Michael King

The CFO Accelerator

I help fractional CFOs start, scale, and optimize their advisory services.

Founder

We help you increase your PROFITS so you can increase your IMPACT.

Call Box

Director of SaaS Business Analytics

Kadant

District Sales Manager

Georgia-Pacific LLC

Operations Superintendent

US Navy

Nuclear Power Plant Supervisor

I help fractional CFOs and accountants build multiple 6 and 7-figure advisory firms through coaching and community.

I started building my Fractional CFO firm, KFE Solutions, 8+ years ago.

On my journey, I looked for a mentor that could show me how to build a firm that right way.

I looked for a community of other impact-drive Fractional CFOs that could support me and encourage me.

I couldn't find either.

I ended up making massive mistakes that ended up severely slowing my growth and costing me hundreds of thousands in lost profits.

Today, I have a firm and a team that I'm proud of. I've made it my mission to help firm owners that are coming after me avoid the mistakes I made so they can build the firm of their dreams faster.

That's why I built The CFO Accelerator.

Since launching, I've had the privilege of mentoring THOUSANDS of firm owners through our Inner Circle community, our flagship course called The CFO Academy, our annual conference called The CFO Accelerator LIVE, and our podcast and YouTube channels.  

If you're trying to scale your firm and your impact, I'd be honored to walk alongside you.

Let's get to work. Together.

I help fractional CFOs and accountants start, scale, and optimize their advisory services.

I've been tracking data on the Fractional CFO industry since 2023.
And this data point is beyond interesting... 

Here's how the number of Fractional CFOs on LinkedIn has grown since April of 2023: 

April 2023: 6,300+
April 2024: 13,000+
April 2025: 18,000+
November 2025: 21,000+

So that begs the question: 

Is the Fractional CFO industry saturated or is there still room to grow?

I'm putting together my thoughts on this question but I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! 👇
_________________________________________________
📸 Pic from the VIP breakfast at The 2025 CFO Accelerator LIVE in Orlando, FL.

I help Fractional CFOs start and scale their firms.

We all need someone in our life that just isn’t that impressed with us.

Once your Fractional CFO firm hits $500k to $750k in revenue, where do you go from there? 

It's interesting because at this stage, 
It's no long about proving you can BUILD a firm. 
It's about proving you can SCALE a Fractional CFO firm.

In a lot of ways, everything has to change.

The strategies. 
The standards.
The conversations. 

That's why I created The Elite Mastermind.

It's for Fractional CFO firm owners that have hit the $500k revenue mark and want to blow past 7-figures in 2026. 

We just opened applications for our 2026 cohort. 

👉 DM me for details. 

📌 This is becoming THE PLACE Fractional CFO firm owners come to hit 7- and multiple 7-figures. I'd love to tell you why.

Being a fCFO isn't always rainbows and butterflies!

Sometimes you'll have to handle tough calls... 

Let me start by saying this:
I love the work that we do in our industry! 

We have a unique opportunity to help our clients unlock additional profits, pay down debt, hire more people, and change lives - goose bump kinda stuff! 

But you're also likely to have to make some tough calls and make some hard decisions. Three of the toughest include: 

• Saying no to a prospect
• Not being able to serve a client any longer
• Getting harsh feedback from an irate client

These calls are inevitable and you can't hide from them.

So how you handle them means everything. 

I recently put together a free guide covering exactly how to handle each of these three types of calls. 

📌 Click here to check it out: 
https://lnkd.in/gWaPGhAC

2025 was a hard year for a lot of Fractional CFOs.
In many ways, it was more of the same... 

Same profit
Same revenue
Same problem with leads
Same problem with business growth

The only thing that WASN'T the same was the amount of hours you worked 
(Which trended in the wrong direction)

What went wrong? 

It turns out there are 5 hidden patterns that are low-key sabotaging even the smartest, hardest working firm owners. 

The bad news? 
If you want 2026 to be better than 2025, you'll have to break those patterns.

The good news? 
Those patterns are 100% solvable - which means 2026 should be your best year ever.

What are those patterns and how do you solve them? 

