Stuart Wilson, ACMA CGMA Fractional CFO & Controller · AICPA Member
Chicago is the manufacturing and logistics backbone of the Midwest — and professional services, healthcare, and tech companies are growing fast alongside it. But Illinois's 9.5% combined corporate tax rate, Cook County's layered taxes, and the financial complexity of industrial operations demand more than a bookkeeper. Management accounts by the 5th, cash-flow forecasts weekly — by a CGMA with 24 years in professional finance.
No contracts · Cancel anytime · From $3,995/mo
Chicago's manufacturing sector — from food processing to industrial equipment — requires standard costing, work-order tracking, bill-of-materials management, and inventory valuation (FIFO, LIFO, weighted average). These aren't standard bookkeeping tasks. A fractional CFO builds the cost-accounting infrastructure that lets manufacturers know their true margins by product line, not just in aggregate.
Chicago's deep bench of consulting firms, law firms, and professional services companies need utilization tracking, matter-level or project-level profitability, partner compensation modelling, and client-level P&L. When your people are your product, financial visibility into productivity and margin per engagement is critical.
Chicago is the freight capital of North America — O'Hare, six Class I railroads, and the largest inland port system in the US. Logistics companies need cost-per-shipment tracking, fuel-surcharge reconciliation, and multi-warehouse allocation models. We build the unit-economics reporting that lets logistics operators scale profitably.
Illinois's 7% corporate income tax plus 2.5% personal property replacement tax (9.5% combined) layers on top of Cook County's sales-tax complexity (one of the highest combined rates in the nation at 10.25%+). Add multi-state nexus and the compliance workload compounds. We model your total state tax exposure quarterly and prepare clean working papers for your CPA.
Everything a full-time CFO delivers — without the $275K salary.
Full P&L, balance sheet, cash flow statement. US GAAP-compliant. Board-ready with variance commentary.
Revenue, gross margin, AR days, utilization, inventory turns — updated live with industry-specific metrics.
Rolling weekly cash forecast with scenario modelling. Essential for managing manufacturing cash cycles and seasonal logistics volume.
Monthly variance analysis by department, product line, or cost center — before overruns become crises.
45-minute call to review the numbers, flag risks, and discuss growth or efficiency opportunities.
Corporate income + replacement tax, Cook County sales tax, multi-state nexus monitoring, and working papers for your CPA.
Standard costing, work-order tracking, inventory valuation, BOM management, and product-line profitability for Chicago manufacturers.
Utilization tracking, project profitability, partner compensation modelling, and client-level P&L for consulting and law firms.
Cost-per-shipment tracking, fuel-surcharge reconciliation, multi-warehouse allocation, and carrier-payment management.
Multi-provider P&L, insurance reimbursement tracking, and practice-level profitability for Chicago's major healthcare systems.
Yes. We build standard-cost models in your accounting system, set up work-order tracking, manage BOM-driven cost roll-ups, and produce product-line profitability reports monthly. You'll see gross margin by product, not just in aggregate — which is the data you need to make pricing and product-mix decisions.
The 7% corporate income tax plus 2.5% personal property replacement tax creates one of the highest corporate tax rates in the Midwest. For pass-through entities, the elective PTE tax can help offset SALT cap limitations. We model your total Illinois tax exposure quarterly and coordinate with your CPA on entity-structure and PTE election decisions.
Absolutely. We set up warehouse-level P&L, track cost-per-shipment metrics by facility and lane, and consolidate across all locations into a single management view. We also reconcile carrier payments and fuel surcharges monthly to ensure you're not overpaying on freight.
Most Chicago engagements are fully onboarded within 2 weeks. We connect to your accounting platform on day one and deliver your first management pack by the end of week two.
30-minute discovery call. We'll review your current setup, identify gaps, and show you exactly what your management accounts should look like. No pitch — just proof.
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