# The Good CFO > The Good CFO is a full-stack finance and HR firm built exclusively for marketing, advertising, media, and entertainment agencies. We provide fractional CFOs, fractional controllers, FP&A, bookkeeping and accounting, HR, recruiting, and payroll — plus an AI & systems automation arm and a client portal called the Hub. We serve agencies roughly $2M–$20M in revenue, from offices in Lake Forest, California, with partners across Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. Tagline: "Do good things with good people." ## About - [Our Story](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/our-story/): Who we are and why the firm was built. - [Our Approach — The Good CFO Method](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/our-approach/): Clarity, Systems, People, Execution, Evolution. - [Team](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/team/): CFO and HR partners, all agency veterans (72andSunny, Ogilvy, Wunderman Thompson, WONGDOODY, PainePR, Column Five, J Public Relations, and more). - [The Hub](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/the-hub/): The client portal — cash, utilization, WIP, and client profitability, refreshed weekly. - [The CFO Collective](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/cfo-collective/): The network of independent agency CFOs behind the firm. ## Services - [Fractional CFO](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/services/fractional-cfo/): Senior, part-time financial leadership for agencies — strategy, forecasting, cash, capital, M&A. - [Fractional Controller](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/services/controller/): Fractional and outsourced controller services — monthly close, reconciliations, reporting integrity, AP/AR, and controls. Includes definitions, a fractional controller vs. fractional CFO comparison, and cost ranges. - [FP&A / Financial Analysis](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/services/fpa-financial-analysis/): Budgeting, forecasting, WIP, utilization, and project profitability. - [Bookkeeping & Accounting](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/services/bookkeeping-accounting/): Agency-native books — accounting for advertising, creative, and digital agencies. - [HR Services](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/services/hr-services/): Outsourced and fractional HR leadership, compensation, and compliance. - [Recruiting](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/services/recruiting/): Advertising and creative recruiters — full-cycle search for creative, marketing, account, and media roles, plus finance and operations hiring. - [Payroll](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/services/payroll/): Multi-state payroll, integrated with the books. - [AI & Systems](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/ai-systems/): Done-for-you automation builds with 24/7 monitoring. ## Locations - [Fractional CFO in Los Angeles](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/fractional-cfo-los-angeles/): Fractional CFO, controller, and FP&A for LA agencies. - [Fractional CFO in Orange County](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/fractional-cfo-orange-county/): Fractional CFO, controller, and FP&A for OC agencies. Office: 23 Spectrum Pointe Dr, Suite 202, Lake Forest, CA 92630. - [Fractional CFO in San Diego](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/fractional-cfo-san-diego/): Fractional CFO, controller, and FP&A for San Diego agencies. ## Industries - [Creative Agencies](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/industries/creative-agencies/) - [Digital Marketing Agencies](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/industries/digital-marketing-agencies/) - [Advertising Agencies](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/industries/advertising-agencies/) - [PR & Communications Agencies](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/industries/pr-communications-agencies/) - [Media Companies](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/industries/media-companies/) - [Entertainment Companies](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/industries/entertainment-companies/) - [Branding Firms](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/industries/branding-firms/) ## Insights - [Fractional Controller vs. Fractional CFO: Which One Does Your Agency Need?](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/fractional-controller-vs-fractional-cfo/): The controller makes the numbers right, the CFO decides what to do about them. Which seat to hire first, what each costs, the six symptoms that point to each, and the four ways agencies buy the wrong one. - [The Aim of a Humanistic Organization](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/the-aim-of-a-humanistic-organization/): Why an agency's aim should be that everyone connected to it gains over the long term, why profit is the evidence rather than the aim, and four tests for whether yours is real. - [AI Scales Your System, Broken Parts Included](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/ai-scales-your-broken-system/): Automation multiplies existing process defects. Where agency finance breaks under it, and the three questions to ask before you build. - [Outsourced CFO Services: What You Get and When You Need One](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/outsourced-cfo-services/): What the service includes, who should do the work, when an agency needs one, what it costs, and the four questions to ask before signing. - [Drive Out Fear: The Real Blocker to AI Adoption](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/drive-out-fear-ai-adoption/): AI rollouts fail on fear, not technology. What that costs, and the fix. - [What Is a Fractional Controller? An Agency Guide](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/what-is-a-fractional-controller/): What the role owns, bookkeeper vs. controller vs. CFO, the four agency accounting traps, what it costs, and where CFO work starts. - [CFO Services for Marketing Agencies: What You Actually Get](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/cfo-services-for-marketing-agencies/): The deliverable list, what the first 90 days should produce, why agency economics change the job, and how to tell a real CFO from a retitled bookkeeper. - [How Much Does a Fractional CFO Cost?](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/how-much-does-a-fractional-cfo-cost/): 2026 pricing — monthly, hourly, and project ranges, and how it compares to a full-time CFO. - [Outsourced CFO vs. Fractional CFO](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/outsourced-cfo-vs-fractional-cfo/): What actually separates the two terms, what each costs, and which one an agency needs. - [Accounting & Bookkeeping for Marketing Agencies](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/accounting-for-marketing-agencies/): Gross vs. net revenue, WIP, pass-through media, chart of accounts, and the monthly close. - [What Is a Fractional CFO? An Agency Guide](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/what-is-a-fractional-cfo/) - [The Good CFO Manifesto](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/the-good-cfo-manifesto/): The principles behind the firm. - [Why I Built The Good CFO](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/why-i-built-the-good-cfo/): Founder essay by Matthew Everitt. - [What the Numbers Can't Tell You](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/what-the-numbers-cant-tell-you/): The four blind spots in an agency P&L, why metrics degrade under pressure, and the questions that live outside the close. - [Fix the Process, Not the Person](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/fix-the-process-not-the-person/): Most finance mistakes are process problems wearing somebody's name. How to run the diagnosis, and what changes once AI does the work. - [Questions Every Agency Should Be Asking](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/questions-every-agency-should-be-asking/) - [The Agency Data Problem](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/the-agency-data-problem/): Four systems that don't talk to each other. - [The PainePR Service Manifesto](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/painepr-service-manifesto/): And how it shaped The Good CFO. - [How The Good CFO Handles Your Data](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/insights/how-we-handle-your-data/) ## Contact - [Contact](https://www.thegoodcfo.com/contact/): Schedule a conversation.