AI-Powered Finance Intelligence · Atlanta, GA & London, UK

Finance intelligence
that moves at the
speed of your business.

Mid-market companies are sitting on hidden data, fragmented forecasts, and trapped cash. We build AI powered intelligence systems that surface what matters — so your leadership team decides faster, on real evidence.

3+
Continents operated
100%
Principal-led
AI+
Finance fluency
The problems we solve

Six areas where finance leadership
is losing ground.

The data exists. The tools exist. But without the right intelligence layer, leadership teams are making critical decisions on incomplete, backward-looking information.

01 — AI Governance
AI is easy to deploy now — governing it responsibly is a different problem entirely

Platforms like Claude Managed Agents mean any company can spin up autonomous AI agents in days. That has removed the technology barrier. What it has not removed is the accountability gap: who is responsible when an AI agent produces a wrong number in a board report, triggers a payment, or misclassifies a risk? Without a CFO-grade governance layer, AI deployment creates exposure that moves faster than the business can see it. The question is no longer whether to adopt AI — it is whether you can defend what it is doing.

02 — Intelligence Layer
Data is hidden, broken, and showing the past — not projecting the future

Finance data exists across systems that don't talk to each other. Reporting is backward-looking by the time it arrives. The CFO and CEO are making strategic decisions on last month's numbers. Decision-making lags because the intelligence layer connecting data to decisions simply doesn't exist.

03 — Working Capital
Cash is trapped — in AR cycles, billing lags, and payment processes

Most mid-market companies have $500K–$3M of recoverable cash in their working capital cycle. Billing happens days after delivery. Collections follow aging reports rather than recovery probability. AP is paid on fixed terms regardless of cash position. This is a process problem — and it is solvable.

04 — Controls & SOPs
Controls and SOPs sit on shelves rather than serving the business

In the AI era, controls and policies matter more than ever — but most were designed for a different operating environment. Static when they need to be dynamic. They generate compliance effort without business value. Weak controls mean wasted resource, missed risks, and audit exposure.

05 — Enterprise Risk
ERM is not just for large corporates — mid-market companies can no longer ignore risk

Operational, financial, regulatory, and technology risks compound faster in the AI era. Structured risk assessment, mitigation planning, and board level monitoring have traditionally been priced out of reach. We deliver corporate-grade ERM at a fraction of what larger firms charge — practical, affordable, and continuously monitored.

06 — CFO Leadership
Growing companies need real time CFO intelligence — not monthly reports

A full-time CFO is expensive and often premature. A traditional fractional CFO sells hours. Neither gives growth stage companies what they actually need: real time financial intelligence, live cash visibility, board ready reporting, and strategic support that keeps pace with the business. AI changes the economics of this completely.

Services

Six ways we make the lever work.

Each service can be deployed independently or combined into the integrated AI-Enabled CFO Package. Every engagement is principal led — no delegation, ever.

01
AI Governance, Accountability & Investment Integrity

Deploying AI is now fast. Governing it responsibly — and making sure it generates a return — is not. With Claude Managed Agents and similar platforms, any team can spin up autonomous agents in days. What they cannot self-generate is the financial accountability layer: an independent assessment of whether the AI investment is genuinely justified, whether the controls around autonomous decision-making meet board and audit standards, and whether the adoption plan will survive contact with real operations. We provide the CFO-grade challenge function that keeps AI deployment honest — before the investment is made and after it goes live.

AI investment scrutinyGovernance frameworkAdoption riskBoard accountabilityROI verification
02
CFO & CEO Intelligence Layer

A live AI powered intelligence system that connects your data, surfaces what matters, and delivers real time financial insight to your leadership team. Custom AI agent embedded in your environment. Automated board packs. Live dashboards. 13-week cash forecasting. The system works 700 hours a month — not just when we're available.

Live dashboardsCustom AI agentBoard pack automationCash forecastingScenario modelling
Core product
Learn more →
03
Working Capital Tower

A systematic floor-by-floor unlock of the cash trapped in your AR cycle, billing lags, collections process, AP management, and cash forecast. We quantify the opportunity in dollars before the engagement starts and build AI monitoring to keep the improvement permanent.

AR intelligenceCollections AIBilling automationAP optimisationCash forecasting
04
Controls, Policies & SOP Transformation

Controls designed for a different era generate compliance cost without business value. We redesign them to be dynamic, AI compatible, and embedded in how the business actually operates — eliminating the resource waste that comes from weak or outdated governance frameworks.

Control redesignSOP transformationPolicy updateAI governance
05
Enterprise Risk Management

Corporate-grade ERM — risk identification, assessment, mitigation planning, and continuous board level monitoring — at a price point accessible to mid-market companies. A living framework, not a filing exercise. Because in the AI era, the companies that can't see their risks are the ones caught by them.

Risk assessmentMitigation plansBoard reportingContinuous monitoring
06
AI-Enabled CFO Package

The integrated engagement — combining all five services above with real time CFO-level strategic support powered by live data and AI intelligence. This is not a fractional CFO arrangement. It is a real time finance intelligence operation built around your business and its growth trajectory. One relationship. Full coverage.

