Hire an Interim CFO · Interim CFO Jobs UK
Interim CFO Jobs · hire an interim CFO
for the gap, or hire a CFO
Hire an interim CFO — a full-time interim Chief Financial Officer on a fixed-term assignment, usually 3–12 months — to cover a vacancy, run a refinancing or sale, or steady the numbers through a turnaround. Or browse live interim CFO jobs UK-wide below.
- £700–£2,000 a day (Exec Capital)
- Full-time, fixed-term
- 3–12 months typical
- Shortlist of 3–5
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 an interim CFO
Tell us the situation and the start date. We come back with interim CFO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the assignment and the start date
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Interim CFO jobs · last 3 months
Live Interim CFO jobs
No live Interim CFO roles in the last three months. Showing live fractional CFO roles instead.
01/ definition
What is an interim CFO?
An interim CFO is the Chief Financial Officer, full-time, for a fixed term. Not a part-time fractional CFO and not an accountancy firm: the person who owns the numbers until the job is done or the permanent hire arrives.
01 · cadence
The CFO seat, five days a week.
An interim CFO runs finance in full — reporting, cash, the finance team, the lenders and the board — rather than advising from outside.
02/ scope
What an interim Chief Financial Officer owns
The interim CFO carries financial accountability for the term; the team keeps the transactional work.
- Cash flow and 13-week forecasting
- Board and investor reporting
- Lender and covenant relationships
- Budget, forecast and KPIs
- Audit and year-end
- Deal, refinancing or sale process
- Finance team structure
- Handover to the permanent CFO
- Bookkeeping and ledgers
- Accounts payable and receivable
- Payroll processing
- VAT and routine tax filings
- Month-end journals
- Expense administration
03/ alternatives
Interim CFO vs fractional, finance director and permanent
The same seat, four ways of filling it.
→ Interim covers the whole seat for a period; fractional covers part of it indefinitely.
04/ rates
Interim CFO day rates, UK 2026
Published figures only, each with its source. Exec Capital: straightforward cover sits at the lower end of the range; transformation, turnaround and post-acquisition work significantly higher.
- Interim CFO£700–£2,000Exec Capital 2026
- Interim CFO, SME / mid-market£1,000–£1,500FD Capital 2026
- Interim CFO, complex mandates£1,500–£2,500FD Capital 2026
- Fractional CFO£700–£1,400FD Capital 2026
Full-time month at 21 working days: £14,700–£42,000 on the Exec Capital band. Six months: roughly £91,000–£260,000 — our arithmetic.
05/ calculator
What an interim CFO costs
Model a fixed-term interim CFO against a permanent Chief Financial Officer over the same period.
£1,350 a day is within the published Interim CFO band (£700–£2,000, Exec Capital 2026).
Interim cost for the term
£175,500
130 working days · 5 d/wk · 6 mo · before tax
Interim costs more over 6 months£34,414
Book a 15-minute call →Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £161,241 median CFO pay (Glassdoor, via FD Capital) pro rata for the same months, plus 15% employer NI, plus a 30% search fee on the annual base (UK retained search runs 25–35%, Headhunters.co.uk). Excludes pension, bonus and equity.
06/ tax
Is an interim CFO tax-deductible?
General position under UK rules, with the HMRC source for each point. Not tax advice — check your own case with your accountant.
01 · DEDUCTIBLE
The fees are a business expense
An interim CFO’s fees, like a salary, are deductible against profits when incurred wholly and exclusively for the trade (HMRC BIM37000). At the 25% main rate, each £1,000 of fees costs a profitable company £750 after relief.
02 · EMPLOYER NI
Employer NI follows IR35 status
A permanent CFO carries employer National Insurance at 15% (gov.uk). An interim engaged through their own company carries none when the engagement is outside IR35; inside IR35, the fee-payer deducts tax and NI and pays employer NI. Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice.
03 · WHO DECIDES
IR35 status, by company size
Medium and large clients determine the interim’s status themselves; for a small private-sector client, the interim’s own company decides (HMRC off-payroll guidance).
07/ decision
When to hire an interim CFO
Four situations where companies hire an interim CFO rather than wait for a permanent one — and where most interim CFO jobs come from.
Which sounds like you?
A resignation, a sudden exit or long-term leave leaves the board without its finance lead mid-year.
- → Keep reporting on time
- → Hold lender confidence
- → Run the permanent search
A tight covenant, a cash squeeze or a turnaround that needs a senior finance owner this week.
