Finance Advisory & Transformation

Finance leadership
for a more demanding
environment.

Senior finance expertise delivered directly — without the overhead of a large firm.

Get in touch
Results
71%
Close time reduction at a national quick serve restaurant chain
6 mo.
To deliver a full ERP implementation — GL, payroll, and workforce management — at a regional transit agency
Days → Min.
Multi-entity reconciliation automated at a leading global staffing firm
71%
Close time reduction at a national quick serve restaurant chain
6 mo.
To deliver a full ERP implementation — GL, payroll, and workforce management — at a regional transit agency
Days → Min.
Multi-entity reconciliation automated at a leading global staffing firm

What We Do

Service Offerings

CFO & Controller Advisory
We work directly with CFOs and Controllers to redesign how their finance function operates — AI strategy, process architecture, systems selection, and operating model design. Practical transformation with measurable outcomes.
Process & Operations
  • Close acceleration & standardization
  • Finance workflow redesign
  • Reporting environment improvement
  • GL and chart of accounts structure
  • Management vs. GAAP alignment
Technology & AI
  • AI adoption strategy & roadmaps
  • ERP assessment & optimization
  • Automation and workflow design
  • Systems selection support
  • AI-native tool deployment
Leadership
  • Operating model design
  • Internal audit function buildout
  • Enterprise risk management
  • Audit committee reporting
  • Interim CFO / Controller
↗ 71% close reduction at a national quick serve restaurant chain  |  ↗ Full ERP implementation delivered in 6 months at a regional transit agency
Small and Medium-sized Business (SMB) Finance Solutions
A complete, AI-enabled finance function for SMBs that have outgrown their bookkeeper but aren't ready for a full-time finance executive. Built around automation from the start.
Foundation
  • Accounting system setup
  • Chart of accounts design
  • Monthly close process
  • Bank reconciliation
  • AP/AR integration
Reporting
  • Financial dashboards
  • KPI reporting
  • Budget and forecast
  • Cash flow modeling
  • Board reporting
Strategic Oversight
  • Fractional CFO
  • Fractional Controller
  • Process automation
  • AI tool integration
  • Team development
↗ Manual multi-entity reconciliation replaced by AI-built automation at a leading global staffing firm — days reduced to minutes

Case Studies

Results over representations.

71%
Close time reduction in 9 weeks
National Quick Serve Restaurant Chain
Director of External Reporting · Finance Transformation
The Problem
14-day close — every task deferred to close week. Systems went down. Process collapsed under its own weight every month.
The Diagnosis
The close wasn't the problem — what happened the other three weeks was. Move everything possible out of close week. Structural fix, not technical.
The Result
14 days to 4 in 9 weeks. No headcount added. No systems replaced. Process redesign by someone the CFO trusted with the function.
6 mo.
Full ERP implementation
Regional Transit Agency
Interim CFO · ERP Implementation Recovery
The Problem
A full ERP implementation — covering GL, payroll, and workforce management — had stalled completely. No meetings, no accountability. Consultants had adapted to the dysfunction.
The Diagnosis
Not a technology problem — a leadership vacuum. The implementation needed someone to own it and drive it every single week.
The Result
Full implementation delivered in six months. Stalled ERP projects fail for organizational reasons, not technical ones.
Days
→ Min.
Per validation cycle
Leading Global Staffing Firm
Fractional Finance Transformation · AI & Automation
The Problem
PE-backed firm, 20+ entities, two financial systems that disagreed. Multi-day manual reconciliation, no audit trail, unreliable results.
What Was Built
Python-based automated framework built by a CPA using AI as the technical execution layer. Accounting logic from the human. Code from AI.
The Result
Multi-day process runs in minutes with full audit trail. Domain expertise plus AI — no development team required.

About the Firm

Built on operating
experience.

Sander Abernathy, CPA — Founder & Principal

Sander Abernathy is a finance transformation leader with deep experience inside private equity-backed companies navigating ERP implementations, audit buildouts, complex transactions, and broken close processes.

The work has been done inside organizations under real pressure — managing timeline risk on ERP implementations, building internal audit functions from nothing, and stabilizing finance teams through restructuring. A current focus is the practical integration of AI into finance operations — building real capability, not theoretical frameworks.

Senior-only delivery. Clients work directly with the principal throughout — no account management layer, no handoff to junior staff.

Systems over workaroundsBuild the right structure, not patches on broken foundations.
Automation over laborEvery repeatable task is an opportunity to eliminate manual work.
AI as infrastructureThe new baseline for a competitive finance function, built deliberately.

Background & Credentials

DesignationCertified Public Accountant (CPA)
StandardUS GAAP — private company focus
BackgroundPrivate equity-backed operating environments
ERP SystemsNetSuite · Dynamics SL · Oracle EPM (Hyperion)
SMB StackXero · QuickBooks Online · Bill.com · Gusto
AnalyticsPower BI · Tableau · Excel (Power Query) · Python
IA & RiskInternal audit · ERM · Audit committee reporting
TransactionsM&A · Fresh start accounting · ASC 842 · ASC 606
Deep experience in ERP implementation · Close acceleration · AI automation · Internal audit · Fresh start accounting · PE-backed transformation

How We Work

The approach.

01
Operators, not advisors
We've held the roles. We've managed the close, run the audit, owned the ERP implementation. The advice is grounded in what actually works under pressure.
02
AI as a real tool
Not a strategy deck about AI — actual deployments, actual automation, actual time saved. We build things that run.
03
Direct delivery
Every engagement is delivered by the principal. No junior staff, no account managers. You get the experience you're paying for.
04
Measurable outcomes
Every engagement has a defined objective with a measurable result. We don't bill for presence — we deliver outcomes.
Hundred Spires Advisory
Get in touch.
Let's discuss what
you're working on.
Most engagements begin with a direct, confidential conversation.
Email
sander@hundred-spires.com
Phone
(404) 229-4045
Principal
Sander Abernathy, CPA
Engagement Models
Project-BasedDefined Scope
Fixed deliverable, defined timeline. Assessments, AI roadmaps, process redesign, and transformation projects.
Monthly RetainerOngoing
Fractional CFO or Controller services. Structured around outcomes and availability — not hours.
Interim / EmbeddedLeadership
Embedded as interim finance leader through transitions, ERP implementations, or buildouts.
Typical Clients
Private equity-backed companies · Founder-led businesses · CFOs and Controllers at mid-market organizations · SMBs that need senior finance leadership