Who is hiring fractional CFOs right now
- Founders two to three months before a seed, Series A or Series B raise who need a model, a data room and a CFO in the investor meeting.
- Venture and private equity firms putting finance leadership into portfolio companies that have a founder, a bookkeeper and a spreadsheet.
- Family offices professionalising an operating business the family owns but does not run.
- Scale ups past about a million in revenue that are still running off a spreadsheet and know it.
- Companies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi setting up a regional finance function that has to satisfy investors in London and New York.
What the engagements look like
A full practice is three or four of these at once, which is why the top 1% of fractional CFOs are not looking for work. They are choosing between the briefs that arrived this week.
| Engagement | Days a week | How long |
|---|---|---|
| The raise | Two | Three months before, one after |
| Standing finance leadership | One to two | A year or more, often until the first full time hire |
| The turnaround or the exit | Two to three | Three to nine months |
| Portfolio cover for a fund | One per company | Repeats across the portfolio |
What it pays
The published band for a fractional CFO on this bench is £800 to £1,500 a day, set by the operator and printed on the profile. Companies see the rate before they get in touch, which means the conversation starts on days and outcomes rather than on price.
Operators list in the currency of their market. The US and UAE rate pages carry the dollar and dirham bands, and a CFO who has closed rounds in more than one market can say so on the profile and be found by companies in all three.
The profile that gets chosen
- Two roles that read like the company's next two years. A seed to Series B story for a seed stage founder; a carve out or an exit for a PE backed business.
- The rounds closed, the amounts in ranges if the amounts are sensitive, and the investors in the room if they can be named.
- The sector, named. Fintech, SaaS, consumer, professional services. A company filters by it.
- A published day rate. Profiles with a rate on request get fewer briefs, because the company cannot budget for a question mark.
- Available now switched on when it is true. Companies filter for it first.
How to get on the bench
List yourself. It takes about five minutes: name, LinkedIn, country, the seat, a two line bio, years of experience, your rate and a CV as a PDF. Every listing is verified by hand against the LinkedIn profile and the CV before it goes live, which is the reason companies trust what they read here.
Once live, companies approach you directly from the profile. You accept or decline, and the engagement is between you and the company. There is no registration fee.
Common questions
Are there genuinely fractional CFO jobs in the UK, or is it all part time bookkeeping?
The real engagements exist and they are senior: raises, board reporting, finance functions for venture backed and PE backed companies. They are rarely advertised. Companies find the CFO through a profile and a track record, which is why the bench, rather than a job board, is where they are.
How much does a fractional CFO earn per day?
The published band on this bench is £800 to £1,500 a day in the UK. Operators set their own rate and it is printed on the profile. Three clients at two days a week each is a full practice at that band.
Can a fractional CFO in the UK take engagements in the US or the UAE?
Yes, and many do, especially for remote finance leadership and for companies raising from investors in more than one market. Profiles carry a country and can say which markets the operator has closed rounds in. The contract follows the operator's own market.
More of them, on hiring, contracts and what a fractional engagement costs, on the fractional executive FAQ.