Hire an interim CFO
for the gap.
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.
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.
- 15 minutes, video or phone
- We scope the assignment and the start date
- Shortlist target: 48 hours after the call
- No retainer — 12% only if you sign
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.
Full-time
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.
Fixed-term
Starts quickly
Outcome-led
What an interim Chief Financial Officer owns
The interim CFO carries financial accountability for the term; the team keeps the transactional work.
✓ OWNS
- 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
× DELEGATES
- Bookkeeping and ledgers
- Accounts payable and receivable
- Payroll processing
- VAT and routine tax filings
- Month-end journals
- Expense administration
Interim CFO vs fractional, finance director and permanent
The same seat, four ways of filling it.
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.
Bars are published bands; the tick marks each band’s midpoint (our arithmetic, not a published average).
| Engagement | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Interim CFO | £700–£2,000 a day | Exec Capital Executive Salary Guide, 2026 |
| Interim CFO, SME and mid-market | £1,000–£1,500 a day | FD Capital, 2026 |
| Interim CFO, complex mandates (listed, PE, turnaround) | £1,500–£2,500 a day | FD Capital, 2026 |
| Fractional CFO (1–3 days a week) | £700–£1,400 a day, average about £1,050 | FD Capital, 2026 |
| Permanent CFO | Median £161,241; range £132,500–£220,500 | Glassdoor; Robert Half (via FD Capital) |
Full-time month at 21 working days: £14,700–£42,000 on the Exec Capital band. Six months: roughly £91,000–£260,000 before our fee — our arithmetic.
What an interim CFO costs
Model a fixed-term interim CFO against a permanent Chief Financial Officer over the same period.
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.
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.
Outside IR35, no 15% on top
A permanent CFO carries employer National Insurance at 15% (gov.uk). An interim engaged through their own company outside IR35 does not. Inside IR35, the fee-payer deducts tax and NI and pays employer NI.
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).
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.
The CFO has gone
A resignation, a sudden exit or long-term leave leaves the board without its finance lead mid-year.
Cash or covenant pressure
A tight covenant, a cash squeeze or a turnaround that needs a senior finance owner this week.
A deal on the table
A refinancing, an acquisition, a sale or a PE investment that needs a CFO who has done it before.
A function to rebuild
Late reporting, audit findings or a new ERP: finance needs fixing before a permanent CFO can succeed.
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 before fees — 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.
IR35 for an interim CFO
Our contracts are drafted to sit outside IR35. Status still turns on how the assignment runs day to day, and a full-time interim needs more care here than a fractional role. Medium and large clients make the determination; for a small private-sector client the interim’s own company does. See the IR35 guide.
Substitution
The contract is with the interim’s limited company and carries a genuine right to send a qualified substitute.
Control
You set the outcomes for the assignment; the interim decides how the work gets done.
Mutuality
No obligation to offer or accept work beyond the agreed assignment and term.
How to hire an interim CFO with us
What we undertake on every brief. No retainer; you pay only if you sign.
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 0Search
We search and screen against that brief: track record at your stage and in your situation, and references we take ourselves.
SCREENINGShortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. We aim to send it within 48 hours.
48H TARGETStart
You interview and choose. Our fee is 12%, charged on signing, with flexible fee clawback agreed case by case.
12% ON SIGNINGInterim CFO FAQ
Hiring an interim Chief Financial Officer, or looking for interim CFO jobs.
Need an interim CFO this month?
Book 15 minutes. We aim to have a shortlist with you within 48 hours of the call.
Book a call →Related pages
Interim, fractional and cost guides for the same seat.
Hire a Fractional CFO
Part-time CFO leadership at 1–3 days a week, plus fractional CFO jobs.
Part-Time CFO Jobs
Part-time finance leadership roles across the UK.
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What a fractional CFO costs by day, month and year.
CFO Headhunters
How CFO search works and what it costs.
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Interim chief executives for transitions and turnarounds.
Hire an Interim CTO
Interim technology leadership and interim CTO jobs.
Hire an Interim COO
Interim operations leadership and interim COO jobs.
Interim Recruitment Agencies
The UK firms that place interim executives, compared.
Interim CFO jobs · last 3 months
Live Interim CFO jobs
No live Interim CFO roles right now.
We only show real, verified vacancies from the last three months — we never pad the board with fabricated listings. New Interim CFO roles appear here as our pipeline finds them.
