Fractional financial controller · Fractional controller · Services · Cost
Fractional Financial Controller · what one does, what one costs, when you need one
A fractional financial controller is a qualified controller who runs a company’s accounting, month-end close and financial controls for part of the week, often one to three days, on an ongoing basis.
Many people shorten it to fractional controller.
They own the books and the close for fewer days than a full-time FC.
Accountancy Capital puts the day rate at £450 to £650 in London and the South East, and £400 to £550 elsewhere.
This page covers what the role is, what it costs and when it fits.
To hire a fractional financial controller, or to see fractional financial controller jobs, go to the hub.
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent finance leaders.
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 financial controller
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with financial controller 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
On the board · last 3 months
Fractional financial controller jobs on the board
No Fractional financial controller roles on the board in the last three months. Showing finance leadership roles instead.
- FractionalSyndicatedFractional Finance Director
Signature Associates · England
est £750/dayEngland - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
KeelCFO · England
Rate not statedEngland - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
fin-house · London
£700–£1,000/dayLondon - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
Amitours · United Kingdom
Rate not statedUnited Kingdom - InterimSyndicatedInterim Finance Director
Pragmatic Semiconductor · Cambridge
est £1,400/day5 d/wk - InterimSyndicatedInterim Finance Director
Juro · United Kingdom
£800–£1,000/dayUnited Kingdom - FractionalSyndicatedFractional Finance Directors
PWF Associates Limited · Manchester
est £750/dayManchester
Current financial controller and finance leadership roles
Fractional recruitment works differently from a permanent search — shorter, scoped by days a week, and priced on the engagement. Send a financial controller brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
What is a fractional controller? the same job, part of the week
“Fractional” means a fraction of the week, not of the job.
A fractional controller does the whole financial controller role: the ledgers, the reconciliations, the month-end close, the management accounts, the controls and the audit file.
They do it on agreed days, and the arrangement runs until the business needs more or less.
Fractional controller and fractional financial controller are the same seat.
The seat sits below the board.
The controller makes the numbers right and on time; a finance director or CFO decides what they mean for the business.
The legal duty stays with the company: every company must keep adequate accounting records, and the directors stay legally responsible for them even when someone else keeps them.
Our page on what a financial controller does covers the full role.
Controller or finance director?
A controller owns accuracy, timeliness and controls.
A finance director owns the cash plan, the bank, the board and the strategy.
Small companies often need the controller first, because the board pack is only as good as the close beneath it.
If the gap is above the close, see fractional finance director.
02/ scope
Fractional financial controller: what one does week to week
With limited days, a fractional financial controller spends them on the work that keeps the numbers trustworthy.
Most weeks go on five things.
The month-end close
A timetable with a fixed working day for the close, reconciliations signed off, accruals and prepayments posted, and the ledger locked when it is done.
Management accounts
A monthly pack with profit and loss, balance sheet, cash and the few measures the owner watches.
The British Business Bank makes the case for comparing a sales budget with reported performance and having one person own the chasing of late payers.
Controls
Who can approve what, who can pay whom, segregation of duties where the team is big enough, and a documented process for each.
Year-end, VAT and the audit
The year-end file that becomes the statutory accounts sent to Companies House and HMRC, the audit where one applies, and VAT returns built from records that show VAT correctly.
The team and the systems
Supervising the bookkeeper or the outsourced provider, and setting up the accounting system so the close gets shorter each month.
Variations on the brief
Adverts sometimes add a focus.
A fractional financial controller (RevOps focus) also owns billing, revenue recognition and the link between the CRM and the ledger.
A brief for a fractional financial controller (not reporting) wants the close and controls fixed while board reporting stays with the FD or CFO.
Read the duties, not the bracket.
03/ the week
How a week divides.
Part of a week is the point of the model: the days you buy are yours, the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week and the week redraws.