- → 13-week cash forecast
- → Lender negotiations
- → Cost actions
A refinancing, an acquisition, a sale or a PE investment that needs a CFO who has done it before.
- → Data room ready
- → Vendor due diligence
- → Completion accounts
Late reporting, audit findings or a new ERP: finance needs fixing before a permanent CFO can succeed.
- → Close the month faster
- → Clear audit points
- → Hire the team
08/ guide
Hiring an interim CFO: what to get right
Start with the outcome. An interim CFO is hired to leave something finished — a refinancing signed, a sale completed, an audit cleared, a finance team that closes the month on time. Put that and a date in the brief, and you will compare approaches rather than CVs.
Choose between interim and fractional before you brief anyone. If the work needs a full-time owner for a few months, hire an interim CFO. If it needs senior judgement a day or two a week on an ongoing basis, a fractional CFO costs less — FD Capital puts the fractional band at £700–£1,400 a day, averaging about £1,050.
Budget from the published bands. Exec Capital’s 2026 guide puts interim CFO day rates at £700–£2,000; FD Capital splits the market into £1,000–£1,500 for SME and mid-market cover and £1,500–£2,500 for listed, PE-backed and turnaround mandates. Six months at five days a week on the Exec Capital band is roughly £91,000–£260,000 — our arithmetic. A permanent Chief Financial Officer is a median £161,241 (Glassdoor) before employer National Insurance, pension, bonus and a retained search fee of 25–35%.
Match the track record to the situation. An interim CFO who has taken three companies through a sale is not the same hire as one who has steadied a business in breach of covenant. Ask for references from the last three assignments and call them; we do the same before anyone reaches a shortlist.
Plan the handover from the first week. Good interim CFOs document the model, the lender relationships and the close process, and often help you hire their successor. If you are looking for interim CFO jobs rather than hiring, the live board below lists current interim CFO roles; fractional CFO jobs and part-time CFO jobs cover the part-time market.
08.1/ cash and creditors
Hire an interim CFO for a turnaround: when cash runs short
Many companies hire an interim CFO when cash is tight or a covenant is at risk, and the first job is an honest view of solvency. The Insolvency Service describes two basic tests: cash flow (can the company pay its bills as they fall due?) and balance sheet (are its liabilities greater than its assets?). Late payments to suppliers and arrears with HMRC are among the warning signs it lists (Insolvency Service company health check).
The tests matter because directors’ duties change when a company is insolvent. The Insolvency Service’s guidance says directors must then protect the company’s assets, treat creditors equally, avoid worsening creditors’ position and consult or consider appointing an insolvency practitioner; wrongful trading can make directors personally liable (director duties upon insolvency). An interim CFO who has been through this will put a short-term cash forecast in front of the board, tell it plainly where the company stands and press for professional advice early.
Brief for that experience specifically, and ask referees about it. If the chief executive also needs replacing, see hiring an interim CEO; if the need is reporting and controls rather than a crisis, an interim Finance Director may fit better.
09/ contract
Interim CFO jobs: how the assignment is contracted
Interim CFO jobs are usually contracted through the interim’s own limited company, on a fixed-term agreement that sets out the scope, the term, the day rate, the days a week and notice on each side. The scope is the outcome from the brief: the refinancing, the sale, the year-end or the rebuild the assignment exists to deliver.
IR35 status turns on how the assignment runs in practice, not on what the contract calls it. HMRC looks at substitution, control and whether either side must offer or accept further work. Medium and large clients make the status determination; for a small private-sector client, the interim’s own company does (HMRC off-payroll guidance). See the IR35 guide.
TEST 1
Substitution
Whether the interim’s company could send a suitably qualified substitute, and whether that right is genuine in practice.
What HMRC looks atTEST 2
Control
Who decides how the work is done, as distinct from what the assignment must deliver.
What HMRC looks atTEST 3
Mutuality
Whether either side is obliged to offer or accept work beyond the agreed assignment.
What HMRC looks at10/ process
How to hire an interim CFO with us
What we undertake on every brief.
- 01
Brief
A 30-minute call on the assignment, the start date and what the interim CFO must have delivered by the end of the term.
DAY 0 - 02
Search
We search and screen against that brief: track record at your stage and in your situation, and references we take ourselves.
SCREENING - 03
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5 - 04
Start
You interview and choose. The interim you choose contracts with you.
YOU CHOOSE
11/ questions
Interim CFO FAQ
Hiring an interim Chief Financial Officer, or looking for interim CFO jobs.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Hiring an interim CFO? Start with the brief.
Book 15 minutes.
