Sarah Wolters,

Senior Financial Analyst

Sarah Wolters

Sarah Wolters is a Senior Financial Analyst with Part Time CFO Services, bringing experience across public accounting, healthcare, private business and the not-for-profit sector. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University with a minor in Economics and is currently pursuing her CPA designation. Earlier in her career, Sarah gained experience in audit, review and compilation engagements, working with both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, as well as corporate, personal and charity tax. She later worked in healthcare, where her focus included internal accounting processes and third-party recoveries.

Since joining Part Time CFO Services, Sarah has built on that foundation by working directly inside organizations that need stronger financial processes, better reporting and greater confidence in the information being used to make decisions.

A significant part of Sarah’s work has involved stepping into situations where the accounting function needs to be stabilized or rebuilt. That can mean sorting through incomplete or inconsistent bookkeeping, identifying what needs to be corrected, developing more reliable month-end processes and working closely with the client team until timely monthly reporting becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Her public accounting background is particularly valuable in these situations. Sarah understands not only what needs to happen internally throughout the year, but also what auditors and external accountants will ultimately need. She has helped organizations improve the quality of their records and reporting so that year-end audits can be completed with cleaner information, fewer surprises and a more organized financial process.

Sarah has also developed considerable experience supporting businesses where the accounting needs to better reflect what is happening operationally.

In project-based environments, for example, the timing of work, revenue and expenses can make the financial results difficult to interpret if work-in-progress is not being estimated appropriately. Sarah has worked through complex WIP schedules to develop more reasonable estimates and improve the matching of revenue and expenses by job. This gives management a clearer understanding of performance rather than relying on financial results that can fluctuate simply because of timing.

Cash flow management has also been a major component of her work. Beyond determining whether a business is profitable on paper, Sarah works to understand when cash is coming in, when obligations need to be paid and where pressure points may emerge. That can include building cash flow visibility, helping management prioritize payments and planning around periods where the timing of receipts and expenses creates strain on the business.

Her experience extends into budgeting, forecasting and external financial reporting as well. Sarah has developed operating budgets to give management a clearer financial plan for the year and has prepared financial information and Notices to Reader required by financial institutions. These assignments require an understanding of both the internal needs of management and the information external stakeholders rely on when evaluating the organization.

Sarah also works extensively with not-for-profit organizations through financial and operational assessments. These engagements often require her to understand an organization quickly, review the existing finance function, identify gaps in processes and reporting, and help leadership determine what improvements will provide the greatest value.

An important part of that work is making financial information more useful to boards and leadership teams.

In one organization, Sarah helped redesign the board’s financial reporting so directors could see the organization at a higher level and understand its overall financial position, rather than receiving information that made it difficult to see the broader picture. The objective was not simply to provide more financial information, but to provide information at the right level for governance and decision-making.

That practical approach is consistent across Sarah’s work. Whether she is cleaning up an accounting function, improving monthly reporting, preparing an organization for audit, developing a budget, managing cash flow or rebuilding a board package, she focuses on getting the financial fundamentals right and then making the information more useful to the people relying on it.

Sarah also places a strong emphasis on the relationships behind the work. Some of her most successful engagements have started in challenging circumstances, where significant cleanup was required and there was a great deal to learn about the organization. Working through those situations has meant developing trust with the client, understanding how their business or organization operates and building processes that their team can continue to use.

That combination of technical accounting knowledge, analytical thinking and hands-on client experience allows Sarah to move comfortably between detailed financial work and the larger picture behind it.

Outside of Part Time CFO Services, Sarah serves as Board Treasurer for the Trenton Care and Share Food Bank, where she contributes her financial experience in support of the organization and its work in the community. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, competitive card games, knitting and playing music.