Our Work

The work below reflects what we do best — embedding within organizations to provide the operational infrastructure that keeps complex operations financially sound and organized. 

Case Study 1: Embedded PM for a Scaling Healthcare Consulting Firm

  • A healthcare consulting firm delivering state-funded technical assistance to community-based organizations across California was rapidly scaling its client portfolio and needed dedicated project management capacity within its operations.

  • As the firm grew beyond 20 active client engagements— each with its own SOW, budget, deliverable timeline, and consulting team— the operational demands of tracking budgets, managing invoicing cycles, maintaining project platforms, and producing performance reports were outpacing the capacity of the consulting staff responsible for client delivery.

  • The firm scaled to 20+ concurrent engagements while maintaining consistent financial discipline— with reliable reconciliation cycles, accurate invoicing, proactive budget monitoring, and organized project records across the entire portfolio. 

    • Embedded within the firm as a contracted PM consultant responsible for portfolio-wide project management operations 

    • Managed month-end reconciliation across all active engagements, reviewing consultant hours against contracts and preparing accurate invoices with supporting narrative reports 

    • Tracked budget utilization at the deliverable level for each client, monitoring spend rates relative to project timelines and flagging engagements at risk of over- or under-spending 

    • Maintained and updated Monday.com project boards and SharePoint document repositories across the portfolio 

    • Prepared SOW performance reports providing client-facing visibility into budget status, hours consumed, and remaining capacity 

    • Reviewed and enforced the scope of work boundaries across engagements 

Case Study 2: Early Identification of a Deliverable Budget Risk

  • One engagement within the portfolio— a state-funded technical assistance project for a community-based organization— was structured around two deliverables with fixed budgets and a defined project period.

  • During routine budget utilization tracking, the data showed that one deliverable had burned through 80% of its budget with only 34% of the project period elapsed. Additionally, one role within that deliverable was running more than $10,000 over its allocated budget.

  • The budget risk was surfaced at the 34% mark— early enough for the team to adjust resource allocation and have informed conversations with the client about scope and budget, rather than discovering the problem after funds were exhausted.

    • Identified the imbalance through standard deliverable-level utilization monitoring 

    • Analyzed role-level spend to determine that underutilization in other roles was currently offsetting the overage— but that the trajectory was unsustainable over the remaining project period 

    • Prepared a detailed SOW performance report breaking down the budget position by deliverable and role, with a timeline comparison 

    • Developed specific recommendations: formalize the role-level budget reallocation, assess whether remaining funds could cover remaining scope, and prepare for a potential SOW amendment conversation with the client 

    • Provided the consulting team with a client-facing communication framework to address the issue proactively 

Case Study 3: Scope of Work Boundary Enforcement 

  • Within the same consulting firm, a senior consultant reached out for guidance on whether a client's request fell within the contracted scope of work.

  • A client receiving CalAIM technical assistance had asked the consultant to help prepare grant applications. The SOW was focused on program implementation and managed care plan provider certification— but the consultant wasn't sure whether grant-related work was covered, given that it arguably supported the program's long-term sustainability.

  • The engagement avoided an unplanned scope expansion before it consumed consultant hours. The determination also set a precedent for how the firm handled similar boundary questions across its broader portfolio.

    • Reviewed the SOW language in detail, comparing the client's request against the specific deliverable descriptions and contractual boundaries 

    • Determined that the SOW's references to "applications" were specific to MCP provider certification, not general grant writing and that the sustainability provisions in the contract actually envisioned reducing grant dependence, not expanding it 

    • Identified a nuance worth clarifying: if the activity was part of an MCP's provider onboarding pipeline rather than a standalone grant, it could be within scope 

    • Provided the consultant with a clear recommendation and a reusable decision framework for evaluating scope questions on other engagements 

Case Study 4: Standardizing Reconciliation and Reporting Across a Portfolio

  • A consulting firm with a growing portfolio of funded engagements needed a consistent, repeatable process for month-end financial reconciliation and client reporting.

  • With 20+ engagements operating on different timelines and budget structures, the firm needed a system for closing each month cleanly— reconciling consultant hours, preparing invoices, generating narrative reports, and producing performance documentation— on a predictable schedule without bottlenecks.

  • The firm moved from ad hoc financial tracking to a structured, portfolio-wide reconciliation process— reducing invoicing delays, improving budget visibility, and giving both internal leadership and clients reliable, consistent reporting month over month.

    • Designed and executed a standardized month-end reconciliation workflow across the full portfolio 

    • Reviewed and verified consultant timesheets against contractual rates and deliverable budgets for each engagement 

    • Prepared client invoices with supporting narrative reports documenting work completed during each billing period 

    • Produced SOW performance reports tracking cumulative budget utilization, deliverable-level spend, and remaining capacity for each engagement 

    • Established a consistent reporting calendar, communicating timelines and deadlines to internal teams and clients to ensure timely invoice approval within funder portals 

    • Flagged discrepancies, budget anomalies, and utilization trends as part of each reconciliation cycle