Your business has grown. Your back office needs to catch up.

I help growing businesses bring structure to finance and operations, from reporting, cash flow, and payroll to systems, banking, and back-office processes.

Get experienced finance and operations leadership from a former COO with 15 years of experience, without adding another full-time executive.

$800M+annual revenue across a multi-entity business portfolio
$1.7MPPP funding secured during the pandemic
12new companies launched
15 yearsleading finance and operations

When it's time to bring in experienced help

You may not need another full-time executive. But you may need someone to take ownership when:

  • You receive financial reports, but don't have a clear picture of what's driving the numbers.
  • The owner is still managing payroll, banking, reporting, or administrative issues personally.
  • Your company has grown into multiple entities, locations, or states.
  • Your CPA or tax firm handles taxes, but no one owns day-to-day financial operations.
  • Critical processes still depend on spreadsheets and manual work.
  • A controller, finance leader, or operations executive has left unexpectedly.
  • You're launching a new company or location and need the back office built correctly.
  • You own a U.S. business from overseas and need someone you trust managing operations on the ground.

O'Grady Advisory can step in without the cost or commitment of another full-time executive.

Meet Chris O'Grady.

A former COO who has personally run finance, payroll, HR, systems, and facilities. When you work with O'Grady Advisory, you work directly with Chris, from the first call through every report, system, and decision.

More about Chris

Senior-level support, without another full-time executive

As businesses grow, the back office gets complicated quickly. Financial reporting, cash flow, payroll, benefits, banking, systems, and compliance can end up spread across employees, outside vendors, and the business owner.

I step in to bring those pieces together, whether you need ongoing financial oversight, operational infrastructure for a growing company, or experienced leadership during a transition.

More than bookkeeping. Different from tax preparation.

O'Grady Advisory provides experienced financial and operational leadership, bringing together reporting, systems, processes, and accountability as your business grows.

Financial Operations & Reporting

Know where your business stands and what needs attention. Monthly close and reporting, cash flow forecasting, KPI dashboards, budgeting, and lender-ready financial packages.

Business Launch & Back Office Setup

Launching a new company, entity, or location? I build the financial and operational infrastructure behind it, including payroll, benefits, banking, reporting, compliance processes, and business systems.

Systems & Automation

Replace manual processes and disconnected spreadsheets with systems that work together. I streamline workflows, connect finance and CRM platforms, automate reporting, and reduce repetitive administrative work.

QuickBooks Online, Sage, Dynamics 365, advanced Excel

Also available

Litigation Support

Financial analysis for damage claims and disputes, prepared alongside expert witnesses.

Nonprofit Operations

Audit readiness, board-ready budgets, and the operations that keep 501(c)(3) status secure.

Interim COO / Controller Coverage

A steady hand during a leadership gap, a transition, or a stretch of fast growth.

Bank & Lender Relationships

Refinancing support, covenant compliance reporting, and funding applications.

Own a U.S. business from overseas?

U.S.-based finance and operations support for owners who live abroad.

For four years I was the only U.S. finance contact for a business owner based in Lithuania, handling reporting, payroll, compliance, and bank relationships for shipping, transport, dealership, and real estate ventures across nine states.

If you run U.S. operations from another time zone, I can be your person on the ground.

Talk about your U.S. operations
Office desk with a view over a European old town
  • A trusted U.S.-based point of contact for finance and operations
  • Monthly reporting you can read and act on from anywhere
  • Bank, lender, payroll, and operational requirements kept on track
  • New U.S. entities launched with payroll, benefits, and systems in place

Industries I know from the inside

I've run finance and operations in each of these, so you won't spend your first month teaching me how your business works.

Fleet of semi trucks at sunrise Container ship leaving a busy port Warehouse with a forklift and stocked shelves Car dealership showroom

Logistics, shipping & trucking

Multi-state operations, freight and air cargo, and high transaction volume.

Auto dealerships

Multi-location reporting, lender requirements, and lean back offices.

Real estate

Property-level reporting, lender packages, and multi-entity ownership.

Manufacturing & woodworking

Job costing, work in progress, and progress billing.

Nonprofits & education

Audit readiness, board budgets, and protecting 501(c)(3) status.

Professional services firms

Paperless workflows, staff systems, and forecasting.

How we'd work together

Free consultation

A 30-minute conversation about your business, what's working, and where you're getting stuck.

Assessment & priorities

I review the relevant financial reports, systems, and processes and identify the highest-priority issues.

A practical engagement

We agree on the support you actually need: ongoing fractional leadership, a defined project, or interim coverage. Remote, anywhere in the U.S.

Where I've done this work

W8 Shipping, W8 Transport & affiliated ventures

Financial Controller

A Lithuania-based owner needed one trusted person running U.S. finances across shipping, air freight, transport, dealership, and real estate businesses. I managed reporting for the $800M+ portfolio, built automated templates that streamlined month-end close across nine states, launched 12 new companies, and kept bank covenants in compliance.

Miller Woodworking & Miller Veneer Products

Director of Finance

When the pandemic hit, this Harbor City manufacturer needed cash and clarity. I managed cash flow and forecasting, secured $1.7M in PPP funding, automated job costing by connecting Sage CRM to the finance system, and supported Miller Veneer's retail and B2B e-commerce launch.

Creal & Creal

Controller & Litigation Support

A Torrance professional services firm was running on paper and aging IT. I moved it to fully paperless workflows with real-time monitoring, implemented a SQL database, trained staff, and led the office relocation. I also handled financial analysis for damage claims under a master expert witness.

Switzer Learning Center

Chief Operating Officer

A nonprofit special education school needed steady financial and operational leadership. For seven years I ran finance, payroll, and IT, led clean annual audits, negotiated refinancing and insurance, and built a dynamic budget system for board presentations.

Good operations come down to steady habits: clean reporting, systems that handle the repetitive work, and someone who actually picks up the phone.
Chris O'Grady

I've spent 15 years running the parts of a business most owners would rather not think about.

Hi, I'm Chris O'Grady.

Most recently, as Financial Controller for W8 Shipping, W8 Transport, and their affiliated ventures, I was the U.S. finance lead for a Lithuania-based owner, running reporting for a portfolio of shipping, transport, dealership, and real estate businesses with more than $800M in annual revenue across nine states. During that time I launched 12 new companies.

Before that, I led finance and operations for a Harbor City manufacturer and a Torrance professional services firm, and spent seven years as COO of a nonprofit special education school, running finance, payroll, IT, and facilities through clean annual audits.

Along the way I learned what owners really need from the people running their back office: clear numbers, dependable systems, and someone they can count on. That's what I bring to every client.

When I'm not working, you'll find me on a hiking trail, catching a movie, or playing soccer with my son.

Let's talk about what's getting in the way.

Tell me what's working, what's becoming difficult to manage, and where you need help. I'll tell you whether O'Grady Advisory is a good fit.