Finance & Accounting

The most common trigger: a founder realises they are making significant decisions without financial visibility. Revenue is growing, headcount is up, but the monthly numbers arrive three weeks late, the cash flow forecast does not exist, and the board pack is a mess of unreconciled spreadsheets. That is usually the point where an interim CFO or financial modelling project unlocks a step change in how the company operates.

The second common trigger is a fundraising round. Danish investors, especially for Series A and B rounds, expect financial models that can withstand scrutiny: a three-statement model (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow), unit economics that are clearly defined, and projections that are grounded in real assumptions. Building this the week before term sheet negotiations is too late.

The third scenario is an M&A process. Whether you are acquiring or being acquired, financial due diligence is intensive. A finance consultant who has been through several of these processes can prepare your books to withstand scrutiny, identify the questions buyers will ask, and present your numbers in the way that maximises value.

Smaller triggers we see regularly: a company moves from Denmark to a Nordic structure (transfer pricing becomes relevant), a CFO leaves and the function needs bridging while the search runs, or a board asks for financial controls that the current finance team does not know how to build.

A good finance consultant starts by understanding what decisions you need to make, not by building a model. The model is the output; the decisions you are trying to enable are the input. I have seen engagements fail because the consultant built a technically excellent financial model that answered questions the CFO had not actually asked.

Good finance consultants communicate uncertainty honestly. Every financial model involves assumptions, and good consultants document their assumptions clearly and tell you which ones the outcome is most sensitive to. A forecast that does not show ranges or scenarios is either very simple or hiding something.

Good fractional CFOs are additive to the existing finance team, not threatening. The best ones rapidly identify one or two people on the team who can grow, build their capability, and aim to make themselves unnecessary within 12 to 18 months.

Good finance consultants working on fundraising will challenge your story, not just dress it up. The job is to help you find the version of your financials that is honestly compelling, not to make weak numbers look strong. Investors who do diligence will find the problems; you want to have found them first.

Warning signs: They overpromise on fundraising outcomes. They build models so complex no one can maintain them. They cannot explain the assumptions behind a projection. They have not worked with Danish companies and do not know the local investor landscape.

Ask if they have worked with Danish companies raising from Danish investors. The investor landscape, the expectations around financial models, and the legal and accounting standards are different from US or UK norms. A consultant who learned their trade in Silicon Valley or London brings useful perspective but needs Danish-market experience to be fully effective.

Ask for a specific example of a financial story they helped a company tell. Not just numbers, but narrative. Finance consultants who can only build models are half as useful as those who can help you communicate what the numbers mean.

Check their familiarity with your financing stage. A consultant who specialises in pre-seed runway models is not the right person for a Series B M&A prep. Ask what stages they have worked at and what deal sizes they have prepared materials for.

Insist on ownership of the outputs. You should own the financial model, the assumptions, and the documentation. A consultant who keeps the master file or insists on maintaining it as an ongoing service is creating a dependency, not a capability.