Structure now. Freedom later.

Where financial structure becomes lasting stability.

Built for companies whose bookkeeping exists, but whose numbers don’t fully line up with how leadership believes the business is performing.

Most businesses don’t struggle because they lack data. They struggle because nothing fully connects. Reports exist, but they don’t create certainty. Information is available, but it doesn’t consistently guide decisions. When bookkeeping stops being enough but CFO-level services still feel premature, the problem is almost always structure.

You’re Past Bookkeeping — But Not Ready for a CFO.

That’s where this work begins. Not with more reports, and not with theory, but by establishing or reinforcing the systems that make your financials dependable. The close becomes something you trust. Reporting becomes something you actually rely on. Instead of managing around uncertainty, you start making decisions from solid ground.

This work is built for startups and scaling businesses that want their financial environment to feel intentional and reliable as operations grow more complex. Bookkeeping, tax, and payroll stay with your existing team or providers so the focus here remains on the structure above that layer and how the close and reporting support real decisions over time.

This work doesn’t operate at the bookkeeping level.
It also doesn’t step into CFO leadership.

This work provides the financial backbone in between. The part most companies never intentionally install or maintain, and later wonder why everything feels unstable.

Because stability now is what makes freedom possible later.

Accounting Should Not Own You

It Controls You

Fragile Books

Financial Blindspots

Unreliable Numbers

Tribal Knowledge

Founder Overload

Where financial structure becomes lasting stability.

It Supports You

Reliable Financials

Clear Financial Context

Compounding Stability

Decision Confidence

Lower Stress

You've earned your money by building something real.

It should not be lost to variable accounting costs, you should keep it.

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Fixed scope. Fixed cost. No surprises.
Yes, you read that right.

Your Financials Should Feel Calm

Controller Lite

For businesses whose accounting works today, but no longer appears aligned with reality.

Ongoing financial oversight focused on preserving consistency and keeping financial reporting calm and reliable over time. Structural changes are scoped separately when needed.

View Controller Lite Details

Financial Clarity Package

For businesses that need their accounting system built or stabilized.

A high-touch setup phase that establishes durable financial structure, followed by the same calm, predictable oversight going forward.

View Financial Clarity Details

Want to talk through how this structure would work inside your business?

Click the trees below.

Because clarity, like a forest, is built one strong root at a time.

How My Services Stack Up

Most founders don’t mind paying for accounting.
They mind never knowing what it will cost.

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Early on, bookkeeping is usually enough to keep a business moving. As operations grow and decisions start depending on the numbers, structure and consistency become more important than speed. This is where my work fits, providing a stable financial foundation that leadership can actually rely on. CFO level strategy comes later, once that foundation is solid.

Title	Founding Stage	Early Growth (Post-Revenue)	Scaling & Growth	Seeking Investment	Expanding Operations	Preparing to Exit
Bookkeeper + AI	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Brett J. Federer Accounting	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Fractional CFO	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅

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This compares common accounting options side by side so you can see what each role actually does and what you are really paying for.

Service	Bookkeeper + AI	Brett J Federer Accounting	In-House Controller	Fractional CFO
Transactional Data Entry	✅	❌	❌	❌
Operational Tax Processing	✅	❌	❌	❌
Structured Month-End Close	❌	✅	✅	❌
Internal Financial Reporting	❌	✅	✅	❌
Accounting System Oversight	❌	✅	✅	❌
Long Term Strategy	❌	❌	❌	✅
Relative Cost	🪙	🪙 🪙	🪙 🪙 🪙 🪙	🪙 🪙 🪙
What You're Paying For	Basic Data Entry, AI Automation	Financial Structure Without the overhead	Full-Time Employee Operational Finance	Strategic Finance Partner High-Level Strategy

AI Where It Works.
Humans Where It Counts

Brett J. Federer — CPA blending AI automation with human strategy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made financial processes faster, but speed alone isn’t enough. Clean, trustworthy numbers still require human oversight. The smartest companies aren’t choosing between AI and expertise. They’re blending both—using automation for efficiency, and people for oversight and judgment.

🔹 AI generates data, humans ensure it’s reliable.

🔹 AI streamlines execution, expertise ensures structure.

