John McCarthy is the founder of Gorham Consulting and a solo fractional CFO supporting multiple fast-growing SaaS and technology companies. He has worked with over 80 clients ranging from early-stage startups to venture-backed teams preparing for fundraising or acquisition, often with lean finance teams and aggressive growth goals.

Working across several companies at once gives John a unique vantage point. He sees the same operational risks surface repeatedly, especially as companies expand into new states or countries. One of the most common, and most underestimated, is sales tax and VAT compliance.

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Scaling an advisory practice without scaling risk

As a solo fractional CFO, John McCarthy supports multiple fast-growing SaaS and technology companies at once. Each client brings different products, customers, and growth trajectories, but they also bring shared operational risks that surface as companies expand into new states and markets.

One of the most common, and most underestimated, is sales tax and VAT compliance.

“No matter the size of the company, sales tax obligations exist,” John explains. “But most founders don’t realize their exposure until it becomes urgent.”

John often uncovers sales tax risk during routine financial reviews. Some founders are completely unaware they have obligations. Others suspect exposure but assume it’s something they can address later, once the business is bigger or more stable.

“A lot of founders are in denial,” John says. “They think sales tax is too much work, or that it’s going to slow down sales.”

For John, this creates a compounding challenge. As Gorham Consulting grows, so does his responsibility—not just to identify risk, but to help clients address it in a way that protects both the business and the advisory relationship. If sales tax issues surface during diligence or an audit, the consequences extend beyond penalties or cleanup costs; they can strain trust and introduce friction at the worst possible time.

One of the most common objections John hears is concern that charging sales tax will hurt conversion rates. In practice, that fear rarely materializes, particularly in B2B SaaS.

“If a customer can afford a $100,000 software contract, they’re not walking away over sales tax,” John explains. “Customers expect it. It’s a legal requirement.”

For John, the challenge wasn’t just helping clients become compliant—it was finding a scalable, repeatable way to manage sales tax across his client base without becoming the owner of ongoing compliance risk himself.

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A simple insurance policy when implemented early

John implemented Anrok more than three years ago, after seeing how quickly sales tax complexity escalated across clients. Since then, Anrok has become a standard part of the tech stack he recommends to growing companies.

Anrok handles the foundational work that most early-stage teams don’t have the time or expertise to manage themselves — sales tax registration, ongoing compliance, exposure tracking, and filings across states, countries, and jurisdictions.

“Managing sales tax compliance through Anrok is so much easier than setting it up on your own,” John says. “It’s a simple solution to a very complex problem.”

For early-stage companies, John frames Anrok as an insurance policy, one that prevents costly clean-up later and protects future fundraising and exit outcomes. Compared to the risk of penalties, interest, and delayed diligence, the decision to invest in Anrok is straightforward.

“Spending a few thousand dollars now versus guaranteed penalties later isn’t a hard tradeoff,” John explains.

Hands-on onboarding that removes friction

A key advantage John highlights is Anrok’s onboarding experience. Rather than forcing founders or finance teams to navigate set-up alone, Anrok provides a dedicated onboarding team that supports registration, configuration, and implementation.

“There’s real hand-holding,” John notes. “You’re not just thrown into a system and told to figure it out.”

This approach allows John to roll Anrok out efficiently across multiple clients without engineering involvement or long implementation cycles. Once live, the platform alleviates ongoing work, including monitoring exposure and managing filings.

“Sales tax is already handled within a week of the quarter closing,” John says. “That alone removes a huge amount of work.”

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