Inside a High-Growth CPG Transformation | A CFO’s Perspective on Turning Chaos Into Clarity
An Interview with AVL CFO Elza Fernandes
When AVL CFO Elza Fernandes first stepped into the engagement, she found a familiar pattern: a CPG company growing faster than its financial infrastructure could keep up.
A multimillion-dollar brand with explosive DTC and retail demand. Rapid revenue acceleration. Operational complexity expanding by the month. And a finance function—built on cash-basis bookkeeping and outdated systems—that simply couldn't support where the business was headed.
For Elza, this wasn’t a red flag.
It was a starting point.
THE INFLECTION POINT | Scale Without Infrastructure
The company had outgrown the systems that once worked:
Cash-basis accounting that no longer reflected reality
An inventory platform too limited for the volume and complexity
Disjointed sales feeds from e-commerce and retail channels
A line of credit heavily relied upon but poorly supported by reporting
A young, first-time internal CFO who had the potential—just not the support or frameworks yet
On paper, they were a $20–30M brand.
Operationally, they were running like a business half that size.
“They were successful because the product was strong and demand was strong,” Elza explains. “But the financial backbone wasn’t built for what they were becoming.”
WHY AVL WAS THE RIGHT FIT
Unlike a traditional accounting firm or a fractional CFO flying solo, AVL entered with both depth and range:
Controllers and accountants to rebuild the foundation
A CFO to drive financial strategy, forecasting, and decision support
A team able to work inside their workflows and systems—not around them
CPG-specific experience that immediately added credibility
Most importantly, AVL didn’t simply “clean up the books.”
They rebuilt the finance function from the ground up.
“We had to design processes from scratch,” Elza says. “Not generic ones—processes that fit the way the business actually operated.”
A TRUE PARTNERSHIP | Not a Vendor Relationship
From the first week, the trust dynamic was different.
The internal CFO (a relative of the founder) was smart, driven, and deeply involved—but new to the full strategic scope of the role. Instead of replacing him, AVL took a dual-CFO partnership approach:
Coaching and developing him
Helping him build discipline around cashflow
Providing operational insight he couldn’t yet see
Giving him the confidence to stand up a modern finance function
This is a model AVL excels at:
Strengthen the internal leader. Don’t overshadow them.
“It was important that he kept ownership,” Elza says. “AVL exists to empower, not to replace.”
THE EARLY WORK | Creating Order From Chaos
In the first 90 days, AVL rebuilt core pillars that became the foundation of everything that followed:
Accounting process optimization
Chart of accounts overhaul
Clean, transparent inventory reconciliation
Daily cashflow visibility
Forecasting rigor
Standard operating procedures that didn’t exist before
One early turning point came when a Black Friday surge nearly maxed out their credit limit due to delayed merchant payouts. That moment revealed just how fragile their system was—and just how urgently they needed real forecasting.
AVL delivered it.
FROM FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO STRATEGIC PARTNER
As weekly meetings became the norm, the dynamic shifted. Elza wasn’t just reviewing reconciliations—she was in the trenches helping leadership:
Identify tariff risks tied to overseas manufacturing
Assess the financial implications of a new bonded warehouse
Structure reporting that unlocked additional credit
Clarify true profitability by product and channel
Build financial storytelling that leadership could use with confidence
When something broke, AVL spotted it first.
When something needed to be redesigned, AVL owned it.
When leadership needed perspective, AVL provided it.
“It wasn’t one moment,” Elza says. “It was the accumulation of clear communication, transparency, and being proactive that made the trust seamless.”
THE OUTCOME | A Company Ready to Grow—Intentionally
Today, the business operates with:
Clean, accurate, transparent financials
Predictable cashflow management
A scalable inventory process
Reporting that satisfies lenders and supports expansion
A financial foundation built for the next phase, not the last one
Their record-breaking Black Friday—$1M in a single day—wasn’t luck.
It was the result of knowing where they stood, what they could invest, and how to plan for demand.
“They can grow now without breaking things,” Elza says. “That’s what a real finance function gives you.”
WHY THIS WORK MATTERS
For Elza, this engagement represents the best of what AVL offers:
A team that doesn’t just execute—but thinks, builds, collaborates, and cares.
“I love problem-solving. I love building systems that work. And watching this company go from reactive to confident—it’s been incredibly rewarding.”
Her message to founders?
“If you’re growing fast, you need partners who understand your industry, who dig deep into your operations, and who will work right alongside your team. That’s what makes AVL different. We don’t just maintain the books. We build the foundation for your next stage of growth.”
WHY A DUAL-CFO PARTNERSHIP MODEL WORKS
In a market where financial clarity directly impacts valuation, runway, and strategic options, founders can’t afford a fragmented or reactive finance function. The dual-CFO partnership model — pairing your internal financial leader with an AVL fractional CFO — gives you both the continuity of someone embedded in your day-to-day and the strategic horsepower of a seasoned operator who has guided dozens of companies through scale, complexity, and high-stakes inflection points.
This approach ensures founders get the best of both worlds:
A CFO who knows the business intimately
A partner who brings pattern recognition, modeling precision, and M&A-readiness expertise
A financial system that’s resilient, proactive, and aligned to growth
In short: you don’t just strengthen finance — you extend it.