Fractional finance manager jobs · Fractional accountant · Part of the week
Fractional finance manager jobs · hire a fractional finance manager, or hire one for good
Fractional finance manager jobs are finance roles held for part of the week: someone who runs the monthly numbers for a business, from the ledgers and reconciliations to the management accounts, and hands the year end to the accountant. To hire a fractional finance manager, decide what must be produced each month and how many days that takes.
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent finance people. On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting. Our board lists senior finance roles, below.
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 fractional finance manager
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with finance manager 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
Live roles · last 3 months
Live Fractional finance jobs
Live senior finance roles
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a finance manager brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
Fractional finance manager jobs: what the role covers
A fractional finance manager keeps the finance function running for part of the week. The usual scope: the purchase and sales ledgers; bank and balance sheet reconciliations; the month-end and the management accounts; VAT returns and payroll checks; cash reporting; and the working papers the external accountant needs at the year end. They often manage a bookkeeper or an accounts assistant.
Who uses one
Small and growing businesses whose bookkeeping has outgrown a bookkeeper but whose finance does not yet need a controller. Founders who want monthly numbers they can trust. And finance teams that need cover for a month-end, a system change or a gap between hires.
What our board lists
Our board lists senior finance roles only: financial controller, FP&A and finance director. Finance manager posts are not listed there. For the step up, see hire a fractional financial controller or hire a fractional FD. For every senior finance role, see fractional finance jobs.
02/ scope
How to hire a fractional finance manager
1. Write down what must be produced
List the outputs, not the title: management accounts by a set working day, reconciled bank accounts, VAT returns filed on time, a cash forecast, clean records at the year end. Then decide the days a week and who the finance manager reports to.
2. Check the level you need
If the work is ledgers and returns, a finance manager or accountant fits. If the business needs someone to own the controls, lead the close and manage a team, it is a controller seat. If it needs a finance voice on the leadership team, with the bank and the board, it is an FD. The comparison below sets out the three.
3. Check qualifications and systems
Look for an accounting qualification (AAT, or a chartered route such as ACA, ACCA or CIMA; below) and hands-on use of the accounting software you run. Ask for a set of management accounts they produced, redacted, and take references from the business owners they reported to.
4. Settle the engagement
Agree the days, the monthly timetable, system access and who approves payments. If they will work through their own company, check IR35 before the start date (below).
What we do on a finance brief
We send a shortlist of 3–5 candidates, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. Every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
03/ comparison
Finance manager vs financial controller vs FD
Three levels of the same finance function. At a small company they often merge; choose by the work.
04/ vetting
How we vet fractional finance managers
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify finance manager 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
05/ fractional accountant
Fractional accountant: in-house, part of the week
A fractional accountant works inside a business for agreed days, rather than serving it from an accountancy practice. The work overlaps with a finance manager’s: management accounts, reconciliations, VAT and payroll checks, and preparing for the year end. The difference is mostly the title. A business that already has an external accountant often hires a fractional one in-house to keep the records in a state the practice can use.
Statutory accounts are a fixed point in the year. GOV.UK says a private limited company’s annual accounts must include a balance sheet, a profit and loss account, notes and, unless the company is a micro-entity, a directors’ report, and that the balance sheet must be signed by a director. An in-house accountant prepares the records; the directors remain responsible for the accounts.
Qualifications tell you the level. The AAT offers accounting and bookkeeping qualifications that lead to chartered study or to becoming an AAT Licensed Accountant. The chartered routes include ICAEW’s ACA, the ACCA Qualification and CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification, which focuses on management accounting. Robert Half lists ACA, ACCA or CIMA for a financial controller; a finance manager may hold AAT or be part-way through a chartered route.
06/ finance manager vs financial controller vs FD
Finance manager vs financial controller vs FD which one you need
Finance manager vs financial controller vs FD is a question of how far the job reaches. A finance manager produces the numbers. A financial controller owns how they are produced and checked. An FD decides what the numbers mean for the business and speaks for them to the bank and the board.
Robert Half’s financial controller profile lists the controller’s work as managing the day-to-day finances, leading reporting under UK GAAP or IFRS, overseeing budgeting, forecasting and month-end, managing internal controls, audits and risk, and supervising the finance team. It names finance manager among the common roles held before. Its 2026 guide puts a full-time financial controller at £63,000 (25th percentile) to £92,500 (75th), median £76,750. See what a financial controller does.
An FD sits above that. Robert Half’s finance director profile lists managing cash flow, preparing the monthly management accounts, overseeing reporting, forecasting and budgeting, and developing financial and commercial strategy. Its 2026 guide gives a UK median of £109,500 for a full-time finance director, and £149,000 in London. For a controller on fixed days, see part-time financial controller jobs; for planning and analysis, fractional FP&A.
07/ ir35
IR35 and fractional finance managers employed part-time or through a company
A fractional finance manager is either employed on a part-time contract or works through their own company. Where they work through their own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply. In most cases the client decides the worker’s status; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides.
Status turns on how the engagement runs in practice. Fixed days, your systems and your approval of their work all bear on it, so set them out in the contract and run it that way. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
08/ questions
Fractional finance manager jobs FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional finance manager.
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.
