Finance strategy & execution
CFO advisory
Assess a transaction, pricing decision, finance operating model, or transformation. Connect the financial case to the people, systems, and assumptions required to deliver it.
See CFO & CAO supportCFO, CAO & founder advisory · Devon Coombs LLC
Technical accounting advice from Google Cloud’s deal rooms.
I help CFOs, chief accounting officers, and founders connect deal terms to their financial consequences. Bring me a revenue question, a complex transaction, or a finance function that needs to change.
Serving San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, and the wider Bay Area, with remote engagements nationwide. Explore Silicon Valley expertise.
Devon Coombs, CPA, MBA · Assistant Teaching Professor of Finance and Faculty Director of Real Estate Finance, Santa Clara University
Choose the question you need to answer
Advice for the person accountable for the decision.
Technical accounting & reporting
CAO & controller advisory
Work through revenue recognition, contract terms, accounting memoranda, or the reporting implications of a deal. Make the evidence, judgment, and review responsibilities clear.
See accounting decision supportBusiness model, financing & growth
Founder advisory
Match the next business decision to your capital, experience, and goals. Work through unit economics, financing choices, commercial structure, and the finance capability your company needs.
See founder supportThe experience behind the advice
Commercial terms. Accounting consequences. One conversation.
At Google Cloud, my work connected finance and technical accounting with technology partnerships, marketplace arrangements, strategic investments, and complex commercial transactions.
- The experience
- More than $100 billion in aggregate transaction value supported across my career at Deloitte, Riveron, and Google Cloud.
- What I bring to your team
- Analysis that connects the commercial objective, accounting treatment, operational requirements, and decisions that need an owner.
“I have trusted Devon and his team with some of our most complex and important work, including billions of dollars of commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, financial due diligence, technical accounting, finance transformation, organizational strategy, and AI adoption.”
Where I help
A clear answer to the hard finance questions.
Start with the question your team needs answered. We agree the analysis, deliverables, and responsibilities before work begins.
Complex transactions & technical accounting
Connect deal terms to their accounting consequences, including revenue recognition, commercial structures, M&A diligence, and integration.
Possible scopeContract analysis, technical accounting memoranda, transaction support, or a pre-signature deals desk.
Read the frameworkFinance transformation & systems
Give finance a clear voice in an ERP or systems program. Align requirements, controls, responsibilities, and vendor decisions before implementation gets ahead of the business.
Possible scopeOwner-side assessment, requirements, implementation planning, and partner evaluation.
Read the frameworkApplied AI & internal controls
Identify useful AI applications in research, analysis, reporting, and documentation. Define which steps require reliable calculations, controlled data, and human review.
Possible scopeWorkflow assessment, adoption planning, control documentation, or a focused implementation project.
Read the frameworkMonetization & organizational strategy
Evaluate pricing, unit economics, responsibilities, and the finance capabilities needed for the next stage of growth.
Possible scopeCommercial model analysis, operating-model design, IPO readiness planning, or leadership decision support.
For finance and accounting leaders
Define the decision. Make the work reviewable.
Before a material contract is signed
Which terms affect revenue, cash flow, risk, and operational requirements? Bring finance, legal, and commercial teams into the same analysis.
Possible scopeA contract assessment, issues list, decision memo, or scoped deals-desk support.
Read the frameworkWhen an accounting conclusion needs support
What are the facts, the applicable guidance, the alternatives, and the judgment? Establish a clear basis for internal and auditor review.
Possible scopeA technical accounting memorandum with evidence, alternatives, and implementation considerations.
Read the frameworkWhen finance needs a new way to work
What should the team own, what should change in the systems, and where can AI help? Define requirements and controls before selecting a solution.
Possible scopeAn operating-model assessment, transformation plan, workflow design, or implementation scope.
Read the frameworkNeed someone to own ongoing delivery? Explore embedded finance support. Advisory scope and any interim role are agreed explicitly.
For founders and CEOs
Advice that fits the company you are building.
A founder choosing a financing path needs more than a valuation number. We start with the business model, available capital, domain experience, and what you want the company to become. Those choices shape the advice on runway, funding, pricing, and the next hire.
I serve as adviser to the CEO of TABot, an artificial intelligence company. My teaching in entrepreneurial finance and my work in complex transactions inform the questions I bring to a founder conversation.
Read SCU’s profile, including my TABot advisory roleA useful starting point
Bring the decision, the alternatives you are considering, your current financial model, and the deadline. An initial scope might be a model review, a unit-economics assessment, an evaluation of financing scenarios, or a decision memo for your leadership team.
Explore the Founder Archetype MatrixBuild a clearer financial story for investors
Discuss a founder advisory engagement
Working together
From the question to the next decision.
Define the problem
We clarify what is at stake, what has already been decided, and the timing and people involved.
Agree the work
We establish the analysis, deliverables, owners, and engagement terms before work begins.
Make it usable
Findings connect to actions: what matters, what needs a decision, and how the team carries the work forward.
“His deliverables consistently meet or exceed the quality I would expect from a partner at a leading Big Four firm, while often being more practical, responsive, and tailored to the needs of the organization.”
Choose the right form of support
A project, a practitioner, or a stronger team.
Embedded teams
Senior practitioners working inside your finance function for interim coverage, technical revenue, or ERP delivery.
Explore embedded supportAI Center of Excellence
A recurring program of live learning, workflow support, and applied AI guidance for your team.
Explore ongoing AI supportTraining & speaking
Build skills or bring a finance and AI perspective to your leadership offsite or event.
Explore sessionsBefore we begin
Common questions.
What does a CFO or CAO advisor help with?
A chief financial officer (CFO) advisor can help with financial decisions, capital allocation, planning, and transformation. A chief accounting officer (CAO) advisor focuses on reporting judgments, technical accounting, processes, and controls. My engagements connect these concerns: the business decision, its accounting consequences, and the work required to implement it.
Do you advise startup founders, including AI businesses?
Yes. Founder advisory can address the business model, unit economics, financing choices, commercial terms, and the finance capabilities needed for the next stage. I also serve as adviser to the CEO of TABot, an AI company. An engagement starts with the founder’s resources, goals, and constraints rather than a standard growth playbook.
Does advisory mean you become our fractional CFO or CAO?
An advisory engagement provides a defined analysis, recommendation, or decision support. It does not automatically appoint me as an officer or transfer management responsibility. If you need interim capacity or ongoing execution, we can assess embedded support and define the role, authority, deliverables, and reporting line separately.
Can a team in San Jose, Milpitas, or Santa Clara work with you?
Yes. Devon Coombs LLC serves these cities and the wider San Francisco Bay Area, with remote engagements nationwide. These are service areas. Any onsite work, travel, and meeting arrangements are agreed as part of the engagement.
When should we bring you into a transaction?
Ideally before key terms are fixed. Early work can connect the commercial objective to the accounting, reporting, and operational implications. I also help teams assess signed agreements and work through implementation issues.
Do you work alongside our existing finance team and advisors?
Yes. I work with leadership, internal specialists, legal counsel, auditors, and implementation partners. We define responsibilities and decision ownership at the start of the engagement.
How is a consulting engagement scoped?
We start with the decision, deadline, and information available. The proposal defines the work, deliverables, team, fees, and responsibilities. Scope may range from a focused technical question to a broader transformation program.
Is this a Santa Clara University service?
Private consulting engagements are provided through Devon Coombs LLC. My academic appointment at Santa Clara University is separate from those engagements.
What decision is in front of you?
Tell me the business context, the timing, and where you need help. I’ll follow up to discuss fit and a practical scope.