Private Roundtable & Networking I Discussing the Fractional CFO Opportunity & How to build a thriving Practice
Join us for a Roundtable on Building & Scaling an Outsourced / Fractional CFO Practice
As businesses scale, raise capital and prepare for IPOs...Demand for strategic finance leadership is growing.
Estimates suggest 25,000–30,000 Indian businesses could need fractional CFO services.
For CAs and finance leaders, this could open up an entirely new career path.
Speakers
CA Sameer Arora: ATMS & Co LLP I CFO services account for 60–70% of ATMS revenue
Sameer started his career as an articled assistant at Lakhani & Lakhani.
He eventually became a partner and went on to acquire the very firm where he began his career.
But here's the interesting part: Today CFO services account for 60–70% of ATMS revenue.
What can you learn? How can an existing CA firms turn CFO services into a major revenue stream?
CA Aloke Ghosh: Co-Founder at Finadvisors | ex Mahindra (CFO) | ex Apple (Director- Finance, India)
After 25+ years in senior finance roles (Apple, Mahindra, Epigamia), Aloke Ghosh and Francis Vidhayathil asked, “What’s next?”
In their mid-40s and early 50s, they started a fractional CFO firm.
As they put it, “We had no clear growth or revenue plan. Things just picked up.”
Today, they work with leading startups, unicorns and established businesses.
What can you learn? How to turn years of corporate experience into an independent advisory business.
CA Shilpa Desai: Partner CFO Bridge I Corporate CFO to fractional CFO
After working with Fortune 50 MNCs and large Indian businesses, Shilpa left her corporate CFO role and joined CFO Bridge in 2019.
Founded by Srinivasan Swamy in 2012, the business now operates across India, the US and the UAE.
What can you learn? The realities of moving from corporate finance to fractional CFO work.
Q&A and Fireside chat
The session will include a fireside chat, open Q&A and discussion around the challenges attendees are facing themselves.
1. How big is the fractional CFO opportunity?
Is there enough demand to build a sustainable practice in India?
Which businesses are hiring fractional CFOs: startups, SMEs or larger companies?
Is there an opportunity to serve clients overseas - US/UK/EU?
What are clients actually looking for when they hire a fractional CFO?
How scalable is this model?
AI impact?
2. How do you build a CFO practice?
Beyond your first client, how do you build a consistent pipeline of leads?
How do you win bigger clients and generate repeat business?
How do you define the scope of work when the CFO role can cover so many things?
Do you charge monthly retainers, project-based fees or a combination of both? What fee ranges are realistic?
3. Delivering and scaling
Does every client need a senior CFO, or can a team deliver the work using a mix of full-time and part-time resources?
How do you maintain quality across multiple clients without being involved in everything yourself?
How do you build a team and grow beyond a founder-led practice?
4. How can CA firms build a new business around CFO services?
If your firm already offers audit, tax and compliance...how do you move into CFO services?
Challenges specific to CA Firms?
How do make this a meaningful revenue stream?
5. Going independent
Is it worth leaving a corporate career to build your own practice?
What can you realistically earn, and what does it take to build a sustainable business?
Who should attend?
CA firm Partners/Founder looking to build a CFO services practice
Finance managers, Controllers & senior finance leaders exploring what's next / considering of working independently.
CAs looking to move beyond traditional practice.
Why attend?
Private, in-person roundtable (no conference-style presentations).
Learn from those who’ve built CFO businesses.
Exchange ideas with the right peers.
Discuss how to build and scale your own practice
Event details
📍 Location: BKC or Worli, Mumbai (Final venue yet to be confirmed)
📅 Date: 31st October Saturday
⏰ Time: 9:15 am–12:30 PM IST
Early bird: ₹2,199 | Regular: ₹3,000
About The InnerCircle by Finance Story
About The InnerCircle by The Finance Story
The Finance Story brings news, career insights and industry opportunities to finance, tax and accounting professionals.
The InnerCircle takes these conversations offline through exclusive, in-person meetups where professionals connect with industry leaders, exchange experiences and explore new opportunities for their careers and businesses.
Find out more at www.thefinancestory.com
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