Financial Leadership, Embedded With Your Team

We partner with clients to bring experience, technology, and hands-on participation to complex business challenges — going beyond strategy to implement solutions that create long-term value and drive growth.

See How We Work

Our Approach

Principles that guide every client engagement

Long-Term Focus

Creating value requires dedication and time. Our partnerships and strategies are deliberately tailored to the long-term success of our clients and their teams.

Hands-On Philosophy

We participate on a granular level with our clients' teams, marrying our efforts and experience with our ability to provide leverage through task completion and automation.

Team Oriented

We integrate seamlessly into our clients' teams and organizational structure to become a valued point of leverage, not a burden.

Technology-Enabled Teams

We are experts in leveraging technology to make teams and organizations more efficient and effective by creating bespoke tools to automate finance functions, reporting packages, KPIs, and compliance documentation.

Our Services

The Auxilia Finance team has decades of experience in business management, M&A, and special situations consulting on a global scale. We bring this breadth of experience to every client engagement.

Fractional CFO Consulting

In interim periods or when a business does not need a full-time CFO but still requires strategic guidance, financial reporting, bank relationship management, and day-to-day financial operations, Auxilia Finance delivers comprehensive CFO services — all the strategic support required, at a fraction of the cost.

  • Financial Reporting
  • Banking Relationship Management
  • Financial Process Management and Automation
  • Bank Covenant Reporting
  • Financial Structure and Strategy Development

Special Situations Consulting

We provide assistance to business owners, financial institutions, and investors faced with a variety of business challenges. Our approach always relies on our core principles and seeks to provide the best outcome for all stakeholders involved.

  • Buy/Sell M&A Advisement and Process Management
  • Debt Restructuring and Financial Strategy
  • Globalization and Geographic Expansion
  • Product Innovation and Technology Implementation
  • Business Valuations and Due Diligence

Government Contracting Advisement

We have experience across a variety of disciplines required to be successful in winning and performing on US and foreign government contracts.

  • Wrap Rate Calculation
  • Bid Process Management and Working Capital for Government Contracts
  • Corporate Structure for Government Set-Asides
  • ITAR and Export Regulation
  • Global Logistics for Global Procurement

Disaster Recovery

We have personally managed businesses through catastrophic events, including cyber-incidents, environmental disasters, and extreme sales-loss. We take a hands-on approach to being a partner to businesses in need when time is of the essence and failure is not an option.

  • Cyber-Attack Recovery
  • Product Defects and Customer Claims
  • Environmental/Regulatory Violations
  • Employee Negotiations
  • Environmental/Disaster-Contingency Planning

Turnaround Practice

The Auxilia Team has led business turnarounds in a variety of industries around the globe. We take a flexible approach to structure and in some cases will invest or acquire turnaround businesses into our own portfolio, or partner with business owners on a contingent structure.

  • Turnaround Business Acquisition
  • Turnaround Management/Interim C-Suite Roles
  • Debt Restructuring and Balance Sheet Cleanup
  • Liquidation and Bankruptcy Advisement

Our Team

We aspire to build a team that shares a vision of building a better world.

@Chris Merendino

A thoughtful partner to talented and dedicated individuals and organizations with a track record for leadership, culture development, and strategic focus.

Chris' background begins with eight years of service as a Navy SEAL, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa between 2004–2012. After his military service, he led Private Equity-owned projects in the logistics and mining industries across 15 African countries. Chris has spent the last eight years in Private Equity — first as a Vice President at a manufacturing-focused firm in the Midwest, then as a turnaround CEO leading the successful turnaround and divestiture of distressed investments in the manufacturing industry and managing post-merger acquisition transactions with international and publicly traded entities.

  • Corporate Leadership and Culture Building
  • Financial Structure and Debt Management
  • Strategy Development and Implementation
  • Technology and Innovation

@Amy Smith

Amy brings a hands-on, client-side approach to financial leadership — the kind that turns disorganized books into audit-ready financials and guides organizations through their most complex transitions. A licensed CPA in New York and Pennsylvania, she has supported clients ranging from early-stage companies to organizations with revenues exceeding $600 million across audits, reviews, financial reporting, and interim controller engagements.

As an independent contractor, Amy led multi-entity financial reporting, audit preparation, grant compliance, and strategic finance projects — often rebuilding accounting systems and preparing consolidated financial statements from scratch. She pairs that with five years of public accounting experience, where she was recognized for exceptional client service and operational efficiency. She firmly believes most accounting problems are solvable with enough Excel tabs and coffee.

  • Financial Reporting & Interim Controller Services
  • Audit Preparation & Grant Compliance
  • Accounting System Rebuilds
  • Consolidated Financial Statements

@Mary Whitcomb

Mary serves as the firm's Administrative Manager, bringing several years of administrative leadership experience to the role. She oversees day-to-day operations, manages resources, and ensures the organization runs smoothly as the team and its client base grow.

With a focus on practical process improvement and effective delegation, Mary keeps administrative functions aligned with the firm's priorities — freeing the rest of the team to focus on client work. Mary holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Studies with a minor in Business Administration.

  • Day-to-Day Operations Management
  • Workflow Design & Process Improvement
  • Resource Allocation & Planning
  • Administrative Systems & Scalability

@Matt Sassmann

A dedicated professional bridging operational expertise and human performance, with a track record for security leadership, organizational development, and strategic implementation. Matt's background begins with service in the U.S. Navy, where he built a foundation in operations, planning, and logistics that would define the trajectory of his career.

Following his military service, Matt spent over 20 years in the security industry, serving clients ranging from professional sports organizations to Silicon Valley firms. Through active contract servicing and project management, he has formed working relationships with multiple offices within the DOD and Intelligence Community. In recent years, Matt has shifted his focus into cultural and organizational development — building and implementing custom processes to lead teams through all phases of their life cycle. This work ties directly into his academic foundation, holding both a bachelor's and master's degree in behavioral science.

  • Security Operations & Program Development
  • Cultural & Organizational Development
  • Team Leadership & Life Cycle Management
  • Behavioral Science & Human Performance

@GovCon Team

Behind every engagement is a team of seasoned government contracting professionals who bring decades of combined experience across the defense and intelligence sectors. Our GovCon team operates with discretion and precision — managing the financial, regulatory, and operational complexities that define this space.

Their expertise spans the full lifecycle of government contracting — from bid strategy and proposal development through contract execution and compliance. With deep knowledge of DCAA audit requirements, FAR/DFARS regulations, and the unique accounting standards governing federal contracts, the team ensures our clients remain competitive and compliant. They also bring hands-on experience in mergers and acquisitions of GovCon entities, global logistics operations, and navigating the regulatory landscape that surrounds defense and intelligence work.

  • GovCon Financial Management & DCAA/FAR Compliance
  • Bid Structure & Proposal Development
  • GovCon M&A & Operational Leadership
  • Global Logistics & Regulatory Navigation

Get In Touch

Reach out to discuss how we can help.

chris@auxiliafin.com

sean@auxiliafin.com

© Auxilia Finance