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/cs:cfo-review — CFO Forcing Questions

C-Level Advisory cfo-review Source

Install: claude /plugin install c-level-skills

Command: /cs:cfo-review <plan>

The numerate skeptic stress-tests anything that touches money. Six questions before any spend or fundraise.

When to Run

  • Before approving any spend > 1% of revenue
  • Before opening a new hiring requisition
  • Before any fundraise conversation
  • Before changing pricing or unit economics
  • Before signing a multi-year contract

The Six CFO Questions

1. Burn & Runway

What's the burn multiple and how many months of cash remain at base / bull / bear? - Burn multiple = Net burn ÷ Net new ARR. Above 2x is a problem. - If bear case < 12 months, you're already in fundraising mode.

2. Unit Economics

What is LTV / CAC per channel, and what's the payback period on the top-2 channels? - LTV / CAC > 3x is healthy. Payback < 12 months is healthy. - If either is broken, do not scale that channel.

3. Dilution Path

If this plan requires a raise, what's the dilution at base and bear valuations? - Founder dilution per round. - Cumulative dilution to next 2 rounds.

4. Capital Allocation Alternative

If this dollar wasn't spent here, where else could it go and what's the expected return? - Three alternatives: hiring, product, marketing. - Make the opportunity cost explicit.

5. Revenue Quality

What's the gross margin, and how does it trend at scale? - If margin compresses with scale, the model is broken. - Cost-of-revenue should grow slower than revenue.

6. Bear Case Survival

If revenue is 50% of plan, does the company survive 18 months? - Default-alive is non-negotiable. - If not, identify the cut triggers in advance.

Workflow

  1. Run the numbers: 
    python ../../../skills/cfo-advisor/scripts/burn_rate_calculator.py
python ../../../skills/cfo-advisor/scripts/unit_economics_analyzer.py
python ../../../skills/cfo-advisor/scripts/fundraising_model.py
  2. Answer all six questions with numbers, not adjectives.
  3. Apply the verdict:
  4. 🟢 GREEN — fund it
  5. 🟡 YELLOW — fund with cut triggers
  6. 🔴 RED — kill or revise

Output Format

# CFO Review: <plan>
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Reviewer:** cs-cfo-advisor

## Numbers
- Burn multiple: X.Xx
- Runway (base/bull/bear): X / X / X months
- LTV/CAC top channel: X.Xx, payback Y months
- Gross margin: X% (trend: Y)
- Dilution this round: X%
- Bear-case survival: PASS / FAIL

## Verdict
🟢 GREEN | 🟡 YELLOW | 🔴 RED

## Conditions (if YELLOW)
- Cut trigger: <metric> < <threshold> → <action>
- Review checkpoint: <date>

## Recommendation
[3 concrete next steps]

Routing

  • /cs:decide — log the verdict
  • /cs:execute — build 90-day plan if GREEN
  • /cs:boardroom — escalate if multi-role implications

Version: 1.0.0