KAUFMANN& Associates

Profitable on paper.
Cash poor in reality?

Why is your cash stuck in your business and not sitting in your bank account?

Let’s have a discussion Explore the next steps

60 minutes. No charge. No commitment to paid work.

What is your
biggest problem
right now?

If there was one thing you could fix and you knew you would not have to deal with it again, what would that be?

You describe the problem. We talk through how that part of your business actually works and identify the patterns.

You get a preliminary read on where to look first.

Let’s have a discussion

60 minutes. No charge.No commitment to paid work.

Your reports show the result.
Your operation explains why.

Start with what’s bothering you. Trace it through how the business actually runs, put dollars to what the evidence supports, and decide what to change.

Discovery

Describe what’s bothering you and leave with a preliminary Pattern Analysis.

Diagnosis

Test the patterns against your reports and put dollars to what the evidence supports.

Plan

Choose from three practical options and define the path forward.

Implementation

Make the agreed changes in a focused 60-day sprint—internally or with my help.

Every stage gives you something you can use. Continue with me, continue on your own, or stop there.

The method in practice

The report showed$250,000 as damaged.The floor showed$200,000 was not.

Earlier in my operating career, I ran the warehouse for a furniture company. A report classified $250,000 of inventory as damaged, and my boss told me to throw all of it out.

I walked the floor before anything was discarded. The report had located the inventory carrying the damaged classification. It could not show what action each item actually required.

Real operating example · company kept anonymous

The physical review found

$137,500Good
$25,000Needed a part
$37,500Needed repair
$50,000Actually damaged
$200,000Good or Recoverable Inventory

If you decide to continue

Start with the reports

$500

Report Triage

  • Bring one management question and the report you rely on to answer it.
  • Receive a focused assessment of what the report supports, what it may be missing, and where to look next.
$2,500

Report Analysis

  • See what one operating report reveals about your underlying business problem.
  • Receive a documented analysis of the financial effect, where the evidence supports it, and what should be examined next.

Address the broader problem

$10,000

Cash Gap Analysis

  • Learn why your reported profit is not becoming available cash.
  • Receive a prioritized diagnosis, the dollars supported by the evidence, and three options for resolving each problem identified.
$15,000

Brief + Action Plan

  • Turn the priority you choose into a practical plan for a 60-day sprint to resolve the problem.
  • Receive defined actions, ownership, measurements, and a clear sequence for putting the plan into action.

Take only the steps you need.

Every step stands on its own. Continue, pause, or take it from here. If you have what you need to move forward on your own, the work has done its job. Implementation and ongoing advisory remain available whenever you need them—each optional and separately scoped.

Schedule a Discussion
The work must stand up to scrutiny

You should be able
to check the answer.

A number matters only when you can understand where it came from and what it supports.

  • Traceable figures

    Every figure traces to the reports you provide, information you state, or arithmetic I show you. Assumptions are flagged.

  • Clear limits

    If the evidence cannot support a number, I tell you what is missing. Each deliverable states its coverage and limitations.

  • Three options. Your decision.

    For each finding, you receive three options. You can question an assumption, challenge a conclusion, and decide what to do next.

For professional advisors

Your client relationship
stays yours.

Bring in an additional operational lens for a defined scope. We agree how the work fits alongside yours before the engagement begins.

When you see the problem

Bankers, CPAs, investment bankers, M&A firms, PE firms, and attorneys

You have clients whose reports show a profit while cash remains tight. Introduce me for a defined engagement, run it through your firm, or co-deliver. We agree up front how I’m presented, who receives the deliverables, and who pays.

When a specialist complements your work

Fractional CFOs, expense specialists, and sales-growth or pricing specialists

I bring an additional operational lens alongside the work you already do. Subcontract, co-deliver, or introduce me for a limited engagement. The arrangement is decided case by case.

I work only the scope we agree.
Any expansion, we decide together.

That includes implementation and ongoing advisory. The primary advisory relationship remains with you.

Discuss a Client Situation
Bruce Kaufmann, Kaufmann & Associates
Bruce KaufmannKaufmann & Associatesbruce@bkaufmann.com
Bruce Kaufmann

A finance background.
An operational perspective.

45 years across finance, operations, banking, and consulting.

I have worked inside businesses as a controller and operations manager, and alongside them as a commercial banker and consultant. One thing I have learned is that a report can be accurate, yet still be wrong for the decision in front of you.

I have seen companies use a report to measure a key indicator it was never designed to capture. I have also seen different departments work from reports drawn from different data sets or different points in time. This is how capable executives make the right decision with the information they receive, but still get the wrong results.

I am a finance guy who likes living in the operations world. I start with what is bothering you, learn how that part of the business actually works, identify the patterns, and then use the records to quantify what the evidence supports.

The goal is a practical answer: why the problem keeps happening, what the evidence supports in dollars, and what you can do to resolve it.

Before we talk

A few practical
questions.

Is my company a fit?

The starting question is whether your company is profitable on paper but cash poor in reality. Most of my experience is with manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors, but retail and service businesses are not excluded. The problem determines fit; the evidence determines what we find.

What size company do you work with?

The usual focus is $10 million to $150 million in revenue. That range signals focus; it is not a hard boundary. If your company is smaller or larger, we can discuss the problem and whether the work fits.

What is the difference between Report Triage and Report Analysis?

Report Triage tests one management question against one report and gives you a focused assessment of what it supports, what it may be missing, and where to look next. Report Analysis examines one operating report in greater depth and documents what it reveals about the underlying business problem, including the financial effect where the evidence supports it.

What if I already have an advisor?

I bring an additional operational lens that complements the work already being done. Your advisor retains the primary relationship, we agree the scope, and any expansion is decided together.

Am I committing to the whole process?

No. Every engagement stands on its own. Continue, pause, or take it from here. Implementation and ongoing advisory remain available whenever you need them, and each is optional and separately scoped.