The CPG CFO®

Serving innovative and #betterforyou CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands with monthly and project-based fractional CFO services: financial modeling, cash flow forecasting, and finance leadership

Fractional CFO & Founder

Mentor for a diverse group of innovative brands and dynamic founders in the pet, beauty, and food & beverage categories.

Mentor

DFW CPG

Schedule and co-host virtual huddles with educational content to support growth for emerging CPG founders on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of most months - join us!

Executive Board Member & Huddle Chair

Kilgore College

Accounting Advisory Committee

RSM US LLP

- Full-cycle accounting: Balance sheet reconciliation, financial statement preparation, and variance analysis for ~20 clients including multicurrency, multi-entity, global subsidiaries - up to 6 direct reports
- NetSuite client onboarding leadership: Process documentation and standardization for ~30 clients – chart of account, dimension & reporting design, transaction process guidance, close tasks & reconciliations – consistently on-time & profitable
- Consumer Products, Life Science, Not-for-Profit, and Tech industries
- Experienced both as an auditor and in audit support
- Consistently rated as “Game Changer” 
- Facilitated acclaimed CPE-eligible seminar for 22 team members, increasing retention and camaraderie
- Recognized as subject matter expert on NetSuite - host bi-weekly NetSuite Power Hour practice-wide

Manager, Finance & Accounting Outsourcing

Consulting Supervisor, Finance and Accounting Outsourcing

Senior Consultant, Finance and Accounting Outsourcing

Associate Consultant, Finance & Accounting Outsourcing

Implement Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations, Finance focus
Advise clients on Dynamics functionality and how to produce desired results
Test various scenarios to determine general ledger effect
Train end-users and produce user guides
Experience with data migration, sales tax setup, and security areas

Associate Consultant, Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations

Recognized for adding value to project due to Microsoft Dynamics software knowledge and
ability to communicate effectively with clients
Create work papers in accordance with MCAP and audit program guides; complete audit
sections as part of financial statement audit teams, providing guidance to interns

Assurance Associate

Pendas Wargo, PLLC

Bookkeeping for domestic clients and US subsidiaries in a diverse range of industries including engineering, consulting, construction, and digital products using QuickBooks
Tax return preparation, research and advising for payroll, sales and use, and income
Involved in financial statement preparation for loan acquisition and visa renewals
Business consulting on improving profitability, software, hiring and training
GAAP research memos

Senior Consultant

Dynamic Systems, Inc.

Chosen for implementation team for new Viewpoint: Vista software and completed setup
A/R, A/P, and payroll
Programmed dynamic collections reporting Excel file to reduce time to pay

Office Manager

TNT Crane & Rigging, Inc. (Formerly Turner Bros.)

Chosen as super user company-wide and pilot branch for new software rollouts
Wrote reports as needed and developed a billing system to increase accuracy and timeliness
Automated profitability analysis in quoting by programming a dynamic Excel document
Responsible for managing A/R, A/P, and payroll with three clerks
Managed month-end close at the branch level and calculated accruals

Accounting/Office Manager

Constructors & Erectors

Full charge bookkeeping, accounting, A/R, A/P, payroll with an assistant
Coordination with auditors and accountant
Tax form preparation for sales, off-road fuel, and payroll
Profitability reporting by project
Bank statement reconcilitation

Bookkeeper

Drug & Alcohol Testing of East Texas

Completed collections of various specimens for testing
Took calls for new companies and set up accounts for them according to their testing needs
Entered and reported results

Certified Forensic Collector

I help emerging CPG know their numbers | Your Brand Deserves a Long Shelf Life™ | Fractional CFO/Controller | Growth & Community

We help emerging, better-for-you and sustainable CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands know their numbers and Win what we call the CASH FIGHT™. We are strategic finance partners - like having a co-founder who is a numbers person.

Community and Growth drive everything I do. I support growth for CPG founders by establishing and optimizing finance & accounting processes and software so they can feel confident that their business is in the right position. I build community in my work through empathetic leadership, and engagement and volunteering in the larger better-for-you and sustainable CPG movement.

I have served brands offering beverages, chocolate, keto snacks, superfood powders, face creams, dental picks, pet food, pet supplements, athletic apparel, home goods, drink mixers, intimates, eggs, pancake mix, and one beloved Texas quick-service restaurant that will always have a place in my heart. 

I have never met an ERP I didn't like, but NetSuite is my favorite. I have extensive experience with technology including Advanced Excel (Vlookups, Pivot Tables, Macros), Word, PowerPoint, QuickBooks, ViewPoint (Vista), Intacct, Blackline, Floqast, Bill.com, Tallie, Expensify and Microsoft Dynamics (AX, 365 for Finance and Operations, Great Plains/Project Accounting).

I have a large food manufacturing client looking for a fractional CEO/COO-level operator to stabilize and elevate key customer relationships.

