Finance That Moves Decisions.

Operator-grade CFO advisory firm for PE-backed and founder-led companies.

Senior CFO leadership for moments that can’t wait

Operator-grade CFO leadership brought in when growth, complexity, or transactions outpace financial clarity.

We step in when clarity, control, and confidence are required quickly without the overhead or delay of a full-time hire

Cash clarity within 2–3 weeks (13-week forecast + actions)
Board & lender-ready reporting (close, KPIs, narrative)
Transition & post-acquisition stabilization
Hands-on, operator-grade execution
Vibrant abstract pattern of illuminated red LED lights forming a dynamic design.

When clarity matters most

Stepping in when clarity, control, and confidence are required quickly.

David Spacey

Managing Director

Spacey Advisory delivers operator-grade CFO leadership to private-equity sponsors and high-growth founder-led companies.

I am typically brought in when growth, transactions, or execution complexity break the existing finance function.

Engagements are structured for speed, clarity, and measurable outcomes, not ongoing advisory.

Typical mandate cadence
Challenge identified (liquidity trap, pre exit diligence gap, post-acquisition disruption, ESOP or PE exit transition, multi entity integration)
6-12 week fixed fee sprint
$1M-$15M of unlocked value per engagement; cumulative working capital improvement of $18M+ across the practice to date

Representative outcomes
Guided a PE-backed construction platform through a failed sale process into a completed ESOP transaction as interim CFO
Freed $1.8M of working capital in six weeks for a $28M services roll-up
Delivered 118% of targeted EBITDA synergies on a $220M platform integration
Reduced close cycle from 28 to 4 days for a PE-backed SaaS platform while strengthening board and lender reporting
Prepared two SaaS portfolios for eight-figure exits with clean QoE and covenant-ready reporting

Focus
CFO Advisory · Finance Operations · M&A Integration & Exit Readiness · ESOP & Liquidity-Event Support

Track record
Founder and former Principal, ETF Global Advisors CFO advisory and M&A integration platform serving PE-backed, public, and mission-driven clients across North America.

Architected the global FP&A foundation for PepsiCo International during tenure as founder of Emerson LP.

Senior finance leadership at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (Head of FP&A) and transaction advisory at Moore Global, with $2B+ in cumulative transaction activity supported across buy-side and sell-side engagements.

MS Finance, Boston University · BS Economics, UMass Boston

Sector experience

PE-backed and founder-led engagements across construction and industrial services, healthcare, technology, and aviation, with selective work in consumer services, manufacturing, and mission-driven organizations.
Based in Dallas-Fort Worth. Select engagements nationwide.

Operator-grade CFO advisory for PE-backed & founder-led companies.

Spacey Advisory plugs into your business as both the operating CFO and the strategic CFO-standing up cash, close, and controls while shaping the value-creation agenda across pricing, growth, and capital.

Our Network

Specialist bench, assembled mandate by mandate.

Spacey Advisory works with a small bench of specialist operators, CPAs, FP&A leaders, and sector experts who plug in when your mandate needs deeper execution support. We only involve people we’ve seen under pressure on prior deals, and we structure work so you get senior attention without carrying a permanent overhead line. On any given engagement, that can mean a technical accounting lead, a close-and-controls specialist, or an industry operator who knows your market from the inside.

ecosystem

How we plug the bench into your mandate.

We embed inside operator-led environments to build reporting discipline, improve cash visibility, and create decision-grade financial clarity. Engagements are structured as interim or fractional mandates depending on stage and complexity, but always executed with full accountability and institutional standards. As a CFO advisory firm, Spacey Advisory does not operate as external consultants observing from the sidelines. We embed at the mandate level aligning finance structure, capital discipline, and reporting architecture to the expectations of ownership and the board.

Our role is not episodic advice. It is accountable execution. Whether stabilizing liquidity, rebuilding close processes, or integrating post-acquisition finance architecture, we assume responsibility for outcomes and structure the bench around the mandate, not the other way around.

How we integrate the right bench into your mandate, fast, aligned, and execution-ready.

Lean by default.

Every engagement starts with your operator + strategic CFO. Specialists are layered in only where they change the outcome.

Built around the mandate.

Teams are tailored to the work—PE-backed carve-out, first-time board, liquidity event—never to someone else’s utilization targets.

Single line of accountability.

Spacey Advisory owns delivery end-to-end; network specialists operate under our playbook, not as disconnected vendors.

Fit check for your mandate.

NEXT STEP

Share a short brief on your situation—stage, ownership, and what’s broken in finance. We’ll respond within one business day with where we can help and where we can’t.