FractionalQuestAsk about this roleSign inBook a call

Permanent finance manager · hiring brief

Hire a Finance Manager

Hire a Finance Manager: write what the finance manager runs day to day, who they report to, and which decisions go to a finance director or CFO.

Brief us on this role →See finance manager roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 4 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
Hire a Finance Manager: a finance leader reviewing a board pack with a finance manager (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which roles are on the board now?

Permanent finance manager roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.

Roles

See every role on the board →

Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.

In the press

The brief

Hire a Finance Manager: what must the role own?

Ledgers, payables, receivables and payroll.

  • 01AccountsLedgers, payables, receivables and payroll.
  • 02Month-endClose and management accounts.
  • 03ReportingWho receives the numbers, and when.
  • 04LineReport to the MD, a controller or a CFO.

Role reference: ICAEW: finance career paths. ICAEW’s finance career paths set out finance roles from processing to leadership, useful for placing a finance manager correctly.

Finance manager

Hire a finance manager or a CFO first?

Usually the manager first.

Hire a finance manager when the accounts are late or unreliable. A CFO cannot lead what is not yet produced.

Once the numbers are reliable, a fractional CFO can add forecasting and funding on a few days a week.

The working pattern

What changes when the finance manager is permanent?

A finance manager runs the accounts: processing, month-end, payroll and management reports. In a small business they may be the whole finance team; in a larger one they report to a controller or finance director.

The illustrative brief: a growing business outgrowing its bookkeeper. A bookkeeper and an external accountant cannot produce monthly management accounts.

The appointment owns: The company hires a finance manager and keeps the accountant for year-end.

Another owner retains: The MD approves spend; a fractional CFO handles funding.

The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.

From brief to start

How do you hire a Finance Manager, step by step?

Hire a Finance Manager, in practice: the first three steps are ours; the last four are what has to be true before the first day. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date.

  1. Day 0
    01
    The 15-minute call
    What the finance manager must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.
    You and us
  2. Week 1
    02
    Scope agreed in writing
    The outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.
    Us
  3. Weeks 1–3
    03
    Search, references, shortlist
    We approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.
    Us
  4. Week 4
    04
    Systems
    Ledger and banking access.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Calendar
    Month-end timetable.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Accountant
    Agree roles with the external accountant.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    First pack
    First management accounts.
    You

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

Hire a Finance Manager on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable work
    Ask for a close they ran and its timetable.
  2. Authority
    Test a payment they should query.
  3. Team
    Ask how they supervised a bookkeeper.
  4. Handover
    Ask how they documented processes.

Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.

Vetting

What happens before anyone reaches your shortlist?

Five stages before a candidate reaches a shortlist of three to five.

  1. Pedigree screen
    Tenure
    We verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
  2. Mandate fit
    Fit
    Fit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
  3. Reference deep-dive
    Verify
    We take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
  4. Shortlist
    Shortlist
    Three to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
  5. Kick-off
    Start
    Scope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.

The full process is on how we vet.

The right pattern

Does this hiring pattern fit the work?

Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.

Questions

Hire a Finance Manager: questions, answered

A brief to hire a Finance Manager begins with accounts: Ledgers, payables, receivables and payroll. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • icaew.com
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    ICAEW: finance career paths icaew.com
  2. 2
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  3. 3
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  4. 4
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

For hiring managers

Bring the brief. We bring the shortlist.

Sign up now →Book a call

  1. A shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position
  2. Fractional, interim, part-time, temporary or permanent — and non-executive directors
  3. Every candidate through our five-stage vetting
  4. Your briefs and their candidates, in one room