Ask an Expert: Live with Chris Ortega
Overview
In this Ask an Expert session, Chris Ortega — fractional CFO and Founder & CEO of Fresh FP&A — makes the case that the traditional annual budget is a waste of time for most SMBs. Drawing on two decades of building and scaling finance teams, he shows why the perfect budget is out of date by Q1, and how a lighter, rolling "balance of the year" forecast gives owners more clarity and confidence at a fraction of the cost.
Fathom's host also demonstrates how this comes to life in the product — using microforecasts, scenarios and a business roadmap to model decisions like a new hire or a price rise, and move clients from "how did we do?" to "here's where we're headed."
Whether you're an advisor looking to prove your value beyond the annual budget, or a finance leader who wants to spend less time perfecting numbers and more time driving decisions, this session will change how you plan.
In this webinar you'll learn
Why the traditional annual budget breaks down for SMBs, including the time and cost it burns and why it's outdated by the first quarter- Chris's "balance of the year" approach: rolling, quarterly reforecasting that keeps the plan in step with a business that never stops changing
- How to stop chasing false precision, and the three to five KPIs that actually matter (revenue, expenses, cash burn, cash runway, plus one most finance teams aren't tracking)
- How to scenario-plan and win C-suite buy-in by presenting best, worst and most-likely cases that drive the right decisions
Chris Ortega is the CEO and Founder of Fresh FP&A, a fractional CFO and advisory firm helping small and medium-sized businesses grow with financial clarity and cashflow confidence.
With more than 20 years of experience across accounting, finance, FP&A, and CFO leadership, Chris has built, shaped, and scaled finance organizations across global SMB and enterprise businesses from startup through exit.
As a finance and CFO thought leader for over a decade, Chris is passionate about bringing a “Fresh View on Finance” to business owners and finance leaders making finance more practical, forward-looking, and focused on driving better business decisions and sustainable growth.
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Ask an Expert: Live with Chris Ortega
In this Ask an Expert session, Chris Ortega — fractional CFO and Founder & CEO of Fresh FP&A — makes the case that the traditional annual budget is a waste of time for most SMBs. Drawing on two decades of building and scaling finance teams, he shows why the perfect budget is out of date by Q1, and how a lighter, rolling "balance of the year" forecast gives owners more clarity and confidence at a fraction of the cost.
Fathom's host also demonstrates how this comes to life in the product — using microforecasts, scenarios and a business roadmap to model decisions like a new hire or a price rise, and move clients from "how did we do?" to "here's where we're headed."
Whether you're an advisor looking to prove your value beyond the annual budget, or a finance leader who wants to spend less time perfecting numbers and more time driving decisions, this session will change how you plan.
- Why the traditional annual budget breaks down for SMBs, including the time and cost it burns and why it's outdated by the first quarter
- Chris's "balance of the year" approach: rolling, quarterly reforecasting that keeps the plan in step with a business that never stops changing
- How to stop chasing false precision, and the three to five KPIs that actually matter (revenue, expenses, cash burn, cash runway, plus one most finance teams aren't tracking)
- How to scenario-plan and win C-suite buy-in by presenting best, worst and most-likely cases that drive the right decisions
Chris Ortega is the CEO and Founder of Fresh FP&A, a fractional CFO and advisory firm helping small and medium-sized businesses grow with financial clarity and cashflow confidence.
With more than 20 years of experience across accounting, finance, FP&A, and CFO leadership, Chris has built, shaped, and scaled finance organizations across global SMB and enterprise businesses from startup through exit.
As a finance and CFO thought leader for over a decade, Chris is passionate about bringing a “Fresh View on Finance” to business owners and finance leaders making finance more practical, forward-looking, and focused on driving better business decisions and sustainable growth.
