Finance director services · FD · fractional, interim, part-time, permanent
Finance Director Services · fractional, interim, part-time and permanent
finance director services come in four shapes: fractional, interim, part-time and permanent.
The finance director runs the finance function: reporting, controls, cash and the management accounts the leadership team runs the business on.
This hub sets out what the seat covers, which shape fits which situation, and what the market publishes on rates.
Each route has its own page; every brief gets a shortlist of 3–5 with rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a finance director
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Finance Director Services candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
01/ the role
What finance director services cover
The finance director runs the finance function: reporting, controls, cash and the management accounts the leadership team runs the business on.
In scope: monthly management accounts and the board pack; budgeting, reforecasting and cash management; financial controls, audit and year-end; banking relationships and working capital; leading and developing the finance team.
Transaction processing and payroll belong with the finance team or an outsourced bookkeeper.
Capital raising at scale is usually CFO work; the FD prepares the numbers it rests on.
What the seat does day to day is set out in the finance director role explained; executives looking for this work can see current finance director roles.
02/ scope
Four ways to buy the finance director seat
Fractional Finance Director services
A fractional finance director holds the finance director seat on a standing weekly commitment, usually alongside a small number of other clients, and owns outcomes rather than hours.
A fractional finance director gives an SME the discipline of a finance lead on a standing weekly commitment: the month-end close, the board pack and the cash forecast, with the bookkeeper doing the processing.
Fractional finance director services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.
Interim Finance Director services
An interim finance director works full-time for a fixed term to cover a gap, lead a change or see a transaction through, then hands over.
Interim executives are hired for immediate impact: they expect to take decisions from the first week.
Interim finance director services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.
Part-Time Finance Director services
A part-time finance director works set days each week for one organisation.
A part-time finance director works fixed days each week on a pro-rata basis, often for a business that will never need a full-time FD but wants the same person running finance year after year.
Part-Time finance director services sets out the scope, the rates and how we shortlist.
Permanent Finance Director
A permanent finance director makes sense once the finance team is large enough to need daily leadership, or the board wants a finance executive on the leadership team full-time.
Our permanent finance director search page covers the process.
Outsourced Finance Director services
Sold as virtual finance director: a provider or a named individual off your payroll.
03/ the route
Fractional, interim or permanent?
Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.
The route · Fractional
A fractional finance director services.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional finance director services holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.
The route · Interim
An interim finance director services.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim finance director services takes the seat full time for that stretch and hands it over when it is done.
The route · Interim, then permanent
Interim now, a permanent finance director services after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim finance director services holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent finance director services.A full-time seat that sits at the table for years is a permanent hire.
There is time to run a search, so run one.
04/ rates by stage
Finance director rates what the published benchmarks say
Every figure is the named source’s own published band. Fractional Quest publishes no fees: each candidate on a shortlist states their own rate.
05/ comparison
Four ways to buy a finance director fractional, interim, part-time or permanent
The same finance director seat can be filled four ways. The difference is commitment, contract and how long you need it.
06/ timing
Which shape fits your situation
Match the shape to the work, not the title.
Scenario 01
Weekly judgement
You need a finance director to own decisions every week, but the work does not fill five days.
Management accounts arriving late or untrusted, an audit that keeps slipping, a bank asking for covenants to be reported, or a founder still signing off every payment.
Scenario 02
Now, full-time
Year-end is coming and the finance director has left.
An interim FD keeps the close, the audit and the bank on schedule until the permanent hire starts.
Scenario 03
Long term
A part-time finance director works fixed days each week on a pro-rata basis, often for a business that will never need a full-time FD but wants the same person running finance year after year.
A permanent finance director makes sense once the finance team is large enough to need daily leadership, or the board wants a finance executive on the leadership team full-time.
07/ vetting
How we vet the shortlist
Five stages: qualification, mandate fit, reference deep-dive, shortlist and analysis, kick-off.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Finance Director Services tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
08/ before you brief
Before you buy finance director services what to decide first
The decisions.
Write down the three decisions the finance director will own in the next ninety days.
That list decides the shape: weekly decisions point to fractional, a time-bound programme to interim, a steady load to part-time.
The neighbours.
The finance director runs the function; the CFO adds capital strategy and investor work on top.
Smaller businesses usually want the FD shape and larger ones the CFO shape.
The checks.
Check a finance leader’s professional standing before you sign: see ICAEW’s directory of chartered accountants.
For a contractor engagement, agree how it will run in practice, because that decides IR35 status; HMRC’s guidance for clients sets out who makes the determination.
09/ questions
Finance Director services FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a finance director.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
