Your Company Deserves
Institutional Finance

Elite strategic CFO services for founders who refuse to compromise.
Fortune 500 excellence. Entrepreneurial speed. No excuses.

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Phronesis

ΦΡΌΝΗΣΙΣ

Practical wisdom. The ability to discern the right action
in particular circumstances. Not just knowing what's true,
but knowing what to do.

This is what separates elite financial leadership from spreadsheet management.
The judgment to see beyond numbers. The experience to act decisively.
The wisdom to transform complexity into clarity.

THE TRUTH

You're running a sophisticated business
with startup finance infrastructure

"Our board is asking questions we can't answer with confidence"

Your investors expect institutional reporting. You're delivering QuickBooks exports and Excel gymnastics.

"We're growing 50% but burning more cash than ever"

Revenue isn't the problem. Your unit economics are broken and nobody can tell you exactly where.

"Our last CFO was either too junior or too expensive"

You need strategic thinking, not bookkeeping. But $400K for a full time CFO doesn't make sense yet.

"We need to fundraise but our story doesn't hold up to scrutiny"

Sophisticated investors see through weak financials instantly. One chance to make the right impression.

THE SOLUTION

Strategic finance leadership
without the Fortune 500 price tag

Institutional Caliber

Big Four trained. Fortune 500 tested. The same rigor that runs billion dollar operations, scaled for your business.

Speed of Execution

Weeks, not quarters. We've been through the wars and know exactly what needs to happen, in what order.

Built to Transfer

No black boxes. Every system, process, and framework designed for your team to own and evolve.

CREDENTIALS

  • Big Four CPA
  • Fortune 500 Leadership
  • VP Finance & Controller
  • 18 Years Progressive Experience
  • Crisis Tested (2008)
  • M&A Execution
  • Global Operations
  • Chicago → New York
Sam Malik, CPA

Sam Malik, CPA

Founder & Managing Partner

Why Phronesis Exists

After nearly two decades combined experience in Big Four, large global multinational privately held, and Fortune 500 finance leadership, Sam Malik, CPA founded Phronesis with a simple conviction: growing companies deserve the same financial excellence as global enterprises.

Sam's journey through the 2008 financial crisis, multinational transformations, and high growth ventures revealed a persistent gap. Companies between $10M and $100M operate with incredible sophistication everywhere except finance.

Today, from offices in Chicago and New York, Phronesis bridges that gap. Bringing institutional rigor without institutional overhead. Strategic thinking without the corporate bureaucracy. The finance leadership ambitious founders need, delivered the way they need it.

Three Ways to Engage

Let's Talk

If you're ready for finance that matches your ambition,
we should speak.

smalik@phronesiscfo.com

CHICAGO

(312) 625-7652

NEW YORK

(646) 912-5651
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