Kruse Control Inc

Kruse Control Inc Maximize resources. Secure your profit. Kruse Control Inc.

was built on 25 years inside car dealerships - as a controller, CFO, and the person owners called when the numbers stopped making sense. Founder Kathi Kruse grew up in a Los Angeles car family and spent her career managing the financial and operational realities of new car franchises in Southern California. She's seen what happens when dealerships run without real financial leadership - and she bu

ilt Kruse Control to fix that. Today, Kruse Control provides fractional CFO services, accounting consulting, and hands-on training for dealership owners, controllers, and auto groups who need expertise without the full-time overhead. Our signature service, Automotive CFO To Go™, gives dealers access to senior-level financial guidance on demand. We specialize in:
Accounting assessment, cleanup & recovery | Financial performance consulting | Controller mentoring & training | Forensic accounting | Expense control | Buy/sell facilitation | Expert Witness | OEM & executive training

đź“© [email protected]
đź“ž 714-251-6440

There is a moment in nearly every car dealership when someone — the dealer principal, the GM, or a lender who has flown ...
06/03/2026

There is a moment in nearly every car dealership when someone — the dealer principal, the GM, or a lender who has flown in from somewhere flat and cheerless — turns toward the accounting office and asks what sounds, on its surface, like a perfectly reasonable question.

"Are the numbers right?"

I have been in rooms when this question is posed, and I can tell you that the silence that follows has a texture to it. It is the silence of a person who has just been asked, mid-bite, whether the chicken was fully cooked. Technically there is an answer. No one wants to give it.

"Well," someone will eventually say. "Mostly."
Read more: https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/strengthening-dealership-accounting-without-a-full-time-cfo/

You can be:Hitting your numbersSelling carsRunning a busy store…and still not know if you’re actually doing okay.That’s ...
06/02/2026

You can be:

Hitting your numbers
Selling cars
Running a busy store

…and still not know if you’re actually doing okay.

That’s the gap.

I put together a short, practical guide to help dealership operators:

âś” Understand their financial statement
âś” Know what to look for each month
âś” Stop relying on someone else to interpret the numbers

It’s free - grab it here: https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/how-to-read-a-dealership-financial-statement-a-practical-guide-vip-ebook/

Financial IQ in a dealership is like knowing how to swim before jumping into the deep end of the pool. Yes, you can stil...
06/02/2026

Financial IQ in a dealership is like knowing how to swim before jumping into the deep end of the pool. Yes, you can still jump without it, and yes, the lifeguard may dive in after you, but everyone ends up wetter, crankier, and wishing they’d chosen another activity.

For a General Manager and a Controller, understanding financials isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s what allows them to make decisions that don’t result in frantic emails, emergency meetings, or a vague hope that “things will just work out.”

When GMs and Controllers know their numbers, they can align operational goals with financial realities, avoid unnecessary missteps, and best of all, keep the dealership profitable enough to pay for the goodies in the customer lounge.

Read more: https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/raising-dealership-financial-iq-key-to-higher-profits/

There is a particular stillness that settles over a used car lot when inventory ages.It doesn’t creak. It doesn’t flash ...
05/28/2026

There is a particular stillness that settles over a used car lot when inventory ages.

It doesn’t creak. It doesn’t flash red lights. It doesn’t send a push notification.

It just sits there.

Shiny. Detailed. Parked at a slight angle as if that might improve its odds.

And while it sits, it quietly taxes your cash, your floorplan, your patience, and occasionally your marriage.

As a Dealership CFO, I have learned that aging inventory does not announce itself as a crisis. It arrives dressed as optimism.

“It just needs the right buyer.”

“We haven’t had the right weather yet.”

“It’ll pop this weekend.”

Hope is not a strategy. And metal does not move because we believe in it.