Illustration only: one way a fractional financial controller’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
04/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 7 roles · finance leadership
Engagement
- Fractional5
- Interim2
Seat
- Finance director4
- CFO3
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated6
Day rate
- Verified rate2
- Estimated (est)3
- Rate not stated2
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote2
- Hybrid2
- On-site3
Newest posting on the board: 5 Oct 2026.
05/ rates by commitment
Fractional controller retainers by days a week
Monthly retainers as Accountancy Capital’s 2026 market report publishes them, London and regional kept apart.
06/ comparison
Fractional vs interim vs part-time controller and permanent
The titles overlap. The differences are in the days, the length and the contract.
07/ timing
When to hire a fractional controller
Most companies bring one in when the books have outgrown a bookkeeper or the external accountant’s year-end visit, but do not yet fill a full-time controller’s week. These are the common triggers.
Scenario 01
The close takes weeks
Management accounts arrive late, change after they are sent, or do not arrive at all.
Scenario 02
An audit or a lender is coming
The first audit, a new facility or an investor’s due diligence needs reconciled records and a clean file.
Scenario 03
Nobody owns the controls
The same person raises and pays invoices, approvals live in email, and the owner signs what they cannot check.
Scenario 04
A new system or a new entity
A move to a new accounting system, a second company or a new currency needs someone senior to set it up right.
08/ vetting
How we vet fractional financial controllers
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify financial controller 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
09/ the service
Fractional financial controller services: what the service covers
Fractional financial controller services come in two shapes.
A firm can sell the service, with a named controller and others behind them; or an independent controller can sell their own days.
Either way, write down what is in scope: the close timetable, the management pack, reconciliations, VAT, the year-end file, controls and supervision of the bookkeeper.
Fractional controller services from a firm can cover holidays and peaks with a second person.
An independent gives you one named person who answers for the close.
Ask who does the work on the days your controller is not in, and who signs off the reconciliations.
Check the qualification with the body that awards it: the ICAEW directory confirms ICAEW Chartered Accountants, and the ACCA and CIMA set out what their members have passed.
For how a full search runs, see financial controller recruitment.
10/ cost
Fractional controller salary and day rates
A fractional controller salary is rarely a salary.
Most bill a day rate or a monthly retainer for agreed days.
Accountancy Capital’s 2026 report puts the day rate at £450 to £650 in London and the South East and £400 to £550 regionally, rising to £550 to £750 and £475 to £650 for regulated or complex work.
The retainer table on this page sets out its monthly figures by days a week.
Searches for a fractional controller hourly rate 2026 find little: the sources we trust publish day rates and retainers, not hourly rates, so we quote none.
For the permanent comparison, Robert Half’s 2026 guide puts the median financial controller salary at £76,750, within £63,000 to £92,500; in London the median is £104,500, within £85,750 to £125,750.
Accountancy Capital adds that a £90,000 permanent controller costs an employer roughly £108,000 once National Insurance, pension and benefits are added, before recruitment cost or notice.
Our financial controller salary page sets out permanent pay in depth; every shortlist we send states each candidate’s day rate or pay.
11/ contract and ir35
How the engagement works: contract and IR35
Most fractional controllers work under a contract for services, through their own limited company or as a sole trader.
Where they use their own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply.
Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice.
A medium or large private-sector client makes the determination; for a small client, the controller’s own company decides.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
Agree in writing the days, what the controller can approve alone, who covers between their days, and what gets handed back if the arrangement ends: reconciliations, the close timetable and open audit points.
12/ other routes
Other routes to the same seat
If the seat is empty and the work fills the week for a while, an interim financial controller covers it full-time for a fixed period.
If you want an employee on reduced hours, see part-time financial controller jobs.
When the work grows to fill the week, many companies make a permanent hire; the guide on how to hire a financial controller covers every route.
Looking for work?
Fractional controller jobs, and fractional controller jobs remote or hybrid, are on the hub.
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate or pay, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.
13/ questions
Fractional financial controller FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional financial controller.
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.