🔹 Automation saves time, structure ensures stability

Financial blind spots happen when numbers are left unchecked. That’s why AI should assist, not replace expert oversight. At Brett J. Federer Accounting, AI is used to streamline workflows when it improves clarity, efficiency, or accuracy. Every report and structure remains grounded in human judgment and experience.

Because smart finance isn’t just about numbers. It’s about structure that grows from sapling to forest.

I only work with a few founders at a time because clarity dies with chaos.

Clarity scales best when focus is protected, so each client receives deliberate attention and lasting clarity when the fit is right.

Fixed Price = Fixed Scope

Once onboarding is complete, services move into a fixed monthly price with a defined scope. This keeps the work predictable and focused on both sides.

To keep things flexible without pressure or urgency, each engagement includes a limited number of monthly Founder Support Hours for questions and short-term analysis.

Monthly services are structured to maintain a stable accounting system and predictable cadence, rather than open-ended, on-call support. Anything beyond that is flagged early and, when appropriate, scoped as a separate project.

General Support Projects

Rebuilds & Policies Projects

Accounting Enhancement Projects

No pressure. No surprises. Just structure that lasts.

Like a phone's automatic update, I make quiet improvements.

Each adjustment keeps the system running smoothly;
it's easy as pie.

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During recurring services, Controller Lite includes corrective accounting adjustments made at my discretion when they are clearly required to preserve accuracy, consistency, or close reliability within the existing system structure.

In the Financial Clarity Package, recurring services may include corrective adjustments and limited refinements to the accounting structure designed during implementation, where appropriate to support scalability, consistency, or evolving operational needs within the established framework.

Refinements during recurring services are not request-driven and are applied only where they support the integrity of the accounting framework. While larger changes such as system redesigns, major workflow shifts, or new automations are handled as separately scoped projects, unless they fall within the Financial Clarity Package implementation phase.

These adjustments do not expand the defined scope of services or create ongoing obligations beyond the applicable service package.

How Research Is Handled (By Phase)

Some engagements require research, especially when building or restructuring financial systems. How research is handled depends on the phase of your engagement.

Implementation & Onboarding Phase:

Research is part of the work being performed and is billed through your monthly retainer, with hourly overage if work exceeds the retainer.

Recurring Services Phase:

Reasonable research directly supporting your monthly close and reporting is included. At this stage, you are no longer paying for discovery. You are paying for stability.

Separate scoping applies only when research:

is unique to your company’s structure or model
is a specialized accounting topic (e.g. ASC 606, inventory costing, amortization logic, etc.)
is a platform-specific setup or integration issue (e.g. Stripe logic, software configuration, etc.)
requires substantial, one-time research that is unusually time-intensive, even if related to agreed deliverables
involves or relates to a custom setup outside the agreed deliverables

If anything grows beyond scope, I will flag it early and we can decide how to proceed.

General Support Projects

Rebuilds & Policies Projects

Accounting Enhancement Projects

This policy is designed to be fair—not endless.

If the line between research and custom work starts getting blurry —

I’ll recommend scoping a separate project to keep everything clean, respectful, and aligned.

Professional Testimonials

I had the privilege of working closely with Brett in his role as Controller, and his contributions were instrumental to both our financial and operational success. What set Brett apart was not only his command of accounting and finance, but also his ability to design systems and processes that improved efficiency across the entire company.

From an operations perspective, his impact was profound. He led the successful upgrade of our ERP system after years without updates, resolving complex data migration and process issues. He developed tools that gave leadership clear, real-time visibility into expenses and cash flow, including per-customer, per-warehouse expense tracking and a highly reliable forecast model. His automation work reduced our monthly close process from nearly two weeks to just a couple of days, enabling timely, accurate reporting and freeing up valuable resources.

Brett also implemented practical, enforceable policies — from per diem and travel to sales tax and employee expenses — that made compliance simpler while improving accuracy and accountability. Each initiative he undertook was approached with a strong balance of financial rigor and operational practicality, and the results consistently exceeded expectations.

Most importantly, Brett carried himself with professionalism and high standards, holding his department accountable while partnering effectively with operations and leadership. He leaves behind a stronger, more disciplined, and more efficient organization, and his contributions will continue to benefit us well into the future.

I recommend Brett wholeheartedly to any company seeking a financial leader who can deliver not only accurate numbers, but also sustainable, well-designed operational improvements

Dan Parks , PhD

Chief Operating Officer / Founder