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Fractional CFO · hiring brief

How to Hire a Fractional CFO

How to Hire a Fractional CFO: name the finance event first, count the days it needs, write the decisions the CFO will own, and test every candidate on your own accounts.

Brief us on this role →See CFO roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 5 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
How to Hire a Fractional CFO: 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?

Fractional CFO 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

How to Hire a Fractional CFO: what must the role own?

A raise, a lender covenant, a sale, or a board that no longer trusts the numbers.

  • 01Finance eventA raise, a lender covenant, a sale, or a board that no longer trusts the numbers.
  • 02DaysCount the recurring work and the peaks, such as board weeks and investor meetings.
  • 03DecisionsCash, forecasting, funding and controls; say which return to the CEO.
  • 04The closeName who runs bookkeeping and month-end, so the CFO is not hired to do it.

Role reference: ICAEW on the CFO role in strategy. ICAEW describes the CFO as shaping strategy, not only reporting on it; that is the remit to write down before you hire a fractional CFO.

How to hire

How to hire a fractional CFO: the order of work

Five steps, in this order, because each one changes the next.

1. The event. Write why finance leadership is needed now. A fundraise needs different evidence from a covenant or a sale.

2. The days. Count the weekly work and the peaks. If the count comes to four or five days, a fractional CFO is the wrong answer; consider an interim or a permanent hire.

3. The decisions. List what the CFO owns and what returns to the CEO or board.

4. The contract. Most fractional CFOs work through their own company, so the IR35 position depends on how the work actually runs. Write the working pattern down first.

5. The test. Give every candidate the same pack of your numbers and ask for a written view of the biggest finance risk. Compare the answers, not the CVs.

The working pattern

What changes when the CFO is fractional?

A fractional CFO is a senior finance leader on agreed days each week, usually contracted rather than employed, who owns strategy, cash and funding decisions while someone else runs the monthly close.

The illustrative brief: a profitable business taking on debt. A lender wants monthly covenant reporting and a forecast the board will sign off. The finance manager can close the books but has never built a lender model.

The appointment owns: A fractional CFO builds the forecast and covenant pack and joins lender meetings, one day a week plus board weeks.

Another owner retains: The board approves the facility; the finance manager keeps the close and payroll.

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

From brief to start

How do you hire a fractional CFO, step by step?

How to Hire a Fractional CFO, 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 CFO 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
    Brief
    The finance event, the decisions, the days and the review date in writing.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Access
    Management accounts, forecast, bank and lender terms, cap table.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Cover
    Who answers lenders and investors between the CFO’s days.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    First output
    A thirteen-week cash view within the first fortnight.
    You

Your figures

What does part of a senior week cost?

Rate × days × weeks, against a loaded full-time package. Move the sliders; the numbers redraw.

  • CFO band £700–£1,400 (FD Capital 2026)
Year-one cost, fractional
£96,600
2 days a week · 46 weeks · day fees, before tax · our arithmetic
Fractional executive£96,600
Full-time CFO, loaded£202,225£919 a day over 220 days · our arithmetic
Fractional costs less in year one by£105,625

Our arithmetic. £176,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary + employer NI at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC) = £202,225. Excludes pension, bonus and any search fee.

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

How to Hire a Fractional CFO on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable work
    Ask for a fundraise, facility or sale they ran at your size, and their own part in it.
  2. Authority
    Give them a decision the board keeps and see whether they respect the line.
  3. Team
    Ask how they made a finance manager more capable in a part-week role.
  4. Handover
    Ask what the finance team could run alone after their last engagement.

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

How to Hire a Fractional CFO: questions, answered

It depends on how clear the brief is and who is available; we do not promise a shortlist by a date. A brief with the finance event, the days and the decisions written down is the quickest to search against.

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 on the CFO role in strategy icaew.com
  2. 2
    Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 HMRC
    Employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year.
  3. 3
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  4. 4
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  5. 5
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

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  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
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