Finance Teams Built for Cape Town Businesses
Our outsourced finance teams give you access to the right people, expertise and systems as your business grows. Whether you need one specialist or a complete finance function, we build around what you actually need.
Start your Growth Journey
Does this sound familiar?
If you’re reading this, there’s probably something about your finances that isn’t working as well as it should. Maybe you’re not getting the information you need, you don’t have complete confidence in the numbers, or you’ve simply outgrown the way things have always been done.
That’s a position we’ve seen many businesses in.
Creative CFO started in Cape Town in 2012 with a simple idea: help businesses understand their numbers, not just report on them.
For over a decade, we’ve worked with hundreds of SMEs across South Africa and the UK, and one thing has become very clear. As a business grows, managing its finances becomes more complicated. What worked a few years ago often doesn’t work anymore, and getting a clear picture of what’s actually going on becomes harder.
That’s where we come in.
We want you to know where you stand and have the confidence to make better financial decisions.
And we want to do that as part of your business. Not as an external supplier you have to manage, but as a team that gets to know how you work, what you’re trying to achieve and what you need from us along the way.
Today, we’re a team of 45 finance professionals working to build the world’s best finance team.
You get the people, processes, systems and expertise you need, already built and ready to go.
If that sounds like what you’ve been looking for, we’d love to work with you.
Founder, Creative CFO
The Team Behind Your Team
We’ll create the ultimate combination of specialist financial experts to empower you with the exact knowledge and tools you need to thrive. We plug right into your business, whether you need one key role or service, or a full finance function, working alongside your in-house team or running things end-to-end.
Our Services
Tailor-made to take you places.
Financial Management
Financial Systems
Business Intelligence
Trusted by Cape Town businesses like yours
Creative CFO Cape Town
Buchanan Square
Unit 201, 2nd Floor
Woodstock, 7925
Meet the Cape Town Team
Ian Meaker
Chief Executive Officer
CFA
Ian started Creative CFO in 2012 shortly after earning his CFA charter. Prior to that he spent 3 years in London at Merrill Lynch and received a B.Bus.Sci at the University of Cape Town with Honours in Finance and majors in Economics and Accounting.
He enjoys working at the confluence of finance and technology, helping clients understand their businesses better by building financial systems and solutions tailored for high-growth SMEs. In his spare time, he enjoys mountain running, reading non-fiction, and exploring how AI can enhance work for knowledge professionals.
Ryan Schmitz
Chief Operating Officer
CA (SA), ACMA, CGMA
Ryan joined Creative CFO in 2020 and has grown into the COO role, leading the operations, people, systems and processes that sit behind every customer engagement. He's a CA(SA) and CGMA with experience across CFO and Head of Finance roles, which means he understands both the technical detail and the bigger picture that founders and executives actually care about.
His approach is straightforward. Find where things are breaking, fix them properly, and build something that scales. He's particularly focused on automation, financial infrastructure, and making sure Creative CFO's teams deliver at a level that genuinely moves the needle for customers.
Outside of work, Ryan is a runner who races marathons and ultra's on both the road and trail. The same mindset applies: long-term thinking, consistency, and a preference for doing hard things well.
Surita Scholtz
Director - Financial Reporting
CA (SA)
Surita joined Creative CFO Financial Reporting after running Kilgetty Accounting Services, where she was involved in reporting for medium to listed entities. Surita is heading up the Financial Reporting Department and provides our clients with clear and accurate IFRS compliant financial reporting.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending quality time with family and friends.
Why Founders Build Startups in Cape Town
Cape Town climbed 24 places in StartupBlink’s 2026 global index, growing 39% in a year. It is now Africa’s third-ranked startup city and is quickly rising in the continent’s top ten. Ranking is important, but we need to understand which businesses suit Cape Town best. And those are businesses selling beyond South Africa. How Cape Town compares with Johannesburg, Lagos, and Nairobi Cape Town ranks 114th globally, compared with Nairobi at 116th and Johannesburg at 122nd. Johannesburg grew by 9% over the year, Nairobi by 3%, and Cairo by 1%. There is a repeated statistic that is often quoted as current, but dates back to August 2018. It is the claim that Cape Town has 450 tech companies employing between 40 000 and 50 000 people. However, there is newer evidence that makes a better case for the city. Why Cape Town works for international businesses The time zone is the biggest advantage. South Africa stays on GMT+2 throughout the year. In Cape Town, you could have a morning call with Singapore, an afternoon working alongside Europe, and some overlap with New York before close of business. English is another advantage. South Africa ranks 13th on the EF English Proficiency
Read More