Phoenix, AZ CFO

For more than 25 years, Charlie Sonneborn has helped companies achieve success. With both knowledge and experience as a chief financial officer, public company chief accounting officer, and general manager, Charlie’s well-rounded expertise and solutions-oriented perspectives lend the following to small and medium-sized businesses: strategic, financial planning and analysis, cash flow management, financing growth, as well as equity enhancement through increased earnings and improved business processes. His education is highlighted by an MBA and BS in accounting.

Charlie’s assignments have focused on helping companies with increased earnings and cash flow challenges, building infrastructures to support growth, re-structuring companies to improve customer service and profitability, and implementing exit strategies to ready companies for sale. His experiences have spanned industries as diverse as banking, software, manufacturing, consumer products, private label, industrial products, distribution, electrical connectors and components, and consumer services.

Charlie has helped companies make dramatic improvements in their earnings and cash flow. His development of work teams have reduced costs in manufacturing, as well as the focusing work teams on the re-design and development of products, which has resulted in a 25% increase in product category margins. Charlie helped a $42 million company reduce their DSO by 46% from 84 days to 45 days and improved credit and collection procedures, while simultaneously working with inventory management personnel to create analysis, resulting in reduced inventory investment levels by 21% in raw materials. He has negotiated payment terms with customers and vendors to fit industry standards and economic conditions. He organized and led an installation team with a manufacturing ‘just in time» delivery system. His efforts helped turn an $18 million revenue company from a $100,000 monthly loss to making $900,000 in just nine months. Under his guidance, a $15 million revenue company was able to cut its costs by 15% in just a year.

Charlie has developed business plans for venture financing and loan packages for bank financing. He has negotiated re-financings of existing term and working capital loans, and asset-based credit arrangements up to $8 million.

Charlie has an extensive background in developing and implementing financial controls as part of an operational and strategic approach to business growth. Through timely preparation and analysis of financial and operational performance, shareholder return and cash flow data, he has helped companies identify and improve their results, help fix problems before they become a crisis, and developed monthly and yearly routines to achieve goals. Charlie helped guide an $18 million company to sell off and reduce non-performing sectors and grow their core performing sectors business in four years to replace the non-performing sectors through product innovation and cost reduction of higher cost product lines. This resulted in higher sustained profitability and lower costs, re-building the company’s equity from a negative position.

Charlie has helped companies execute exit strategies and sell part or all of their business units. He negotiated the sale of a loss-making, non-core division for a retailer’s collectable product line. He has guided businesses through the selection of banking and lenders, worked with attorneys and auditors to keep the due diligence process on track, and brought critical deals to a close.

Charlie graduated from Indiana University, and earned an MBA from the Indiana Wesleyan University, with further studies in organizational development from Penn State at Philadelphia.

He began his career with Textron Company (then Chicago Gear manufacturing) in Chicago, IL, serving in the accounting department learning the various duties of the department while gaining hands-on experience. Charlie then moved into a service industry and began working for two of the Group Dekko Companies in Indiana as a division, and then corporate, controller for 10 years; this included financial and cost accounting, internal audits, operations planning, strategic planning and execution, acquisitions, and business unit management. After Group Dekko, Charlie served as the General Manager and CFO of the Eastwood Company, a direct marketing and retail distribution company in Pennsylvania. Later, Charlie made the move to a more temperate climate, relocating to Arizona to become the Business Manager and CFO of an industrial equipment and chemical manufacturer. He then migrated to the software industry, serving as Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller of Syntellect, NASDAQ Small Cap software and professional services company located in Phoenix, AZ. Finally, for seven years, Charlie functioned as the CFO of a privately-held commercial banking company, Copper Star Bank, before joining B2B CFO^® as a partner.

Currently, Charlie conducts his business in North Central Phoenix. When not working with clients, you can find Charlie working with the Washington Street Foundation as a mentor, helping children to become community leaders while reaching their goals. He enjoys hiking, biking, swimming and skiing.

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About Charles F. Sonneborn