Fractional CFO for SaaS Founders · US · UK · EU · APAC

You're building a SaaS company.
Stop doing
the CFO's job.

Cognos Advisory gives growth-stage SaaS founders CFO-grade financial leadership — investor readiness, board reporting, fundraising support, and runway visibility — without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.

Tell Us Where You're Stuck Explore Services
$70M+
Capital Raised
$50M ARR
ARR Scaled to Exit
25+
Years in Finance
4
Exit Transactions Led
Senior finance leadership
Financial analytics
Capital Raised
$70M+
Across equity & grants
Senior-led, always
Scroll to explore
PE & VC relationships
KKR Apollo Warburg Pincus CVC Hg Capital Apax Bridgepoint Cinven Temasek Northzone
Operating across 🇺🇸 USA 🇬🇧 UK 🇪🇺 EU 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇦🇺 Australia 🇭🇰 Hong Kong
What We Do

The CFO capability your
SaaS company needs — right now

Most growth-stage SaaS companies are making critical financial decisions without the senior expertise to back them. We change that — embedding directly with your team, without the cost or equity dilution of a full-time hire.

Board meeting
01 Fractional CFO

Senior financial leadership,
embedded in your team

Board meetings, investor reporting, financial strategy — without the full-time salary, equity dilution, or long-term commitment.

  • Financial strategy & long-range planning
  • Board pack preparation & investor reporting
  • Finance function design & team oversight
  • Cash flow management & runway modelling
  • Audit readiness, financial reporting & compliance
  • Multi-jurisdiction oversight (US, UK, EU, APAC)
Explore Fractional CFO
Financial analytics
02 FP&A

Replace gut feel with
genuine financial clarity

Models, dashboards, and reporting frameworks that give leadership and investors the confidence to back every major decision.

  • 12–24 month forecasting & scenario modelling
  • Annual budget process & board approval
  • KPI frameworks & operating dashboards
  • Variance analysis & management commentary
  • Investor-ready monthly reporting packs
  • Unit economics for SaaS & subscription models
Explore FP&A
Capital raising
03 Fundraising

Know what investors scrutinise —
and how to present it

Having raised $70M+ across equity rounds, grants and structured financing — and reported to KKR, Apollo, Warburg Pincus — we know how serious investors think.

  • Investor-ready financial model build & narrative
  • Data room management & financial due diligence
  • Cap table modelling & dilution analysis
  • Series A / B readiness — metrics, story, structure
  • Ongoing investor reporting & communications
  • Exit planning, M&A support & financial DD
Explore Fundraising
Tools & Templates

Practical AI tools for the way
SaaS companies actually operate

Having worked at the forefront of AI deployment in finance and legal-tech — including leading the acquisition and integration of a prominent UK legal AI company into an AI-native platform — we've built a focused suite of practical, ready-to-use templates that bring institutional-grade financial structure to growth-stage companies.

Most growth-stage SaaS companies have spreadsheets where they need systems, and gut feel where they need data. These tools close that gap — deployable in days, not months, and built around the metrics and reporting processes that US investors actually expect to see.

Informed by hands-on CFO experience across SaaS, legal-tech, MedTech, and regulated industries across the US, UK, and APAC — and calibrated against what Series A and B investors scrutinise.

Templates marked "Available now" are ready to share — request a sample, or get in touch about early access to one still in development.

Financial Health

CFO Diagnostic

A structured, scored assessment that benchmarks your finance function against PE-grade standards across people, process, systems, and controls — with a prioritised action plan.

Available now Request template →
FP&A

Cash Forecast Model

A formula-driven 13-week cash flow and 12-month P&L model, built to work from data exported out of Xero, NetSuite, or QBO — update your assumptions and it recalculates automatically.

Available now Request template →
Investor Ready

Board & Investor Pack Template

A structured, board-ready monthly reporting template — built to turn your financials and narrative into an investor-grade pack in a fraction of the time.

Available now Request template →
Fundraising

Fundraise Readiness Scorecard

A scored self-assessment across financial model, data room, and cap table readiness — benchmarked against what investors expect at each funding stage.

Available now Request template →
Compliance

Compliance & Governance Checklist

A scored checklist covering governance, controls, and regulatory reporting obligations — built for regulated and professional-services businesses.

Available now Request template →
Unit Economics

SaaS Metrics Dashboard

Automated tracking of ARR, MRR, churn, LTV, CAC, and NRR — the metrics that drive valuations in SaaS and subscription businesses.

