Payroll is tight. The bank is asking questions. Revenue is down and cash is shorter every month. You need someone who has been here before, knows what to do, and can move fast. A business turnaround consultant's job is to stop the bleeding, stabilize the business, and build the path back.
A business turnaround consultant is brought in when the business is in crisis — cash shortage, creditor pressure, revenue collapse, or operational failure. The job is to act fast, stabilize the situation, and build a realistic recovery plan.
Most turnaround situations are fixable — if you move before the options run out. The biggest mistake business owners make is waiting too long to bring in help.
Accurate, timely financial statements the owner can actually use to run the business — not just satisfy the accountant at year end. If the books are behind or unreliable, we fix that first.
Cash flow forecasts, revenue projections, scenario planning. Forward-looking models that tell you where the business is headed, not just where it's been.
Building the realistic recovery roadmap — cost reduction, revenue prioritization, debt restructuring, and operational changes. A plan the lenders will accept and the business can actually execute.
Loan packages, covenant compliance, due diligence support. Speaking the language your bank or investors need to hear — fluently — so you don't have to figure it out under pressure.
Turnarounds require clear decision-making authority and consistent communication. Helping ownership maintain team confidence, communicate with stakeholders, and make hard decisions with incomplete information.
Executing the restructuring plan — implementing the cost reductions, renegotiating the contracts, rebuilding the reporting, and tracking progress against recovery milestones every week.
You're watching the bank account more than the business. Payroll is getting tight. Vendors are calling. The cash position is deteriorating faster than revenue can recover it.
Revenue looks fine but cash is always tight. Profitable months still feel like a struggle. The gap between what the P&L says and what's in the bank is a recurring mystery.
A major customer left. A market shifted. A key person walked out. The revenue line that the whole business was built around is gone and the cost structure didn't adjust fast enough.
Owners are in conflict and the business is suffering for it. Decision-making has broken down. A neutral operator who can stabilize the business while the ownership issues get resolved.
Bankruptcy is often avoidable with the right intervention. A turnaround consultant can assess whether restructuring outside of court is viable — which preserves more value than any bankruptcy process.
You've made cuts. You've had the hard conversations. And it's still not enough. A turnaround consultant brings the outside perspective and the structured process to find what you've missed.
A fast, honest look at the business — cash position, creditor situation, revenue trajectory, cost structure, and options remaining. Understanding the actual situation before making any moves.
Protecting payroll, managing vendor relationships, communicating with lenders, and stopping the cash bleed. The goal in the first 30 days is buying time and preserving options.
A realistic, executable recovery plan — cost reductions, revenue priorities, debt restructuring, operational changes. Specific, sequenced, and tied to cash milestones.
Executing the plan — weekly tracking, creditor communication, cost implementation, and adjusting as the situation evolves. Staying in it until the business is stable and self-sustaining.
90-day turnaround engagements with clear milestones and measurable outcomes. Hourly and retainer options available depending on situation.
Crisis stabilization, creditor communication, restructuring plan, and 90-day recovery execution. Most turnaround situations are resolved within this window.
180-day engagement for more complex restructurings involving multiple creditors, ownership disputes, or significant operational rebuilding alongside financial recovery.
Fractional CFO engagement following stabilization to rebuild financial infrastructure, restore lender relationships, and ensure the recovery holds.
Scissortail Fractional is based in Edmond. In a turnaround, speed matters. We're in your market, available same-week, and not flying in from a coast on your dime.
Energy services, construction, healthcare, and the full range of OKC businesses. Fast-response turnaround support across the metro.
Turnaround Services OKC →Energy, manufacturing, and Green Country businesses. Turnaround specialists who understand Tulsa's industries and business environment.
Turnaround Services Tulsa →Our home base. Same-day response for Edmond businesses in crisis. We know this market and can be in your office today.
Turnaround Services Edmond →University corridor, healthcare, and I-35 corridor businesses. Crisis response and restructuring for Norman companies.
Turnaround Services Norman →Manufacturing, construction, and family businesses across South Tulsa County. Turnaround specialists who know the local business landscape.
Turnaround Services Broken Arrow →Remote and hybrid engagements available for Oklahoma businesses outside the major metros. Geography shouldn't determine access to good financial leadership.
A bookkeeper records transactions. An accountant prepares reports and handles compliance. A fractional CFO interprets the financial picture, builds forward-looking models, and helps you make better decisions with the numbers. The bookkeeper tells you what happened. The CFO helps you decide what to do next.
No. A fractional CFO works alongside your existing accountant and bookkeeper, not in place of them. We operate at the strategic layer above the day-to-day accounting function. Most of the time the existing team gets better with a CFO in the mix.
Engagements typically range from $2,500 to $10,000 per month depending on scope, complexity, and hours. That's a fraction of the $150,000–$250,000 annual cost of a full-time CFO. Every engagement is scoped to the actual work — you're not paying for 40 hours a week you don't need.
Most businesses benefit when they're in the $1M–$20M revenue range. Below $1M, a good bookkeeper and CPA may be sufficient. Above $20M, you can likely justify a full-time CFO. In between, fractional is often the highest-value option.
Most engagements run 6 to 18 months. Some are shorter — a specific cleanup, a transaction, a lender package. Some are ongoing. We don't push for length. We stay as long as the work requires and no longer.
A straight conversation about your situation, your options, and whether we're the right fit to help. No obligation.