Full intelligence layerWorking capitalControlsERMStrategic CFO
Integrated
Discuss →
+
Finance Transformation Sprint

A fixed scope engagement for companies navigating ERP assessment or implementation, post system performance gaps, or pre transaction finance readiness. We work inside the execution layer — not on the outside writing recommendations — and leave the business with stronger infrastructure.

ERP assessmentImplementationProcess redesignPre-transaction
How to engage

Three ways to start the conversation.

Every engagement starts with a direct conversation about what you are trying to understand or decide. We tell you whether we can add value — and if not, we say so clearly.

How we work

Diagnose fast. Execute with
management. Leave the business stronger.

Find where value is leaking. Fix what matters first. Build the intelligence and discipline needed to sustain the improvement — permanently.

01
Clarify the constraint

Separate symptoms from the actual bottleneck across margin, cash, intelligence, controls, risk, and decision-making velocity.

Weeks 1–2
02
Build the intelligence layer

Connect data sources. Build AI powered dashboards and the custom Finance Intelligence Agent. Integrate with existing systems — no rip and replace.

Weeks 3–5
03
Execute inside the business

Work directly within the execution layer. Every output is validated before it reaches your board or leadership team. No recommendations without execution.

Week 6
04
Leave it running stronger

The end state is a business that sees further, decides faster, and operates with intelligence that compounds in value month after month. Dependency on the advisor is not the goal.

Ongoing
Working Capital Tower

Five floors. Each unlocks
a different cash pool.

We show you the opportunity in dollars before you commit to anything. Most mid-market companies have $500K–$3M of recoverable cash sitting in their working capital cycle.

Floor 01 · Start here
AR Aging Intelligence
Your AR aging report is a static spreadsheet reviewed monthly. By the time finance sees a problem, the customer is 60+ days overdue. There is no early warning system, no pattern recognition across payment behaviour, and no proactive alert before a problem becomes a write-off.
Live AR dashboard with AI anomaly detection
Flags payment behaviour deterioration 30 days early
Prevents bad debt before it becomes a write-off
Reduces bad debt provision by 20–40%
$400K
Cash protection per year on a $50M AR book
Cash Unlock Calculator

See your trapped cash right now.

Enter your numbers below. This is the same calculation we run in every diagnostic — before anyone signs anything.

$30M
55 days
7 days

Conservative estimate — Floors 1 & 3 only. Floors 2, 4 and 5 generate further recoveries not shown here.

DSO improvement available18 days
Cash unlock — AR & collections$1.48M
Cash unlock — billing acceleration$575K
Total cash unlock$2.05M
Engagement fee is typically recovered within 2–3 weeks of completion. The improvement is structural and permanent.
Start your diagnostic
Technology

AI tools that connect with what you already have.

We build the intelligence layer on top of your existing technology. No rip and replace. No new infrastructure. Connecting data that was always there but never talking to each other.

Our approach

Practical AI. Measurable outcomes. No technology theatre.

Every tool is selected because it passes the fit, ROI, and adoption test for your specific business. We work with leading AI platforms for finance — connecting seamlessly to your existing reporting, planning, and ERP infrastructure.

AI agents & automation Live BI dashboards Natural language querying ERP integration Predictive analytics Board pack generation Anomaly detection Scenario modelling Risk monitoring Workflow automation FP&A acceleration Controls management
Insights

Thinking on finance & AI.

Published on LinkedIn. Grounded in practice, not theory.

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About the founder

Micheal A. Legesse

Lever Advisory was built on a principle as old as physics: a small, precisely applied force — through the right lever — creates disproportionate impact. That is the philosophy behind every engagement.

Micheal is a highly experienced finance leader with deep fluency in the AI tools and intelligent systems reshaping how finance functions operate. He has led complex finance operations across three continents, in high pressure and resource constrained environments where the difference between sharp financial intelligence and poor visibility had direct commercial consequences. He has also founded and exited a commercial venture which means he understands the pressures that founders and growth stage leaders face from the inside, not as an observer.

His particular strength is the combination: the rigour and credibility of a career finance leader, with the practical ability to build, deploy, and interpret AI powered intelligence systems. He understands both the pain and the opportunity that technology as an enabler represents for CFOs and leadership teams and he has spent his career making that combination produce returns that justify the investment many times over.

On the name: Lever

In classical mechanics, a lever allows a small input force to move a much larger load — when the fulcrum is placed correctly. Micheal has applied this principle throughout his career: finding the precise point of intervention in a business where focused, well-placed effort produces returns far beyond what the resource deployed would suggest was possible. That is what Lever Advisory delivers — disproportionate impact from disciplined, precisely applied force.

load force fulcrum the lever

Precise force · disproportionate outcome

FCCA
Fellow, ACCA · highest designation
MBA
Masters in Business Administration
3
Continents of operational leadership
100%
Principal-led — no delegation

"I have seen what happens when a leadership team is working from stale data and good instincts. And I have seen what changes when they have live intelligence. The difference is not marginal — it is transformational. That is what we build."

Micheal A. Legesse · Founder, Lever Advisory
Get started

Ready to put the
lever to work?

Every engagement starts with a direct conversation. No sales pitch — a clear assessment of where and how we can help. If we can't add value, we say so.