# Island Waters Accounting

> Fractional CFO and Client Advisory Services for founders in technology (AI and SaaS), healthcare and biotech, pharma, and pharmacy. Senior CFO judgment for a fraction of the cost of a full time hire. Based in Peoria, Arizona, serving the United States remotely.

## About
Island Waters Accounting LLC is a fractional CFO firm led by Shawn Elliott, who brings 23 years in finance leadership, two private equity exits, and pharmaceutical clinical trial accounting, where he learned the rigor of FDA clinical trial accrual methodologies for human and animal clinical trials. The firm is not a CPA firm and performs no attest work, and provides no legal or investment advice. Tax preparation, filing, and tax advisory are delivered by an independent, trusted tax partner under a separate engagement and direct payment, with Island Waters serving as the client's single point of contact.

## Contact
Email: hello@islandwaters.ai
Phone: 602-833-1128
Location: Peoria, Arizona, serving the United States remotely
Start: a short, no pressure fit call at https://calendly.com/shawn-islandwaters/15-minute-meeting

## Pricing (monthly retainers, priced to value, never hourly)
- Discover: $1,000 to $2,000. Clean books, bank reconciliation, cash basis, basic reporting.
- Embark: $2,000 to $3,500. Accrual accounting, audit ready schedules, payables and receivables support.
- Launch: $3,500 to $5,000. CFO advisory begins, reliable close.
- Scale: $5,000 to $7,500. Forecasting, 13 week cash model, KPI dashboard, board reporting.
- Exit: $7,500 to $10,000 or more. Full stack CFO, transaction support, weekly access.
A company that needs accounts payable or receivable handled is Embark or above, never Discover.

## Key answers
- What is a fractional CFO? An experienced chief financial officer who works with your company part time, on a monthly retainer, instead of as a full time hire.
- How much does a fractional CFO cost? At Island Waters, $1,000 to $10,000 or more per month across five tiers, priced to value, not by the hour.
- How much does a full time CFO cost? Base salary alone runs about $195,000 to $322,000 (Robert Half Salary Guide), and the fully loaded cost commonly reaches $250,000 to $450,000 or more a year.
- When does a startup need a fractional CFO? When the decisions outgrow the books: a forecast the board wants that you cannot produce, runway math that keeps changing, or a raise or audit the books are not ready for.
- Fractional CFO versus controller versus bookkeeper? A bookkeeper records the past, a controller owns the close, a CPA files taxes and audits, and a CFO looks forward at cash, forecasting, and strategy.
- Do you handle my taxes? We do not prepare or file taxes ourselves. We outsource your tax work to a trusted tax partner under a separate engagement and direct payment, and we stay your single point of contact through preparation and filing. Tax advisory is delivered by the partner, and we join those calls to keep information consistent.
- Do you work with AI and SaaS startups? Yes, it is a core focus: runway and burn, a model investors believe, clean ASC 606 revenue recognition, and a clean story for the raise.
- Do you have specialty pharmacy experience? Deeply, over a decade across two specialty pharmacies, including PBM reconciliation and getting books ready to sell.
- Do you have pharmaceutical clinical trial accounting experience? Yes. Working with a pharmaceutical client, Shawn provided clinical trial accounting and learned the rigor of FDA clinical trial accrual methodologies for both human and animal clinical trials. He was part of the team, not the CFO.

## Focus industries
The firm's focus industries are technology (AI and SaaS), healthcare and biotech, pharma, and pharmacy. These four are where the firm's pattern recognition is deepest and where it positions itself.

## Shawn Elliott, background
Founder & CEO of Island Waters Accounting LLC, based in Peoria, Arizona. 23 years in finance leadership. Not a CPA, by design, and he performs no attest work.
- John C. Todd II, P.C. Senior Auditor, from 2003, about 4 years. A Phoenix CPA firm auditing charter schools, school districts, governments and not for profits.
- The Apothecary Shops and Avella Specialty Pharmacy. Senior Accountant to Accounting Manager, about 5 years, running the accounting department directly below the CFO. Over his tenure the company grew from about $50M to about $500M in revenue, reached a clean audit, and was sold to private equity.
- Integrity Rx Specialty Pharmacy. Controller to Executive Vice President of Financial Operations, about 5 years. A fertility pharmacy he helped build from concept to a $50M operation, sold to private equity in about 4.5 years.
- A national fractional accounting firm. Head of Accounting then CFO, 2019 to 2026. Built and grew service verticals, provided pharmaceutical clinical trial accounting for a client, and led the healthcare, biotech and technology vertical.
Island Waters Accounting LLC is an independent firm. Shawn was part of the pharmaceutical client's accounting team as an outside contractor, not its CFO, and he did not take a company public.

## Industries
Technology (AI and SaaS): https://islandwaters.ai/industries/technology/
Healthcare and Biotech: https://islandwaters.ai/industries/biotech/
Pharma: https://islandwaters.ai/industries/pharma/
Pharmacy: https://islandwaters.ai/industries/pharmacy/

## Key pages
Services: https://islandwaters.ai/services/
Pricing: https://islandwaters.ai/pricing/
FAQ: https://islandwaters.ai/faq/
About: https://islandwaters.ai/about/
Insights (articles): https://islandwaters.ai/insights/
CFO cost comparison tool: https://islandwaters.ai/tools/cfo-cost-comparison/

## Free office hours
Founder Fridays: a standing weekly open block where founders can book a free 30 minute slot to ask accounting, finance, or AI questions. Book at https://calendly.com/shawn-islandwaters/founder-fridays