Finance that holds when cash is tight. For manufacturers and founder-led companies.

I work alongside manufacturing and founder-led CEOs to protect liquidity, uncover product and customer margins, and decide what to fund, finance or defer. Strategic financial leadership grounded in cash reality.

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About

A CFO beside the CEO, for the decisions cash depends on.

Profit on paper does not protect a manufacturer when cash, pricing and financial controls fall behind the business.

I work alongside the CEO to close that gap: deciding what to pay and when, what to charge and why, which investment deserves capital now, which can wait, and what finance team and systems the next stage needs.

Every engagement follows the Cash Before Growth sequence: protect liquidity first, then fix margin, then build the governance and finance function that let the business grow on solid ground.

Decisions I help CEOs make
  • LiquidityWhich payments go out this week, and how many weeks of cash are left?
  • PricingWhat does each product really cost, and what must the price be to protect margin?
  • MarginWhich products and customers actually make money, and which ones drain it?
  • Capital allocationWhich investments can the company finance without sacrificing liquidity?
  • BanksWhat do we need to show the bank to keep or extend our credit lines?
  • ControlsWhere is the business exposed, and which controls close that gap first?
  • Team & systemsWhat finance team and ERP does the next stage of growth need?

Selected manufacturing CFO work

  • Group CFO mandate: served as fractional CFO for a three-company manufacturing group in West Africa, partnering directly with the CEO on cash, pricing and governance
  • Liquidity under pressure: set weekly cash and supplier payment priorities while the group ran on a fully drawn overdraft
  • Pricing decisions: built the cost model behind three price rounds and took the recommendation to the CEO
  • Governance and audit: commissioned the statutory audit of two inherited years and put controls and finance procedures in place
  • Planning and stakeholders: built and revised the annual budget; managed auditors, banks and strategic suppliers
  • Finance function build: designed the team structure, recruited the chief accountant, and led the Odoo ERP selection

Foundation: 14 years across audit, finance management and CFO roles for organisations in Africa, the Gulf and Europe. Maîtrise en sciences comptables, IHEC Tunis.

Proof

Outcomes that matter to CEOs.

An anonymised example of the decisions and financial outcomes observed during a manufacturing CFO mandate.

Cash visibility
13
weeks of forward visibility

Rolling cash planning across three industrial companies replaced crisis-by-crisis supplier payment decisions.

Revenue movement
+26%
year on year

Revenue change in local currency over the eight-month period reviewed, despite lower volumes.

Product margins
+10–15
percentage points

Observed improvement in margins by product grade following cost-based pricing adjustments.

Manufacturing case study · Anonymised

Three-company manufacturing group, West Africa

Situation

Profitable on paper, short of cash in practice. A fully drawn overdraft, suppliers paid late, freight and FX shocks driving raw-material costs up, and a finance team too thin to produce reliable numbers.

What I did

As fractional Group CFO, I installed a weekly cash and supplier payment plan, built a cost-based pricing model by product grade, organised the statutory audit of two financial years that predated my arrival, from auditor selection to final adjustments, designed the finance team structure and led its recruitment, put stock controls and finance procedures in place, and led the Odoo ERP selection: requirements document, requests for offers, and partner interviews and selection.

Observed outcomes

Payments to strategic suppliers were planned weekly instead of handled in crisis. Three cost-based repricing rounds within two months raised prices by 40%. Over the eight-month period reviewed, revenue was 26% higher year on year in local currency despite lower volumes; product margin measures also improved by 10–15 percentage points. These are observed group results, not solely attributable to the CFO intervention. The audit of the inherited years identified significant historical accounting errors and was completed, providing a stronger basis for future financial management.

Start here

Cash & Margin Diagnostic

A fixed-fee, 3-week review to pinpoint near-term cash pressure, working-capital constraints and margin risks, ending with a prioritised plan you can act on with or without me.

€1,900 fixed · 3 weeks · remote, with a live CEO readout

No obligation to continue. If you take up an ongoing engagement within 30 days, €950 is credited against your first month. Scope and required records are confirmed before we begin.