Read more: https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/turning-metal-not-parking-it-a-cfos-playbook-for-used-car-aging-and-cash-flow/

Let’s set the scene. The dealership’s finances are sliding into the red. The books have the gentle chaos of a junk drawe...
05/27/2026

Let’s set the scene. The dealership’s finances are sliding into the red. The books have the gentle chaos of a junk drawer someone tried to organize once. Your CPA says write-offs are looming. The staff is overworked, undertrained, and holding it all together with caffeine and expired granola bars.

You’d think this would spark a flurry of leadership activity—strategy meetings, urgent decisions, motivational speeches with hand gestures. But no. More often than not, what you’ll witness is... serenity. Stillness. Almost a meditative state.

You might wonder: is this calm confidence? Wisdom gained through years of experience?

Nope. It’s denial in business-casual.
Read more: https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/a-dealership-cfos-approach-to-crisis-management/

Let’s be honest for a second.A lot of people in dealership leadership roles are sitting in financial meetings…nodding al...
05/26/2026

Let’s be honest for a second.

A lot of people in dealership leadership roles are sitting in financial meetings…
nodding along…
following just enough to keep up…

But not fully confident in what they’re looking at.

And it’s not because they’re not capable.

It’s because no one ever actually showed them how to read a dealership financial statement in a way that makes sense.

I’ve sat across from dealer principals and GMs for years as a CFO.
Smart operators. Strong businesses.

Still unsure where to look. What matters. What’s a red flag.

So I put together a plain-English guide:

👉 How to actually read your dealership financial statement
👉 What to pay attention to (and what to ignore)
👉 How to stop relying on someone else to tell you if you're doing okay

If you’ve ever had that quiet moment of “I should probably understand this better” - this is for you. https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/how-to-read-a-dealership-financial-statement-a-practical-guide-vip-ebook/

There’s a particular feeling that shows up in dealerships before the numbers fully reflect it. Traffic feels thinner. De...
05/25/2026

There’s a particular feeling that shows up in dealerships before the numbers fully reflect it. Traffic feels thinner. Deals take longer. Gross requires more effort. Meanwhile, expenses continue arriving on schedule, confident and unmoved. It’s in that moment that a disciplined operator - and a seasoned Dealership CFO - leans in, not back and starts protecting profit before it slips.

The Q4 2025 Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index didn’t exactly arrive with holiday cheer, reinforcing what many operators are already feeling inside their stores.

Translation? Dealers are uneasy.
And when dealers feel uneasy, two reactions typically follow:

-Hope things turn around quickly.
-Slash expenses without a plan.

Only one of those is strategic.

Read more: https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/dealership-cfo-strategies-for-smart-expense-control/

Managing used car inventory is a lot like trying to keep a refrigerator organized. Left to its own devices, it fills up ...
05/22/2026

Managing used car inventory is a lot like trying to keep a refrigerator organized. Left to its own devices, it fills up with things that were once a good idea but are now questionable. A sound monthly policy – the dealership’s version of labeling leftovers – relies on data, discipline, and just enough urgency to keep things from rotting in the back.

The strange thing about cars on a lot is how human they can feel. A fresh arrival sparkles with possibility, full of promise and potential. By the 30-day mark, though, the shine begins to dull. The car hasn’t done anything wrong, really, it just hasn’t found its match. After sixty days, you’re not really seeing potential anymore; you’re calculating the cost of keeping it around. It’s the same realization you have when you notice that the clothes in your closet still have their tags on, reminding you with each glance that they were never the right fit.

This is where the discipline of inventory management steps in. Done right, it creates order, consistency, and cash flow. Done poorly, it leaves a lot full of stale units, drained PVR, and managers wondering why nothing seems to move.

Read more: https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/used-car-inventory-management-policy-that-actually-works/

Address

3419 Via Lido Ste 484
Newport Beach, CA
92663

Telephone

(714) 251-6440

Website

http://twitter.com/kathikruse, http://linkedin.com/in/krusecontrol, http://facebook.com/kat

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