development, Implementation, and Program Support Utility development, implementation, and program support services that help clients build and operate effective, equitable, and efficiently managed utility services.

Quantifiable outcome

• $1 billion infrastructure renewal navigation in Pittsburgh
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• American Water Works Association (AWWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDecades-long partnership with AWWA for data collection and aggregation. This partnership provides Raftelis access to comprehensive utility benchmarking data used in their Ellio analytics platform, covering hundreds of utilities nationwide.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• HDR Inc. Large engineering and consulting firm with extensive water and wastewater utility clients. Overlaps with Raftelis on utility advisory and asset management while offering deeper engineering capabilities than Raftelis.
• Baker Tilly: Top-10 US advisory firm with a public sector practice serving state and local governments on financial management, performance improvement, and consulting. Competes with Raftelis on government financial advisory while serving a much wider portfolio.
• Black & Veatch: Global engineering, procurement, and consulting firm with a critical infrastructure focus on water utilities. Competes with Raftelis on rate, financial, and asset management engagements while operating as a much broader infrastructure provider.
• Plante Moran: Large US accounting and advisory firm with a significant public sector and utilities practice covering financial management consulting, rate studies, and organizational advisory. Competes with Raftelis in mid-to-large municipal engagements while offering broader services.
• Crowe LLP: Major US accounting and consulting firm with a Government and Public Sector practice advising municipalities on financial management, performance improvement, and technology. Overlaps with Raftelis on government financial advisory engagements.

Direct peers

• BerryDunn: Top-100 US accounting and consulting firm with a dedicated Government and Utilities practice covering rate studies, financial planning, and organizational consulting for municipalities and water/wastewater utilities. One of the closest direct comparables to Raftelis in niche, customer base, and service mix.
• FCS Group: Utility financial and management consulting firm focused on water, wastewater, and stormwater rate studies, cost-of-service analyses, and financial planning for public agencies. Directly comparable in service scope and municipal utility focus.
• NewGen Strategies & Solutions: Specialized utility financial and management consultancy serving water, wastewater, and energy utilities with rate studies, financial planning, and operational benchmarking. Closely mirrors Raftelis's core utility financial consulting offering and target customer.

Emerging players

• West Monroe Partners: US management and technology consulting firm serving utilities and other regulated industries with digital, data, and operational consulting. Comparable to Raftelis on utility digital transformation and benchmarking work, though broader in industry focus.

Others

• Bluefield Research: Water industry market intelligence and research firm providing data, forecasts, and benchmarking on water utilities. Adjacent to Raftelis's Ellio analytics offering as a data and benchmarking provider for the same utility customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2280465
• Xx.com/raftelis

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Raftelis Financial Consultants