Sarah Hartford

Financial Operations & Strategy Advisor

I help growing companies understand how their operations drive their business outcomes.Most financial advisors work from the numbers backward. I work from the operations forward. With 20+ years at the intersection of finance and operations, I know how the work your team does every day translates into the metrics that matter, and I build the models, dashboards, and processes to make that visible.Defining the right variables, building the right KPIs, and turning operational data into financial clarity is what I do. When leadership can see exactly which levers drive outcomes, decisions get easier and growth gets intentional.You started your company because you're passionate about your product, not your back office. Let me worry about how the business works so you can focus on why you built it.

How I Work

Every engagement starts the same way: I listen. Before recommendations or solutions, I spend time understanding how information flows and how dollars move through your business. The right questions reveal themselves from there.From there I map the connections. Every business has a handful of variables that actually drive outcomes and most just can't see them yet. Finding those connections, building the right KPIs around them, and making them visible across the organization is where I do my best work.The goal is never just a dashboard or a model. It's getting your operational team to understand how what they do every day influences the business, and giving leadership the clarity to make confident decisions.

What I Bring

  • Financial modeling and scenario analysis

  • Dashboard development and data visualization (Power BI, SQL, Excel)

  • Process design and documentation

  • KPI development and performance reporting

  • Financial planning, forecasting and budgeting

  • ERP implementation and systems design

  • Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder communication

About

Sarah Hartford has spent over 20 years learning how businesses actually work from the inside out.Her career started on the operational side of the oil and gas industry before moving through financial analysis, reserves management, deal valuation, and ultimately strategic planning. That path, while unconventional, built something most finance professionals don't have: a ground level understanding of how operations translate into financial outcomes.At Transitional Energy, a geothermal energy startup, she built the business plan and financial model that successfully raised $1MM in seed funding. Since then she has continued applying that same approach across complex organizations, most recently leading financial operations modernization, business intelligence, and systems implementation within a large university facilities division.She works remotely and across industries. Available for fractional, project based, and full time engagements.

What People Say

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I'd love to hear what you are building.

Available for fractional, project based, and full time engagements.