Build a stronger finance function — and turn it into a trusted decision engine.
I help growing companies bring clarity, control, and confidence to financial operations through fractional CFO support, finance transformation, and practical AI-enabled automation. The goal is simple: better visibility, stronger execution, and faster decisions leadership can trust.
Most companies do not need more finance complexity. They need clearer reporting, stronger execution, and better decisions — with AI applied only where it creates real business value.
Reliable financials and leadership-ready reporting
Cash flow visibility, runway planning, and working capital discipline
Scalable controls, processes, and decision support
Advisory focus
Control: Build reliable reporting, disciplined processes, and stronger governance
Visibility: Improve cash, margin, and operational insight for leadership
Decision speed: Enable faster, data-driven decisions instead of backward-looking reporting
20+Years across Fortune 500 and venture-backed companies
$1B+Business-unit FP&A and strategic finance support
$100M+Opex oversight across engineering and R&D
60%Reporting efficiency improvement in prior leadership role
Services
Advisory services
Structured around two complementary offerings: foundational finance consulting and AI-enabled finance transformation.
Traditional finance consulting
CFO, FP&A, cash flow, and finance operations
Strengthen the core finance function with disciplined forecasting, cash management, reporting, process redesign, and controls that scale.
Budgeting, forecasting, and monthly business reviews
13-week cash flow, working capital, and liquidity planning
Financial close, KPI design, and board reporting
Policies, approvals, and control framework design
AI finance consulting
Practical AI for forecasting, cash, controls, and decision support
Apply AI where finance gets the highest return: prediction, anomaly detection, scenario analysis, and executive insight — without losing financial discipline.
AI-assisted cash forecasting and collection prediction
Expense anomaly detection and spend analytics
Revenue leakage and billing integrity analysis
Dashboard design for management and board visibility
Explore a working AI-enabled finance demo that shows how QuickBooks-style data can be turned into a repeatable weekly decision system — combining a 13-week cash forecast, AI-assisted risk flags, scenario planning, and CFO-level judgment.
A CFO-style advisor for founders and finance leaders. It helps users think through 13-week cash flow, runway pressure, AR/AP timing, payroll risk, and practical next actions before building the full cash report.
13-week cash flowRunway questionsAR / AP pressureCFO action plan
Ask a CFO-style question and get practical guidance on cash runway, collections, vendor timing, payroll pressure, and next-step decisions. The advisor does not ask for bank logins or sensitive credentials.
Hi, I’m your AI CFO Advisor. Ask me about 13-week cash flow, runway pressure, AR/AP timing, payroll risk, or what data you need for a CFO-level cash report.
For example: “Do we have enough cash for the next 13 weeks?” or “What should I do if collections are delayed?”
Representative examples of the operating improvements this advisory model is designed to deliver.
Close & reporting
From slow, manual reporting → leadership-ready visibility
Redesigned reporting packages, KPI structure, and management review cadence so leadership can clearly see cash, margin, and operating performance — and act earlier with confidence.
Cash & working capital
From reactive cash management → forward visibility
Implemented 13-week cash forecasting, AR discipline, and payment timing visibility so finance can anticipate pressure points early and support better decisions before issues compound.
Controls & execution
From fragmented workflows → scalable finance operations
Clarified approval flows, ownership, and core finance processes so invoicing, purchasing, close, and reporting become reliable, repeatable, and less dependent on manual workarounds.
About
Experience, positioning, and credibility — kept off the main page so the site stays more focused.
About Marilyn X
I bring more than 20 years of finance leadership experience across venture-backed startups and Fortune 500 semiconductor and AI companies. My work sits at the intersection of traditional finance rigor and modern automation — helping companies build stronger accounting and reporting foundations, improve forecasting and cash visibility, and apply AI where it creates real business value.
Clients typically bring me in when finance feels too manual, reporting is difficult to trust, margins are unclear, or the business is growing faster than its financial infrastructure. I step in to assess what matters most, stabilize the finance function, and implement practical solutions leadership can rely on.
Why clients trust me
20+ years across high-growth startups and large-scale enterprise environments
Built and transformed finance functions supporting multi-million-dollar growth
Strong track record in forecasting, controls, investor readiness, and reporting clarity
Hands-on with QuickBooks, ERP systems, dashboards, AI, and Python automation
Practical, execution-focused approach — not just strategy slides
What you can expect
Clear, reliable financial reporting and faster close cycles
Real-time visibility into cash flow, margins, and business performance
Stronger financial controls and audit-ready processes
Scalable systems and workflows that support growth
More confident, data-driven decisions from leadership
Why clients trust this work
20+ years across startup and Fortune 500 finance environments
Experience supporting fundraising, board reporting, and investor readiness
Hands-on execution across accounting, FP&A, systems, and controls
AI and automation applied only where they create real finance value
Capabilities
Detailed capabilities remain available without making the homepage feel crowded.
Planning & reporting
Forecasting, FP&A, and decision support
Financial modeling, forecasting, and long-range planning
FP&A and strategic decision support
Cash flow visibility and runway management
Accounting & controls
Reliable finance infrastructure
GAAP, revenue recognition, and financial reporting
Internal controls, governance, and audit readiness
Cost allocation, margin analysis, and profitability optimization
Systems & scale
Finance systems that support growth
ERP and financial system implementation
QuickBooks, Oracle, and SAP experience
Process design, reporting automation, and operational scalability
Who we serve
Ideal client profiles are tucked into a modal so the homepage stays premium and uncluttered.
Growth-stage companies
Need more forecasting discipline, cash visibility, and scalable reporting as the business becomes more complex.
Professional services
Need better utilization, margin insight, billing integrity, and resource planning across people-driven economics.
Founder-led businesses
Need a stronger finance backbone without hiring a full internal team too early.
Transformation situations
Need process cleanup, system upgrades, or an AI roadmap grounded in finance value, not hype.
Engagements
Engagement options are still easy to access, but no longer take up homepage space.
Fractional CFO
Ongoing finance leadership, executive decision support, and oversight across forecasting, reporting, cash, and controls.
Interim leadership
Bridge support during transitions, growth spurts, or periods when the finance function needs immediate senior leadership.
Finance transformation
Fix close, reporting, processes, controls, and systems so the finance function becomes more reliable and scalable.
Project-based support
Targeted work such as forecasting models, system implementation, dashboards, or automation and AI initiatives.
Approach
The operating model and service-line detail are available on demand, without adding more weight to the homepage.
Approach
How we work
Assess the current finance operating model, systems, and reporting pain points
Prioritize the highest-value issues across cash, planning, controls, and execution
Design a practical roadmap balancing near-term wins and longer-term transformation
Build the reporting, process, dashboard, and AI foundation in the right sequence
Leave the client with a more scalable finance function, not just a deck
Service lines
Service line
Working capital & cash
Improve liquidity through better visibility into collections, payment timing, cash forecasting, and operating drivers.
Service line
Forecasting & board reporting
Create a cleaner planning process with decision-ready reporting, scenario views, and clearer commentary for leadership.
Service line
Controls & finance transformation
Redesign workflows, approvals, and finance operations so the function becomes more scalable, auditable, and efficient.
Ready to strengthen and modernize the finance function?
Whether you need clearer reporting, better cash visibility, stronger controls, or a practical AI finance roadmap, this advisory model is built to help leadership teams move with more clarity, confidence, and speed.