The role
Chief Decision Architect. The role that designs how a company decides.
Every company makes the same few decisions over and over: what to charge, whom to hire, where cash goes, when to buy. A Chief Decision Architect decides which numbers inform each one, who owns it, how often it is reviewed, and what happens when it moves. Then builds the system that runs it.
Definition
Chief Decision Architect: the person or team responsible for how a company makes decisions: the information each decision needs, who makes it, the cadence it is reviewed on, and the controls on what happens next. Where a CFO reports on results and a COO runs operations, a Chief Decision Architect designs the system both of them decide inside.
What the role does
Six jobs. One outcome: decisions made on time, on the right numbers.
Decision inventory
List the decisions that move cash, margin, and value, and who makes each one today.
One set of definitions
One definition for every number, so finance, operations, and ownership read the same thing.
Cadence
Daily exceptions, weekly operating reviews, a monthly close and board pack, each with an agenda built from live data.
Ownership
Every issue becomes a task with a named owner and a due date, carried forward until it is closed.
Controls
Approvals, logs, and period locks, so every decision holds up in front of a lender, a buyer, or an auditor.
Automation
The routine work that feeds each decision, from reconciliations to reporting, done by the system and approved by a person.
Every decision ties back to four measures: the CUD.V method →
Next to the CFO and COO
Three seats, three different questions.
In many owner-led companies, the CFO seat is part-time, the owner acts as COO, and the third seat sits empty.
| Seat | Accountable for | Looks at | Asks |
|---|---|---|---|
| CFO | Financial results, capital, and risk | The close, the forecast, and the lender | Will we have the cash, and are the numbers right? |
| COO | Operations and execution | Throughput, people, and process | Is the work getting done, and done well? |
| Chief Decision Architect | How the company decides | Which numbers, which owners, which cadence | Will the right person make the right call, on time, every time? |
Signs the seat is empty
You probably need one if…
- Reports arrive after the decision has already been made.
- Two departments quote different numbers for the same thing.
- The monthly close runs into the middle of the next month.
- Issues come up in one meeting and come back unresolved at the next.
- Every new location or entity means another hire in accounting.
- A lender, the board, or a buyer asks for numbers that take days to assemble.
How Founderwright fills it
An operating CFO, and a system built around your company.
Founderwright maps the decisions with ownership, builds the system that runs them, and stays on with fractional CFO services. As the system hardens with our support, more of that CFO work is prepared automatically.
The fractional CFO services
- A monthly operating review with an operating CFO
- Cash, 13-week forecast, and liquidity oversight
- KPI and variance commentary for ownership
- Lender, board, and buyer reporting packs
- Covenant monitoring and compliance certificates
- Budget, plan, and pricing analysis
The system underneath
- A decision map and written build plan from the first conversation
- Every core system connected on one set of definitions
- A morning decision brief and department boards
- Every issue turned into a task with an owner and a date
- Routine accounting prepared by the system, approved by a person
- Software and definitions owned by the company
Questions
About the role.
Is Chief Decision Architect a job title?
It describes a role more than a title. In large companies the work is spread across the CFO, the COO, and a strategy or analytics team. In many owner-led companies, nobody holds it, and that is the gap Founderwright fills.
How is it different from a CFO?
A CFO is accountable for financial results, reporting, and capital. A Chief Decision Architect is accountable for how the company decides: the numbers, owners, cadence, and controls behind each decision. Founderwright includes fractional CFO services, so you get both.
Do we need one if we have a controller?
A controller keeps the books accurate and on time, which every company needs. This role sits above the close: turning accurate books into decisions with owners and dates, and automating the routine work so the controller’s time goes to review instead of assembly.
How long before it is running?
The first conversation produces the decision map and a written build plan. The core systems connect first, and the decision brief runs on your own numbers from the first day of the build. Each module after that is scheduled in the plan.
What does it cost?
Build starts at $45,000, one time, and the company owns it outright. Build + Operate starts at $5,500 a month on an annual agreement, with the build and fractional CFO services included.
Fill the seat.
One conversation about how the company decides today. You leave with a map of the decisions that matter and what it would take to run them every day.
Request a briefing logan@founderwright.com