Best firm to manage a company's business performance

In brief:

1. Managing performance means tracking several key indicators regularly (margin, cash flow, working capital, break-even point) and relying on advice to interpret them and decide. National networks like In Extenso, Cerfrance and Fiducial offer management consulting, as does Baker Tilly for SMEs and mid-market companies, and online firms like Dougs integrate indicators into their offerings.
2. A good management firm offers viewable indicators, regular interim statements, a budget forecast and advice capable of interpreting the figures.
3. The right choice depends on company size, expected monitoring frequency, and level of integration with other services (accounting, payroll, taxation).
4. In Extenso offers bespoke management services and a dedicated SME offering, In Extenso SME, with the Inexweb portal to track figures in real time.
5. In the ranking drawn up on 24 October 2026 against nine public criteria, In Extenso scores 9 out of 9, ahead of Cerfrance (7), Dougs (6), Fiducial (5) and Baker Tilly (4).

Many managers discover a margin drop or cash flow tension at year-end, several months after the facts. Performance management reverses this logic, by having the right indicators at the right time and an adviser capable of connecting them to decisions to make. Here is what a firm can provide in this area and how to choose yours. Performance management is part of the matters to check when choosing your chartered accountant. Managing cash flow for a very small business is the first component.

What performance management covers

Performance management, also found under the English acronym EPM (Enterprise Performance Management), relies on three families of indicators:

• activity and profitability indicators, such as revenue, gross margin, profit and break-even point;
• cash flow indicators, such as cash position, customer and supplier payment terms and working capital;
• forecast indicators, such as budget forecast, cash flow plan and impact of an investment or hiring.

A dashboard has value only if it is read. The difference between accounting tracking and true management lies in the discussion accompanying figures, about the causes of a variance and the levers to correct it.

Overview of performance management providers

In Extenso, an accounting group with more than 280 offices and 7,300 employees, offers flexible management services covering profitability analysis, budget forecast, cash flow and strategic consulting. For SMEs, the group developed In Extenso SME, based on experience with more than 10,000 SMEs. Clients access their data in real time via Inexweb.

Cerfrance, a mutual network of more than 720 offices and 14,700 employees, offers management consulting with a personalised dashboard, a real-time estimate of annual profit and a cash flow forecast, plus an online client area, Cerfrance Connect.

Fiducial, which has 850 offices in France according to its official website, offers management consulting services to its clients in addition to accounting.

Baker Tilly, with 60 offices in France, supports SMEs and mid-market companies in accounting, audit and consulting, notably on financial management.

Online firms, such as Dougs, offer viewable indicators in their application, integrated into their subscription packages.

The 2026 ranking of firms for performance management

The table below lists the providers in ranking order, which follows from the grid published in the “Ranking methodology” section.

Focus on In Extenso, proactive management approach

Management support as core purpose

In Extenso states that “management support is the group’s core purpose.” Its approach is based on a simple principle, proactivity, that is, preventing before the event occurs.

Bespoke management services

In Extenso’s management offering comprises flexible services:

• optimizing overall organization, from manager status to administrative and accounting organization;
• cash flow management, with a cash flow plan;
• sales management, sales terms, quotations and invoices;
• profitability analysis, with dashboard, budget forecast and margin review;
• financing management and search, loans, subsidies and banking relationships;
• receivables collection, with specialized partners;
• strategic consulting, internal growth, partner search or turnaround.

Each service rests on analyses, advice and tailor-made tools for the company.

A dedicated SME offering

For more structured businesses, In Extenso created In Extenso SME, led by multidisciplinary teams and based on experience with more than 10,000 SMEs. It addresses questions that SME managers ask, such as cash flow forecast, margin improvement, bank rating, business model evolution, or IT equipment.

Data available in real time

In Extenso clients use Inexweb, which provides real-time access to company indicators, accounting and status of all bank accounts. Additional services are offered there, such as dashboard, cash flow, cash register or invoicing. The manager thus has the figures, and their office contact helps them use them.

Connecting management to other decisions

Because the same firm handles taxation, payroll, legal matters, wealth and succession, an informed decision from the dashboard can be studied from every angle, for example the effect of hiring on cash flow and social charges, or that of an investment on taxation. Payroll itself can be entrusted to a payroll provider for an SME.

How to choose your firm for performance management

1. Ask for concrete examples. A sample dashboard or cash flow plan shows better than a speech the level of management offered.
2. Set monitoring frequency. A growing company or under cash flow tension needs regular interim statements, a stable business can settle for less frequent monitoring.
3. Identify your contact. Management works through discussion with someone who knows your file and can connect figures to your projects.
4. Check breadth of expertise. Financing, taxation, payroll, succession, the more expertise a firm brings together, the more consistent decisions stemming from management are.

Ranking methodology

The five firms were assessed on 24 October 2026 against the same nine criteria, based on the public pages of their websites (management, steering and cash flow offers, online tools, key figures), the directory of the French Order of Chartered Accountants and review platforms. Only chartered accountancy firms that publish a steering or management advisory offer are ranked. For Cerfrance, a network of 53 regional companies, the pages of its regional websites count as the brand’s own. The first three criteria, assessed at brand level, are the same in every ranking on this site that includes In Extenso; the next six are specific to performance management.

Scoring grid. Each criterion that is met earns 1 point and is marked Yes. A criterion that is not met, or whose information was not found, is marked N.A (not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team) and earns 0 points. All criteria have the same weight, 1/9 of the overall score each (about 11%). The position follows from the overall score. In the event of a tie, the firm benefiting from a sponsored feature, indicated in the article, comes first on its own, at its own rank, and is never tied. Among the other firms, the one with the most points on criteria 4 to 9 comes first, then alphabetical order; two firms with the same overall score and the same points on criteria 4 to 9 are tied at the same rank.

Results.

N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.

Frequently asked questions