Delivering Financial Discipline for a New York–Based Creative Agency

A New York based creative agency partnered with Lumiere to stabilize its accounting operations and introduce leadership-level financial oversight during a period of rapid growth.

While the agency had strong revenue momentum, leadership lacked consistent visibility into project profitability, team utilization, and forward-looking performance. By outsourcing its accounting workflow and adding fractional CFO support, the agency gained the clarity and structure needed to scale with confidence.

THE CHALLENGE

Before partnering with Lumiere, the agency faced several common growth-stage challenges:

• Financial reporting lagged behind operations
• Revenue recognition varied across retainers and project work
• Limited visibility into project-level profitability
• Inconsistent time tracking and resource allocation
• Minimal forecasting and budget discipline

As complexity increased, leadership needed more than bookkeeping, they needed infrastructure and strategic guidance.

OUR APPROACH

Lumiere implemented a fully integrated accounting and finance structure combining disciplined execution with leadership-level support.

Outsourced Accounting Infrastructure
We stabilized the close process, standardized workflows, and introduced consistent monthly reporting aligned with leadership priorities.

Fractional CFO Leadership
Our CFO team introduced structured planning, operational alignment, and monthly performance reviews with leadership.

KEY DELIVERABLES

Revenue Recognition Alignment

We implemented consistent revenue recognition across retainers, milestone billing, and project-based contracts to ensure accurate reporting and GAAP alignment.

Impact:
• Improved financial accuracy and consistency
• Better alignment between billing and delivery
• Cleaner reporting for stakeholders

Project Profitability Reporting

We introduced project-level reporting to track revenue, labor allocation, and margin performance across engagements.

Impact:
• Clear visibility into high- and low-performing work
• Improved pricing and scope management
• Better resource planning across teams

Internal Time Tracking & Allocation

We refined time tracking workflows and aligned reporting to reflect true labor allocation across projects and internal initiatives.

Impact:
• Improved utilization tracking
• More accurate project costing
• Better insight into team capacity and hiring needs

Budget vs. Actual Reporting (Project-Level)

We implemented structured budgeting and variance reporting across major engagements.

Impact:
• Stronger accountability across project leads
• Early identification of margin pressure
• More disciplined operational decision-making

RESULTS

Within the first year, leadership gained consistent visibility into performance across projects, teams, and the broader business.

Key outcomes included:

• Reliable monthly reporting and forecasting cadence
• Improved margins through stronger pricing discipline
• Better alignment between finance and operations
• Increased confidence in growth planning and hiring decisions

CLIENT PERSPECTIVE

“Lumiere brought structure and clarity to our finance function at a critical growth stage. Their team improved our reporting, forecasting, and operational visibility, giving leadership the confidence to make faster and better decisions.”

CONCLUSION

For creative and professional services firms, growth requires more than revenue momentum — it requires disciplined financial infrastructure and leadership-level insight. Lumiere helps agencies build the systems, reporting, and strategy needed to scale with confidence.

Looking to bring clarity and structure to your agency’s financial operations? Let’s talk about how we can support your next stage of growth.