Discuss a diagnostic

You get

  • A 13-week cash baseline using available records, with key assumptions and gaps identified
  • A working capital review covering receivables, payables, stock and supplier terms
  • A margin snapshot by product and customer, where cost and sales data support it
  • A gap scan of reporting, controls and the finance team
  • A 90-day action plan, ranked by cash impact
  • A 90-minute CEO readout with a clear recommendation

What I need from you: bank statements, receivables and payables ageing, trial balance, inventory data, and sales by product for the last 12 months. If records are incomplete, we agree the feasible scope before starting.

Engagement tiers

After the diagnostic: three ways to continue.

Indicative mandates for different needs. The first conversation determines whether the diagnostic, focused support, or an ongoing CFO relationship is appropriate.

Cash Control
For when one missed payroll or supplier stop would cost more than a year of this retainer.
€1,400 / month
~2 days/month · 3-month minimum
  • 13-week rolling cash forecast, updated weekly
  • Supplier payment plan: who gets paid, when, and why
  • Working capital actions on receivables, payables and stock
  • Bi-weekly liquidity review with the CEO
  • Early warning before the overdraft limit, not after

Outcome: you see the cash verdict weeks before it arrives.

Discuss fit
Financial Clarity
For when revenue is growing but you can't say which products and customers actually make money.
€2,800 / month
~4 days/month · 3-month minimum
  • Everything in Cash Control
  • Monthly management pack the CEO actually reads
  • Margin by product, grade and customer
  • Cost-based pricing model and repricing recommendations
  • KPI dashboard and budget-vs-actual cadence
  • Bi-weekly CEO review

Outcome: pricing and product decisions made on cost, not guesswork.

Discuss fit
Full Finance Function
For when the business has outgrown its finance team, and banks or auditors are starting to notice.
€6,300 / month
~9 days/month · 6-month minimum
  • Everything in Financial Clarity
  • Annual budget and reforecasts
  • Finance team structure, recruitment and leadership
  • Internal controls and written procedures
  • Statutory audit coordination from auditor selection to final adjustments
  • Bank relationships and credit facility requests
  • Weekly CEO cadence

Outcome: a finance function auditors, banks and investors can rely on.

Discuss fit

All tiers: 30 days' notice after the minimum term. Optional on-site visits, with travel billed at cost.

Engagements are scoped around decision needs, business complexity, and the reliability of the available data. The number of days describes planned advisory capacity, not outsourced bookkeeping.

How engagements work

Common questions.

Do you work remotely?

Yes. Most engagements run on a fixed weekly or bi-weekly cadence: a CEO working session, shared cash and reporting files, and direct access between sessions. The cadence is agreed in writing at the start, so you always know when I'm on your business.

Do you come on-site?

When it matters: kick-off, audit fieldwork, bank meetings, or team recruitment. On-site visits are agreed in advance and travel is billed at cost.

Do you replace my accountant?

No. Your accountant or finance team keeps the books. I set the cadence, review the numbers, build the models and tools, and turn them into decisions for the CEO. Where the team is too thin, I help structure and recruit it.

How do we start?

Request a discovery conversation. If there is a fit, we'll agree whether to start with the fixed-fee Cash & Margin Diagnostic or a more focused scope. An ongoing mandate is never required to get the diagnostic.

How is it contracted and invoiced?

Engagements are contracted through Accuracy SUARL, which operates the Yosra Fraj — Strategic CFO Advisory brand, and invoiced monthly in EUR. All information is treated as confidential, and an NDA is available before the diagnostic.

The book

Cash Before Growth.

A CFO's playbook for manufacturing companies on liquidity, margin discipline, and building the finance function.

"In manufacturing, profit is an opinion. Cash is the verdict."
Forthcoming
A field manual for manufacturing CEOs

Most manufacturing CEOs manage by profit and discover, too late, that their company has run out of cash. Cash Before Growth is the playbook for the ones who want to see the verdict before it arrives.

Fifteen chapters. Five parts. Every chapter ends with a decision you can make this week — from installing a weekly cash cadence to repricing under pressure to rebuilding a finance function that actually serves the CEO.

Contact

Let's talk.

If you're a CEO or founder navigating cash pressure, uncertain product margins, investment trade-offs, or a finance function that needs structure, start here.

Use the form to request a conversation. I will follow up to arrange a suitable time; submitting the form does not automatically reserve an appointment.

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