Join me on Wednesday, November 12 at 2pm ET / 11am PT for my Best Year Ever webinar.

I'm going to show you: 
• The 4 pillars for breakout growth in 2026
• The 5 hidden patterns that held you back in 2025
• Why 2026 is shaping up to be a rare opportunity for fCFOs

This isn't a rah-rah pep talk. 

It's a practical blueprint designed off of what I'm seeing work inside the fastest growing firms right now.

Sign up here:
https://lnkd.in/gcPxiytE

The amount of metrics a Fractional CFO COULD be monitoring as they scale from $100k to $500k can be dizzying.... 

Leads
Discovery calls
Sales calls 
Proposals sent
New clients
Revenue
Gross Profit
Net Profit
Time to value for clients
Client lifetime 
Revenue/profit/cash generated for clients

If you could only pick THREE to monitor, what would they be and why? 
Did I forget any? 

Let me know! 

📸 Cute pic of our dog because it's Thanksgiving week so why not?

Networking request: 
I’m looking for a Zoom Webinars guru. 

I have some questions I need help answering. Happy to pay for someone’s time. 

Who do I need to know?

Protea Financial

Protea Financial’s Founders started Protea in 2014 to solve their own problem- finding high quality and cost-effective accounting for their own businesses. Two people filling a void has grown into a team of more than 20 professionals providing high quality accounting and bookkeeping to more than 60 clients. 

Protea provides flexible, audit-trained bookkeeping and accounting solutions. With a local management team and account managers, Protea provides business owners and managers with financial information and insight for making decisions. Protea’s goal is to provide, at costs below the market average, timely, accurate, and high-quality financial information on which a business can act.

Protea provides services to take over the burdens and responsibilities of finding, managing, and training an accountant or bookkeeper for businesses and free up proprietors’ time, so they can focus on building their businesses.  Based on a client’s needs, Protea can provide any combination of standard bookkeeping and accounting, either as a fully-outsourced service managed by Protea or by adding a dedicated full-time or part-time accounting professional to your team at a significantly lower cost than what you would pay to hire an accountant or bookkeeper.

Founding Partner

Third Leaf Partners

Accountant

NOVATO YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION

Vice president of recreational soccer

Part of the community providing Youth Soccer for all since 1979.

NYSA provides recreational soccer to 1,400 kids each fall and ongoing programs for development and fun, including camps and clinics. 

The organization also supports the competitive program, North Marin United.

Board Member

Executive Board Member

ProVisors

ProVisors is a prominent national networking organization specifically tailored for Trusted Advisors. It distinguishes itself by fostering a community that emphasizes the creation of deep, meaningful relationships among its members, which can significantly impact their business. The organization operates on a unique system that focuses on four key principles: maximizing referrals, fostering a culture of "Know, Like, Trust, Refer," encouraging the principle of reciprocity, and facilitating deep connections in less time on a national scale.

Current role - Assitant Group Leader

Executive Committee Member

ProVisors is a prominent national networking organization specifically tailored for Trusted Advisors. It distinguishes itself by fostering a community that emphasizes the creation of deep, meaningful relationships among its members, which can significantly impact their business. The organization operates on a unique system that focuses on four key principles: maximizing referrals, fostering a culture of "Know, Like, Trust, Refer," encouraging the principle of reciprocity, and facilitating deep connections in less time on a national scale.

Member

San Francisco Business Times Leadership Trust

The San Francisco Business Times Leadership Trust is a growth-focused community for business owners and executives in San Francisco. It's a platform for making high-quality connections with local business leaders and provides opportunities for members to publish in the San Francisco Business Times, enhancing their recognition as industry leaders. Members can participate in expert panels, virtual events for professional and personal growth, and coaching opportunities. The community focuses on cross-industry collaboration and offers benefits like networking, publication opportunities, and access to luxury travel and lifestyle benefits through the EXEC program.
As an active member, I have published multiple articles and contributed to many opinion pieces.
https://trust.bizjournals.com/profile/Zane-Stevens-Founding-Partner-Protea-Financial/fc4fa4d4-a5ed-41ee-8b8d-31a6bdb414c6