Coming soon
About the Firm

Cognos Advisory

Senior CFO Leadership · AI-Augmented · US & Global

Cognos Advisory is a specialist CFO advisory firm with over 25 years of commercial CFO experience across PE and VC-backed businesses — focused on growth-stage SaaS and technology companies in the US, UK, EU, and APAC, from Series A through to exit.

Our experience spans senior CFO and Finance Director roles at high-growth SaaS, AI/tech, and legal-tech businesses — including leading the acquisition and integration of a UK legal AI company into an AI-native platform. We've built and run finance functions in live, high-growth environments, not just advised on them.

We have served as CFO and Group Finance Director across PE-backed and VC-backed businesses in SaaS, robotics, strategic consultancy, and legal-tech — including scaling one business from $5M to $50M ARR before leading its exit to a US acquirer.

Our principals hold FCCA designation (the Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants — the UK and international equivalent of a US CPA, with added strategic finance specialisation), previously held FCA Senior Manager status in regulated financial services, and have managed finance operations across the US, UK, EU, Singapore, and Australia.

FCCA Prev. FCA Senior Manager (SMF) IFRS · US GAAP · SFRS NetSuite · Xero · SAP Looker · HubSpot · Salesforce US · UK · EU · APAC
CFO & Senior Finance Advisory
AI-native legal-tech & SaaS · UK, US & APAC
CFO
Robotics & SaaS · PE & VC backed · UK, Portugal, Australia, USA
Group Director of Finance & Operations
Strategic consultancy · Scaled ARR £5M→£40M · Exited to US acquirer
Group Financial Controller
Tech & SaaS · PE-backed · £30M raised · Successful exit
Finance Leadership
Events & entertainment · Hospitality · Facilities management
Track Record

Experience that spans
stages, sectors & continents

$70M+
Capital raised across equity rounds, innovation grants & structured financing (UK, EU, US, AUS)
$5→50M
ARR scaled at a PE-backed SaaS business, with EBITDA margins expanded from ~10% to ~40%, exited to a US acquirer
4
Exit transactions led across PE-backed tech, SaaS, and professional services businesses — from MBO to trade sale
6+
Countries with direct finance operations managed: UK, Ireland, US, EU, Australia, Singapore/APAC, HK
Sectors with direct CFO or senior finance experience
SaaS & AI/Tech Legal-Tech Health & Life Sciences MedTech Robotics EdTech Strategic Consultancy Retail & eCommerce Hospitality & Leisure Regulated Industries Not-for-Profit Sports & Entertainment
PE & VC Relationships

Institutions partnered with, reported to, or raised capital from:

KKR
Apollo Global Management
Warburg Pincus
CVC Capital Partners
Hg Capital
Apax Partners
Bridgepoint
Cinven
Temasek
Northzone
Conor Venture Partners
Global Reach

Operating where
your business is

Direct CFO and senior finance experience across four major markets — not advisory from the outside, but hands-on in-country work across regulation, reporting, capital, and operations.

🇺🇸 United States

US &
North America

  • US GAAP reporting and multi-entity group consolidation
  • Investor relations with US-based PE and growth equity funds
  • Series A / B readiness for US-led funding rounds
  • M&A integration and trade sale to US acquirers
🇬🇧 United Kingdom

London &
the UK

  • PE/VC-backed CFO across SaaS, legal-tech and AI
  • Former FCA Senior Manager (SMF) — regulated finance experience
  • UK GAAP, IFRS, statutory filing and audit oversight
  • Exit planning and trade sale to US acquirer
🇸🇬 Singapore & APAC

Singapore
& APAC

  • Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS)
  • Multi-entity APAC structures — SG, AU, HK
  • Temasek and regional VC fund relationships
  • Transfer pricing and cross-border treasury management
🇪🇺 European Union

Europe &
the EU

  • IFRS consolidation across UK, Ireland and EU entities
  • EU innovation grant programmes (Horizon, EIC)
  • CVC, Apax, Bridgepoint and European PE relationships
  • Multi-currency treasury — EUR, GBP, USD, SGD
Who We Work With

Built for one kind of company.
Yours.

01

SaaS & Subscription

$1M–$20M ARR, preparing for Series A or B. You have revenue, you have traction — but the finance function hasn't kept pace with the business.

02

Legal-Tech & AI Companies

Regulated or semi-regulated, often cross-border, with complex pricing and investor expectations. We know the sector from the inside.

03

Founders Approaching a Raise

6–12 months from a US-led funding round. You need the model built properly, the data room in order, and someone who's sat across the table from institutional investors.

04

PE & VC-Backed Businesses

Post-investment, with board reporting obligations and investors who expect rigour. We've been the CFO in these environments — we know what your board expects.

