- A fractional controller owns the accuracy of your numbers on a part-time, ongoing basis: the close, the statements, the reconciliations and the controls.
- Led by our CPA partner, with 35–40 years of accounting experience, including corporate reporting at Barrick Gold and financial statements and audit at IKEA Canada.
- The controller makes the numbers right. A fractional CFO decides what to do with them. Many clients start here.
- We prepare compilation engagements under CSRS 4200 and get you ready for a review or audit, coordinating with a licensed firm when one is needed.
- We are not a tax practice. We keep the books and year-end file tax-ready and work alongside your tax preparer.
- Fractional controller
- A fractional controller is a senior accountant who owns the accuracy of a business's financial records on a part-time, ongoing basis: running or reviewing the month-end and year-end close, preparing financial statements, maintaining controls and overseeing the bookkeeper, without being a full-time employee.
What fractional controller means here
Most growing businesses reach a stage where the books are kept, but nobody senior owns them. Month-end drifts. Accruals are estimated loosely or skipped. Intercompany balances do not agree. The bank or the board asks for statements, and the answer is a scramble. The business needs a controller, but not yet a full-time one.
That is the role we fill. Our CPA partner works as your controller, part-time. She runs or reviews the close, prepares the financial statements, sets the accounting policies, designs the controls and oversees whoever keeps your books day to day. You get a controller's judgment on a scope that fits the size of the business.
Her background is corporate reporting. She spent twelve years and ten months at Barrick Gold in Toronto, first managing a department of four responsible for corporate-office general accounting (accounts payable, intercompany and more), then in global finance, as senior manager of corporate reporting, and in global digital finance. She was accounting manager at Triple Flag Precious Metals, and from 2021 to 2026 accounting and reporting manager at IKEA Canada, responsible for country financial reporting, financial statements and audit. Her career began in retail with The Foschini Group in South Africa.
That range matters. Inventory, capital assets, accruals, intercompany balances and audit files: most of what a growing business runs into, she has handled at a larger scale. We cap our roster, so the CPA who closes your books is the same person who answers your questions about them.
Who it's for, and who it isn't
A good fit
- Growing businesses with a bookkeeper or small finance team but nobody senior overseeing the work.
- Companies whose lender, investors or board expect timely monthly or quarterly financial statements.
- Groups with more than one entity, where intercompany balances need to agree every month.
- Businesses facing a first review or audit, or an audit that keeps running long.
- Owners who have outgrown a basic bookkeeper but cannot yet justify a full-time controller.
Probably not
- Businesses looking for a tax preparer. We are not a tax practice; we work alongside yours.
- Companies that need an audit or review engagement performed. Those require an Ontario public accounting licence; we help you prepare and coordinate with a licensed firm.
- Anyone wanting financial statements signed off without supporting records. We will help you get the records in order first.
What's included
How we work
- ConsultationWe learn how the business runs, who reads your financial statements and where the finance function is stretched.
- DiagnosticWe review your books, recent statements, reconciliations and close routine to see what is reliable and what needs work.
- Written proposalScope and fee in writing before any work starts, including any clean-up needed first.
- Set the foundationsChart of accounts, accounting policies, close calendar and controls, agreed with you and written down.
- Run the cycleClose, reconcile, review and report each month or quarter, with commentary you and your board can act on.
- Year-end and auditYear-end file and statements prepared tax-ready for your tax preparer, and auditors or reviewers supported from start to finish.
Controller or CFO: how the two roles work together
A controller makes the numbers right. A CFO decides what to do with them. The controller looks back over the month and asks whether every balance is complete and correct. The CFO looks ahead and asks what the business should do next. Both depend on a bookkeeper recording the transactions underneath.
| Bookkeeper | Fractional controller | Fractional CFO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main question | Is every transaction recorded? | Are the numbers right, complete and reported on time? | Given the numbers, what should we do next? |
| Time horizon | Past | Past and present | Future |
| Typical work | Coding, reconciliations, payables, receivables | Close, adjusting entries, statements, policies, controls, audit readiness, bookkeeper oversight | Budgets, cash-flow forecasts, KPIs, pricing, hiring, financing, growth and exit planning |
| Main output | An up-to-date ledger | Reliable monthly and annual financial statements | A budget, a forecast and better-timed decisions |
| At Bloemet | Bookkeeping, overseen by a CPA | Led by our CPA partner | Led by both partners |
Many clients start with the controller. Once the close is reliable, adding a fractional CFO is a short step, because the forecast is built on numbers that already hold up.
