Cooper Parry vs Burkland Associates
Side-by-side from the Top 11 rankings of The 11 Best Fractional CFOs for Patent-Heavy & IP-Rich Startups (2026) and 11 Best Fractional CFO Companies 2026 — Priced From $1,500/mo, No Paid Listings. Last verified May 31, 2026.
The short answer
Burkland Associates ranks higher on Top 11 (#1 vs #1) for Founders of deep-tech, AI, biotech, hardware, and any company where patents or other IP form ≥20% of enterprise value — and who need a CFO that treats IP as the asset it is, not a balance-sheet line item. / Tech founders raising $1M to $50M, Seed to Series B. The safe default for VC-backed US startups. Board-fluent and deep-benched.
At a glance
| Cooper Parry | Burkland Associates | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #1 / The 11 Best Fractional CFOs for Patent-Heavy & IP-Rich Startups (2026) | #1 / 11 Best Fractional CFO Companies 2026 — Priced From $1,500/mo, No Paid Listings |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 8.1 | 9.1 |
| Best for | UK founders approaching IP-material exit | Series A to C VC-backed SaaS |
| Pricing | $$$ (project-based, typically £20k to £150k for exit-prep engagements) | $$$ (typically $5k to $25k/mo) |
| HQ | East Midlands, UK | San Francisco, CA |
| Founded | 1854 | 2003 |
Cooper Parry
UK exit-prep firm with documented IP-economics chops. Project-based not fractional.
cooperparry.comSee full entry in The 11 Best Fractional CFOs for Patent-Heavy & IP-Rich Startups (2026)
Burkland Associates
The safe default for VC-backed US startups. Board-fluent and deep-benched.
burklandassociates.comSee full entry in 11 Best Fractional CFO Companies 2026 — Priced From $1,500/mo, No Paid Listings
Methodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.