05

US Companies with UK/EU Operations

US-headquartered but operating across multiple jurisdictions. We manage the cross-border complexity so you don't have to.

06

Companies Planning to Exit

Preparing for a trade sale or strategic transaction. We've led four exits — we know how to structure the finance function to maximise value and survive due diligence.

"The difference between a good business and a great one is the quality of its financial decisions — and the rigour behind them."
Cognos Advisory
$70M+Capital Raised
25+Years in Finance
4Exits Led
6+Countries
How We Work

Operational from
week one

A structured onboarding that respects your time and gets us contributing — not just learning — from the first engagement.

01

Finance Diagnostic

A focused review of your current reporting, forecasting, and finance function — identifying the most material gaps and quick wins against PE-grade standards.

02

Right-Sized Engagement

We agree scope and cadence together — from a focused project (model build, fundraise prep, exit readiness) to ongoing fractional days. Adjusted as your needs evolve.

03

Embed & Deliver

We join your board meetings, investor calls, and leadership team — owning finance deliverables alongside your team rather than reviewing them from the outside.

04

Build & Automate

We leave you with better infrastructure — smarter models, cleaner reporting, AI-enabled processes — so the value compounds well beyond the engagement itself.

Why Cognos Advisory

The difference experience makes

01

Senior-Led, Always

Every engagement is led by a senior CFO-level operator who has done this in the real world. No juniors, no handoffs, no account managers.

02

Truly Cross-Border

Operating across UK, EU, US, APAC, and Singapore — with experience managing multi-entity structures, cross-jurisdiction compliance, IFRS, US GAAP, and international grant programmes.

03

AI at the Core

Having led AI adoption and M&A in a live AI business, we bring grounded, practical AI thinking to your finance function — not buzzwords.

04

Exit & Investor Ready

Everything we build is designed with your next funding round or exit in mind. We know what institutional investors and acquirers look for — because we've sat across the table from them.

Client Perspectives

What clients say

"

We were six weeks from a Series A close with holes in our financial model that we hadn't seen. The data room was restructured, the model was rebuilt, and we got the deal done. I don't think we would have without that support.

Founder & CEO B2B SaaS · Series A · US
"

Our board pack went from a spreadsheet and a few slides to something that looked like it came from a PE-backed business. Our US investors noticed immediately — and so did the board. It changed the quality of the conversation entirely.

CEO & Co-Founder Legal-Tech · VC-backed · US & UK
"

We needed someone who understood what institutional investors actually look for — not just clean accounts, but the narrative behind the numbers. That's exactly what we got. The fundraise closed at the top of our target range.

Managing Director SaaS · Series B · US-led round
Recent Insights

CFO Thinking for Growth Companies

Practical perspectives on fundraising, FP&A, and the CFO function — written for founders, operators, and finance leaders.

Fractional CFO

What is a Fractional CFO? A Practical Guide

What a fractional CFO actually does, when it makes sense to hire one, and what to expect from the engagement.

 CFO Strategy

Fractional CFO vs Full-Time CFO — The Real Trade-offs

Most founders frame this as a cost question. It's a capability question. Here's how to think about it properly.

 Startups

When Does a Startup Need a CFO?

The warning signs that your finance function has outgrown your current setup — and how to respond.

 SaaS Finance · New

The SaaS Metrics That Actually Matter to Series A Investors

ARR, NRR, CAC payback, burn multiple — what US investors scrutinise, how to calculate each correctly, and the mistakes that damage deals.

 Fundraising · 2026

Series A in 2026: What US Investors Now Expect

The bar has moved. What the metrics, data room, and narrative need to look like to close a US-led Series A this year.

 M&A · New

What Investors Look for in Financial Due Diligence

Revenue quality, normalised EBITDA, working capital — what buyers scrutinise, where deals get chipped, and how to prepare.

 Exit Planning · New

Vendor Due Diligence: Why Smart Sellers Go First

Why commissioning your own DD report before a sale process protects deal value and puts you in control of the narrative.

 All Articles

View the Full Insights Library →

Ten articles covering SaaS metrics, M&A, fundraising, FP&A, US expansion, and CFO strategy.
Get in Touch

Tell us where
you're stuck

Whether you're six weeks from a Series A, burning cash faster than planned, or just can't get your board pack to tell a clear story — tell us what's going on and we'll tell you if we can help.

We work with SaaS founders across the US, UK, EU, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong — remotely and in person.

hello@cognosadvisory.com
Response within one business day
San Diego, CA & London, UK — working globally
US, UK & international clients served

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