Interim finance director · Interim FD · What one does, how long, what it costs
Interim Finance Director · what one does, how long, what it costs
An interim finance director is a qualified FD who runs a company’s finance function full-time for a fixed term, through a vacancy, a year-end, a sale or a system change, and then hands over. In most small and mid-sized businesses the FD is the senior finance job, so the interim holds the numbers, the bank and the board pack.
This page sets out what an interim finance director does, how long one stays and what one costs, from published sources. To hire an interim finance director, or to browse interim finance director jobs, go to our interim finance director hub. We recruit interim, fractional, part-time, temporary and permanent finance leaders, and send a shortlist of 3–5 on every brief.
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 finance director
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with finance director 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
Interim finance director jobs on the board
Current interim and fractional finance director roles
Fractional recruiting starts with the brief, not the CV pile. Send a finance director brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five candidates, each through five-stage vetting.
01/ the role
What is an interim finance director? The FD seat, full-time, for a fixed term
An interim finance director takes the FD’s job in full for a defined period: the monthly close and management accounts, cash and the bank, the budget and forecast, the audit and the finance team. The Institute of Interim Management describes interim managers as independent executives at board or near-board level, working over a finite time span, usually through their own limited company, who take responsibility for results rather than advising from outside.
The FD as a director
In many businesses the finance director sits on the board. Where an interim FD is appointed a director, or acts as one, the duties follow: Companies House guidance says a director’s duties still apply to someone who acts as a director without being formally appointed, and that directors stay legally responsible for the company’s records and accounts even when they hire help. The statutory accounts must carry a balance sheet signed by a director. Decide at the start whether the interim joins the board and who signs.
What one does, first week to handover
The IIM’s guide sets out five stages: entry, diagnosis, proposal, implementation and exit. For an FD the diagnosis is the close timetable, the balance sheet reconciliations, the cash position and what the auditors raised last year. Implementation is the term. Exit leaves a close the next person can run, a documented forecast and, often, the brief for the permanent FD. For the permanent role, see what a finance director does.
02/ scope
How to hire an interim finance director
Write the outcome and a date into the brief: the audit signed, the new system live, the sale completed, cover to a named month. Check the qualification with the body; ICAEW offers verification of membership to employment agencies and new employers, and the ACCA Qualification and CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification each combine exams with practical experience. Then ask each candidate to walk you through an assignment like yours.
Our interim finance director hub covers the hiring process, with interim finance director jobs on its board. If the seat needs capital, lenders and investors at board level, hire an interim CFO; if the gap is the close and controls, see interim financial controller jobs. We send a shortlist of 3–5 after five-stage vetting.
03/ comparison
Interim finance director vs fractional finance director vs permanent
The same seat, filled three ways. Choose by how much of the week finance needs and whether the need has an end date.
04/ timing
When to hire an interim finance director
Four situations that need a full-time FD for a period, and what each should leave behind.
Scenario 01
The FD has gone
The close is due, the bank expects its covenant pack and the board needs its numbers. The interim keeps all three on time while the permanent search runs.
Scenario 02
Year-end
A first audit, last year’s findings still open, or a team that has not prepared statutory accounts before. The interim owns the file and the auditors’ questions.
Scenario 03
A sale or refinancing
A buyer or lender will test every number. The interim prepares the data room, answers diligence and sees the completion accounts through.
Scenario 04
A new system
The migration has to go live without breaking the monthly close. The interim owns the cut-over while the team keeps the routine running.
05/ vetting
How we vet interim finance directors
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify finance director 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
06/ interim finance director
Interim finance director: how long one stays, and what one costs
No source publishes an average term for interim FDs alone. Across every discipline, the IIM Interim Management Survey 2026 puts the average assignment at 10.0 months and the average interim day rate at £907, or £1,004 in the private sector. Those are all-discipline averages, not a finance director’s rate.
For the FD seat itself, the published figures come from recruiters’ own guides. FD Capital publishes £600–£1,000 a day for a standard interim finance director and £800–£1,300 for PE-backed and transaction-intensive work. Exec Capital publishes £400–£1,200. For a permanent finance director, Robert Half’s 2026 guide gives a median of £109,500 across the UK and £149,000 in London.
The total is the day rate times the days worked, with no employment cost after the term. The IIM’s guide warns against pricing an interim from the pro-rata salary of an employee, who carries holiday, pension and notice the interim does not. For part-week rates, see fractional finance director salary.
07/ ir35
IR35 and the interim FD
Most interim FDs work through their own company, so the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply. In most cases the client decides the status; for a small client outside the public sector, the interim’s own company decides. HMRC sets out the size tests in its guidance for clients. Status turns on how the assignment runs in practice, not on the contract’s label. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
08/ questions
Interim finance director FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an interim finance director.
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.
