Accounting Meets Engineering
Most people specialize in one or the other. Prairie Forge specializes in both — because that's what finance teams actually need.
Making Financial Operations Human Again
Technology promised to make accounting easier. Instead, it gave us more systems to manage, more spreadsheets to reconcile, and more time spent fighting with tools instead of analyzing results.
At Prairie Forge, we help finance and accounting teams use automation and AI to work smarter, close faster, and regain control of their operations. We focus on making technology approachable, practical, and built for how you actually work — not how software vendors think you should work.
Whether you're implementing an ERP, automating month-end close, or trying to get your team out of spreadsheet chaos, our goal is the same: help you use technology to create clarity, not complexity.
We believe the best systems start with understanding your process, not replacing it. That's why every solution we design begins with how you already work, and ends with something you can actually maintain. We don't hand you a black box — we build tools you understand, can modify, and won't be dependent on us to run.
Making accounting operations feel manageable again.
We Build Progress, Not Hype
We believe the best systems are built together — through collaboration, curiosity, and a willingness to learn as we go.
Prairie Forge started with a simple question: could someone with deep accounting expertise and technical skills help finance teams escape the endless cycle of manual work? Not with enterprise software that takes years to implement, but with practical automation that works with what you already have?
Today, we're a growing practice helping businesses of every stage — from startups building their first financial foundations to established companies optimizing complex ERP implementations. We don't chase trends or promise overnight transformations. We focus on building progress — one automation, one process improvement, one month-end close at a time.
Because to us, innovation isn't about keeping up with the latest software. It's about slowing down just enough to understand what's actually broken, then building something that lasts.
Clarity. Craft. Collaboration.
We believe in building things that last — with clarity, care, and purpose. Our values aren't buzzwords. They're the standards we hold ourselves to in every project, conversation, and line of code.
Practicality over Hype
We care less about the next big thing and more about the next right thing. Our focus is on solving real problems and delivering real results that make a difference in how people work.
Accessibility
Automation and better systems should serve everyone — not just Fortune 500 companies with massive budgets. We design solutions that meet you where you are and scale with your needs.
Education
We teach as we build. When we share what we know, you can maintain systems confidently, adapt them as you grow, and understand exactly how they work.
Craftsmanship
We take pride in the details. From a clean process map to a finished automation, everything we build is designed to be clear, maintainable, and built to last.
Partnership
We don't hand you a black box and disappear. We collaborate openly, explain every decision, and build with you — not just for you. You should understand how everything works.
Results That Matter
We measure success by outcomes, not features. Did month-end close get faster? Did you eliminate manual errors? Did your team get time back? That's what counts.
Meet the Founder
DJ Paeth, CPA
DJ Paeth is the founder of Prairie Forge, a consulting practice helping finance teams reimagine how work gets done through better systems, smarter automation, and the strategic use of modern tools.
A CPA with more than a decade leading finance and accounting operations, DJ built his career turning complex financial processes into clean, scalable workflows. He began at Ernst & Young and later helped mid-sized firms and startups build financial infrastructure from the ground up — often while simultaneously automating the manual work that was slowing them down.
Over time, DJ saw that great financial operations aren't just about accuracy — they're about clarity. The right tools and workflows don't just explain what happened; they help leaders see what's next and make better decisions faster. That belief inspired Prairie Forge: a space where accounting expertise and technical skills meet to make finance operations simpler, faster, and more reliable.
Whether automating month-end close, building custom Excel tools, implementing ERP systems, or helping teams adopt AI assistants like ChatGPT and Claude, DJ focuses on building systems that evolve with your business — not ones that create new dependencies or slow you down.
Based in Boise, Idaho with his family, he's as likely to be on the golf course as he is prototyping new tools that help finance teams work smarter.
Let's See If We're a Fit
No sales pitch. Just a conversation about what's broken and whether we can help fix it.
Get in Touch