Young Entrepreneur Council is an exclusive, invitation-only community for young entrepreneurs who are below 45 years old.
YEC offers a range of benefits to its members, including one-on-one coaching, exclusive content access, networking opportunities through in-person gatherings and virtual webinars, a personalized concierge team, travel benefits, and the opportunity to publish on big media sites like Forbes. The organization aims to help members solve revenue or leadership issues, grow their personal brand, and provide a platform for connecting with other like-minded entrepreneurs.
As an active member I have published multiple articles and contributed to many opinion pieces.
https://yec.co/members/profile/Zane-Stevens-Co-founder-Protea-Financial/5dd57727-7dd6-4cad-8c1c-8058c3b47c26

Syntell (Pty)Ltd.

Responsible for all group accounting, inventory management systems and financial reporting for publicly listed company
Mentored, trained, and managed a team of 25 accountants and bookkeepers
Oversaw the maintenance of the SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software; planned and executed developments and improvements for the ERP system
Developed IFRS accounting systems for two major projects generating R110m ($10.5m) in annual revenue
Responsible for BBBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) and sustainability reporting

Group Management Accountant

Management Accountant, Traffic Business Units
Responsible for all accounting, reporting, and inventory management for business units
Served as acting general manager of the business unit during supervisor’s extended absence

Management Accountant, Mikros Group
Responsible for all accounting, reporting, and inventory management for business units
Led the conversion from Pastel to SAP to align the subsidiary business with the group’s accounting systems
Developed and established the protocols and procedures for the business’s inventory system in SAP

Management Accountant

KPMG South Africa

Lead auditor on accounting improvement and information technology advisory projects
Led audit teams of 2 to 5 accountants executing audit and accounting assignments for public and private companies

Supervisor

Completion of Chartered Accountant traineeship
Nationally a top rated audit trainee
Led audit teams of 2 to 12 accountants executing audit and internal audit assignments for public and private companies
Key team member on a large national profitability improvement project
KPMG International Certified technical and soft skills trainer

Trainee Accountant

Accountant to the wine industry | Podcast host | NBBJ 40 under 40

THE Accountant to the Wine Industry!

With over 18 years of experience in accounting, I have spent the last 10+ years specializing in helping wineries and wine businesses optimize their financial operations to make better business decisions! As the founder of Protea Financial, an accounting business founded in March 2014, my mission is to provide better accounting for everyone. And we strive to do that every single day for each of our clients!

I achieve this by sharing easily digestible advice to help you understand accounting and its fundamental principles. As a small business owner, I know firsthand how many hats you must wear. Bookkeeping and accounting shouldn't be one of them. Let's get you the reliable and consistent help you need!

Professional Background

I hold a Post Graduate Degree in Accounting and am a Chartered Accountant (South Africa). My career includes roles at large private companies and 4 years at a Big 4 accounting firm, KPMG, where I gained extensive experience across various sectors including manufacturing and food and beverage.

Discover Protea Financial

If you haven't heard of Protea Financial, check us out! We're unique and on a mission to revolutionize the outsourced accounting environment. We focus on delivering high-quality, timely information. We believe great accounting should be affordable and that you should have access to the best talent, no matter where they are in the world. We've been working remotely since 2014, bringing our expertise to clients wherever they are.

Beyond Accounting

I'm also a passionate advocate for knowledge sharing, hosting two podcasts, Protea Weekly and Protea Conversations. In 2024, I was honored as a North Bay Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient. Beyond my professional life, I am a husband and father to two amazing boys. I have a passion for soccer and volunteer as a board member and coach at our city soccer club. Additionally, I serve as an Assistance Group Leader at Provisors.

Always, Be kind!

Check out my other Social media:
X - https://x.com/zane_stevens_
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_operational_accountant/

Check out my podcast:
https://rss.com/podcasts/proteaconversations/

Follow Protea Financial on Social media:
Learn more by visiting us on these platforms:
Website - https://proteafinancial.com/blog/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/1083...
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwo27_BLQESQand0WjBEiig

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Michael King

Zane Stevens CA (SA)

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The Battle

Michael King

Zane Stevens CA (SA)

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Michael King's LinkedIn Performance

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