For a longer comparison, read Bookkeeper vs CPA vs Controller: who does your Ontario business actually need? Our close routine is set out in The month-end close checklist we use for every client.
Compilation, review or audit: which one do you need?
Many Ontario owners still ask for a “Notice to Reader”. That standard (Section 9200) was replaced by CSRS 4200, Compilation Engagements, for financial statements for periods ending on or after 14 December 2021. The idea is the same: an accountant compiles statements from your information without auditing or reviewing it. The new standard asks more of the accountant, including understanding the business and disclosing the basis of accounting used in a note to the statements.
- Compilation engagement
- A compilation engagement is a service in which an accountant helps management prepare financial statements from information management provides, without verifying that information or expressing any assurance on it.
| Compilation | Review | Audit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | CSRS 4200 | CSRE 2400 | Canadian Auditing Standards (CAS) |
| Assurance given | None | Limited | Reasonable (high) |
| What the accountant does | Compiles statements from your records and information | Inquiry and analytical procedures | Tests evidence, controls and balances |
| Typical readers | Owners and many lenders | Lenders or investors wanting more comfort | Larger lenders, investors, regulated entities |
| Licensing in Ontario | Performed by CPAs in public practice under CPA Ontario rules | Requires a public accounting licence | Requires a public accounting licence |
| Does Bloemet perform it? | Yes | No. We prepare you and coordinate with a licensed firm | No. We prepare you and coordinate with a licensed firm |
| Relative cost | Lowest | Higher | Highest |
If your lender, investors or a buyer need a review or audit, we will tell you plainly, get the books ready for it, and coordinate with a licensed public accounting firm.
For a fuller explanation, read Notice to reader vs review engagement in Canada, explained plainly.
How it's priced
Fractional controller work is scoped and quoted in writing, after we have seen your records. Some clients retain us for the monthly close and reporting; others start with a defined project, such as a year-end, audit preparation or a chart-of-accounts redesign.
What drives the fee: the condition of your books, transaction volume, the number of entities and intercompany relationships, inventory and capital assets, how often you report and to whom, and whether a review or audit is involved. Reliable day-to-day records reduce the work, which is one reason many clients pair this with our bookkeeping.
Questions owners ask
What is a fractional controller?
A fractional controller is a senior accountant who owns the accuracy of your numbers on a part-time, ongoing basis. The role covers the month-end and year-end close, financial statements, reconciliations, controls, management reporting and oversight of your bookkeeper. At Bloemet, the role is filled by our CPA partner.
Controller or bookkeeper: what is the difference?
A bookkeeper records and reconciles day-to-day transactions. A controller owns the standard those records are kept to: the close, adjusting entries, financial statements, policies and controls. Many businesses need both, and our controller reviews and coaches the bookkeeper. See Bookkeeper vs CPA vs Controller.
Do we need a controller or a CFO?
Usually the controller first. A controller makes the numbers right; a CFO decides what to do with them, through budgets, forecasts and decisions on pricing, hiring and financing. If your close is slow or your balance sheet is uncertain, start here. If the books are already reliable and the questions are about what comes next, see our fractional CFO service.
Do you prepare tax returns?
No. We are an accounting and reporting practice, not a tax practice. We keep your books and year-end file tax-ready and work alongside your tax preparer, so the return starts from reliable numbers.
Can you work with our auditors?
Yes. We prepare the lead schedules, reconciliations and support auditors ask for, answer their questions and track open items to completion. Our CPA partner managed financial statements and audit for IKEA Canada, so she knows what auditors expect to see.
Do I need a review engagement, or is a notice to reader enough?
“Notice to Reader” has been replaced by the compilation engagement standard (CSRS 4200), which is enough for many owner-managed businesses and lenders. A review engagement gives limited assurance and is usually required by a lender, investor or agreement. If yours calls for a review, we will prepare you and coordinate with a licensed firm.
How do you work with our in-house bookkeeper?
We set the close calendar, review the work each month and coach your bookkeeper on anything that needs to change, such as accruals, cut-off or account coding. The aim is a team that produces reliable numbers between our reviews.
When does a fractional controller make more sense than a full-time one?
When the accounting needs a controller's judgment but not a full-time role. Common triggers are a first review or audit, a lender or board asking for regular statements, a second entity, or a close that keeps slipping. Once there is a finance team to manage every day, a full-time controller usually makes sense.