Who do I need to know? Thinking:
- An exited founder who self-manufactured
- A former COO at a high 8–9 figure brand
- A senior ops leader who has owned customer-facing escalations with major retail/CPG partners

Scope (fractional, hands-on, near-term):

- Step in as an executive counterpart for strategic customers
- Create structure: cadence, SLAs/escalation paths, RACI
- Pressure-test pricing/SOWs and protect margins
- Coach internal ops leads; align plant → planning → customer

Must-haves:
- Food/CPG manufacturing leadership (own-man or co-man)
- Calm with conflict; can push back while preserving the relationship
- Proven change management and cross-functional communication

Nice-to-haves:
- S&OP + capacity planning chops
- Quality systems + recall/incident response experience
- ERP/MES familiarity (good at speaking data)

Availability: fractional
Location: flexible; on-site visits as needed.

If this is you (or your favorite operator), let me know!

Thank you for the referrals—this community always knows the right people.

Abby June Richards, CPA-TX

CPG Cashflow Nerd | Fractional CFO | Know Your Numbers, Win the CASH FIGHT | Startup Advisor

Sometimes being a good CFO means being the “bad guy.”

Last week, I had a founder call where the numbers just didn’t line up.
- Revenue wasn’t covering marketing spend.
- Every new customer was costing more to acquire than they were bringing in.

Our client is brilliant — a scientist, a founder, and a mom — and she’s built something incredible. But my job isn’t to cheerlead. It’s to make sure she doesn’t run out of cash while chasing growth.

So I said it: “At your current ratios, every new customer costs you money, even if they repurchase several times.”
Silence.
Then: “Okay. Let’s fix it.”

That’s the moment you know the relationship works — when a founder can hear the hard feedback without taking it personally. When they know you’re not criticizing their dream, you’re protecting it.

A CFO’s value isn’t just in building a model, it’s having the courage to say what the model means.

The right financial partner won’t just tell you what’s possible — they’ll tell you what’s at risk. And they’ll help you navigate both.
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Hi! 👋🏼 I'm Abby. We help #betterforyou #CPG founders scale and make more informed operational decisions with financial and data analysis. Check out our website for more info!

👋 We’re hiring!
Know someone in Argentina who loves spreadsheets and startups?

Send them our way.
The CPG CFO® helps better-for-you brands know their numbers — and we’re looking for a Financial Analyst who can turn financial chaos into clarity.

 🌎 Remote (Argentina)
 🧮 Analysis + forecasting + building future process and automation

If you get joy from clean formulas, cash flow models, and founders who need your help — this could be your dream job.

📩 To apply: Email with a résumé + a short Loom answering a few questions (details in post).

Link in comments 🔗

Equity is not a credit card 💳 🙊 

If your cash problem ends in 30 days, why sell your company forever today?

Equity is (practically) forever.
Working-capital gaps are temporary.

When the use of funds is inventory, AR timing, or pipefill, debt is designed for it.

If you can, save equity for the moves that raise your valuation.

Quick comparison:
Equity: $400k at $4M pre = 9.1% gone.
Debt: $400k for 45 days at 2.5% monthly fee ≈ $15K cost.
One is permanent. One is a line item.

Rule of thumb: If it doesn’t move your valuation up, don’t pay with ownership.

What job does your next dollar have—growth or working capital? 
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Hi! 👋🏼 I'm Abby. We help #betterforyou #CPG founders scale and make more informed operational decisions with financial and data analysis. Check out our website for more info!

Some days I’m in the numbers.
Other days, I’m in the shopper’s brain.

That’s the reality of being a CPG CFO.
You can’t separate finance from the consumer from operations.

A forecast means nothing if you can't predict trial and repeat.
One hour I’m reviewing cash flow.
The next, I’m asking:
 ➡️ Would someone actually pay for this?
 ⬆️ How can we drive a higher AOV?

That’s where the magic happens — between finance, operations, and consumer insight.

A spreadsheet can’t tell you if a brand will win on shelf.
But the right CFO can translate both worlds.
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Hi! 👋🏼 I'm Abby. We help #betterforyou #CPG founders scale and make more informed operational decisions with financial and data analysis. Check out our website for more info!

When a lender tells you their rate is “17%,” your brain: “That’s not bad.”

But if it’s a factor rate, that number might actually mean 35–45% APR.

I’ve seen plenty of loan offers that look reasonable — rates in the teens, 12-month term, “no collateral, flexible repayment.”

It sounds great when you need short-term working capital, but dig into the fine print.

That “17%” isn’t always an interest rate — it’s often a flat fee on the full loan amount, with repayment starting immediately.

So while your balance shrinks every week, that full 17% still applies as if you owed the money all year.

The result is that your “17%” loan might actually cost you 35–45% APR.
That’s the difference between smart financing and a slow bleed on your margins.

Takeaway: If someone quotes you a “rate,” that doesn’t always mean APR.

Factor rates are flat fees, not time-based interest.

Ask or calculate before you sign:
 • When do payments start?
 • How often are they made?
 • What’s the true annualized cost of capital?

Because in finance — just like in CPG — what you call something matters less than how it actually works.
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Hi! 👋🏼 I'm Abby. We help #betterforyou #CPG founders scale and make more informed operational decisions with financial and data analysis. Check out our website for more info!

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