Cost optimization at a $500k organization
A transparent view of fund sourcing — including that 40% of income came from weekly donations — and a strategic breakdown of how money was allocated, so leadership could see the real cost structure.
Home/Biography · Los Angeles, CA
Rafael Gutierrez Jr.
Financial Controller · U.S. Marine Veteran
Strategic, results-driven financial controller. Eighteen-plus years of fiscal operations, complex modeling, and multi-million-dollar budget work — with Marine discipline applied to the books of small businesses in Los Angeles, CA.
- Strategic planning
- Risk mitigation
- ERP modernization
- Grant compliance
- Team leadership
- Financial forecasting
18+
Years as a controller
M.S. + B.S.
Finance degrees
U.S. Marine
Service
EN / ES
Languages
How I work
Raw data into decisions — reporting, analysis, and forecasts owners can run.
I specialize in turning ledgers into insight: monthly closes, risk, ERP cleanup, and models that show whether cash will be there when payroll hits. Based in Downtown Los Angeles. Hablamos Español.
Professional journey
Financial management and military service.
2014 — Present
Financial Controller
Key Forecasts · Los Angeles, CA
- Provide remote controller services: AP/AR, bank reconciliations, and monthly closings for small businesses in the United States.
- Deliver custom financial models and cash-flow forecasts so owners can hire, spend, and price with a number.
- Streamline accounting operations to reduce overhead and make monthly reporting usable.
2007 — 2023
Financial Controller
Independent financial consultant
- Coast to Coast Circuits (Huntington Beach, CA): manufacturing financial operations, daily cash monitoring, and sales-commission analysis.
- Livesay Capital Solutions (San Diego): investment analysis and financial-statement review to support decisions.
- The Marika Group (San Diego): B2B card transactions, invoicing, and collections.
- Policarpa Group (Colombia): accounting, AP/AR accuracy, annual budgets, and forecasts against long-term strategy.
2012 — 2018
Finance & Business Director
YMCA
- Saved the organization more than $150,000 annually by identifying benefits inefficiencies and renegotiating contracts.
- Reduced unemployment-claim costs from $47,000 to $10,902 through HR and financial management.
- Built a receivables process that cut payment-control errors.
Academic background
Degrees and certifications.
National University, San Diego, CA — Master of Science in Corporate & International Finance (October 2011, honors) and Bachelor of Science in Financial Management (January 2009). Click any document to enlarge.
Case studies
High-impact financial work.
CDTFA audit: $360,609 discrepancy
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration used gross Form 1099-K card data and treated non-taxable labor as taxable sales. The work separated labor from taxable receipts and addressed the discrepancy.
Job costing and margin tracker
A live job-costing workbook in Google Sheets that connects operations to the books, so owners can see margin fade while there is still time to change price, mix, or staffing.
The portfolio gallery
Life in perspective.
Marine service, leadership, and the work of watching cash. Tap a photo to view it full size.
Work with Rafael in Los Angeles, CA.
Book a confidential strategy session. We will review your current reporting, show where cash is leaking, and outline a 90-day forecast.