Virtual finance director · Outsourced FD · Virtual CFO
Virtual finance director · what one does, how it works, when it fits
A virtual finance director is a finance director who works for a company remotely, usually for part of the week or month. They own the numbers the board relies on: management accounts, budgets and forecasts, cash and the finance function. The title is often used for an outsourced finance director service sold by an accountancy firm, where a team does the work.
This page sets out what the title means, how a virtual FD differs from a fractional, part-time or interim one, and how to choose between a named person and a service. To hire a named finance director part of the week, see the fractional finance director jobs hub. We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent finance leaders.
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 a virtual 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
Finance director roles jobs on the board
Current finance director and finance leadership roles
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a Finance Director brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
What is a virtual finance director?
“Virtual” describes where and how the work is delivered, not the seniority. A virtual finance director leads a company’s finance remotely, working from shared ledgers, cloud accounting and video calls, and attends board meetings and the year-end in person or online. Most work part of the week or a set number of days a month, and many work for several companies.
The job is the job of a finance director. ICAEW describes the CFO or FD as the most senior role in the finance function: leading the finance team, overseeing budgeting, forecasting and planning, managing financial risk, reporting to the board and ensuring compliance. In smaller companies the FD is usually the most senior finance person and often a director of the company.
A named person or a service?
The title covers two different offers. One is a named, qualified finance director who holds the seat remotely, part of the week: that is a fractional finance director working remotely, and it is hired and contracted that way. The other is a service sold by an accountancy or outsourced-finance firm, usually bundling bookkeeping, management accounts and a senior reviewer, where the people doing the work can change. Both are legitimate. The first job in any brief is to say which one you want.
Virtual, fractional, part-time and interim
A fractional finance director holds the seat part of the week on an ongoing contract, remote or on site. A part-time finance director is usually an employee of one company on set days. An interim finance director works full-time for a fixed period, then leaves. A virtual FD is the first, delivered mostly remotely, or a service. The table below sets out the differences.
02/ scope
How a remote finance function works
Finance is one of the easiest functions to lead remotely, because most of it already lives in systems. A virtual FD’s month usually rests on five things.
Cloud ledgers and clean data
The accounting system, bank feeds and approvals online, so the FD can see the books without being in the office. The company still owns them: under section 386 of the Companies Act 2006 every company must keep adequate accounting records, whoever maintains them.
A fixed month-end and board pack
The close timetable, the management accounts and a board pack that explains the numbers, on set working days each month. The calendar does the work an office corridor would.
Budget, forecast and cash
The annual budget, a rolling forecast and a weekly view of cash, shared with the CEO. Lenders and investors get the same numbers, on time.
Someone in the building
A bookkeeper, finance assistant or office manager handles the daily transactions and queries. The virtual FD sets how that work is done and reviews it.
Time in the room
Board meetings, the audit, a fundraise and the budget round are often better in person. Write the on-site expectation into the brief.
03/ comparison
Virtual, fractional, part-time or interim finance director
The titles overlap. The differences are where the work is done, how many days, how long and the contract.
04/ timing
When a virtual finance director fits
A virtual FD fits when the company needs finance director judgement and accountable numbers, its finance already runs in cloud systems, and the work does not fill a full-time, on-site week.
Scenario 01
The accountant only does the year-end
The statutory accounts are filed, but nobody produces monthly numbers the board can run the business on.
Scenario 02
The team is small or remote
A bookkeeper and a cloud ledger, no finance office. A remote FD works the way the function already does.
Scenario 03
A lender or investor asks for more
Covenant reporting, a forecast, a data room. Someone senior has to own the numbers and answer the questions.
Scenario 04
The right FD is not local
The finance director with the right sector experience lives elsewhere. Remote delivery makes the hire possible.
05/ vetting
How we vet virtual 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/ outsourced and virtual titles
Outsourced finance director, virtual CFO and outsourced CFO
An outsourced finance director is usually a service: an accountancy or outsourced-finance firm runs some or all of the finance function, bookkeeping, payroll, management accounts and VAT, with a finance director or senior accountant reviewing the output and meeting the board. The firm decides who does the work. That suits a company that needs the machinery run correctly more than it needs a senior leader in the leadership team.
A virtual CFO and an outsourced CFO are the same ideas one rung up. A virtual CFO is a chief financial officer working remotely, usually part of the week; an outsourced CFO is usually a firm’s service with a CFO-level lead. The difference between an FD and a CFO is scope: a CFO adds strategy, funding and investors to the finance director’s control of the numbers. For the named-person CFO seat, see fractional CFO; for what a CFO service covers, see fractional CFO services.
Check the firm before you sign. A business that provides accountancy services to clients is an accountancy service provider under the money laundering regulations, and HMRC’s guidance says it must be supervised, by HMRC or by a professional body such as ICAEW, ACCA or CIMA. Whoever does the work, the directors stay responsible: GOV.UK’s guidance notes a company can hire people such as an accountant to manage things day to day, but its directors remain legally responsible for its records, accounts and performance.
07/ virtual vs fractional
Virtual or fractional finance director: place, and who does the work
When a virtual finance director is one named, qualified person holding the seat part of the week on a contract, the arrangement is a fractional one delivered remotely. It is hired, priced and contracted the same way, and the person sits in the leadership team. When it is a firm’s service, you are buying an outcome from the firm, and the people can change.
A part-time finance director is different in contract, not place: usually an employee of one company on set days, with employment rights. An interim finance director is different in time: full-time, usually on site, for a fixed period such as a vacancy, a system change or a turnaround. Exec Capital’s 2026 director salary guide puts interim FD day rates at £500 to £1,200, depending on complexity and urgency; that is an interim rate, not a virtual or fractional one.
08/ cost
What a virtual finance director costs and the full-time comparison
No source we trust publishes a virtual finance director rate. A named virtual FD is usually paid like a fractional one: a day rate or a monthly fee for an agreed number of days. A firm’s outsourced FD service is priced however the firm prices it, often as one monthly fee for the bundle; compare what it includes, not the label.
For the full-time comparison, Exec Capital’s 2026 director salary guide puts finance director base salaries at £65,000 to £110,000 at SME businesses with revenue below £10m. Robert Half’s 2026 guide puts a finance director in London at £122,000 at the 25th percentile, £149,000 at the median and £187,750 at the 75th. Those are full-time salaries, before employer National Insurance, pension and benefits. Our finance director salary page has more, and every shortlist we send states each candidate’s day rate or pay.
09/ hiring
Hiring one: the short version
Decide first whether you want a named FD or a service. Then write down what finance must deliver in the next year, who the FD reports to, what the bookkeeper or team already does, how many days that takes and how often the FD must be in the room.
Check the qualification with the body that awards it: the ICAEW’s ACA, the ACCA qualification or CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification. If the FD will be appointed a director, the duty to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence under section 174 of the Companies Act 2006 comes with the seat, remote or not.
A named virtual FD working through their own company may fall under the off-payroll working rules (IR35); status depends on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests. To hire a fractional finance director who works remotely, the hub explains the process: we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate or pay, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting. Open roles of every kind are on finance director jobs.
10/ questions
Virtual finance director FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a virtual 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.
