Fractional CFO or an accountant?
The short answer: a fractional CFO brings the judgement for part of a week; an accountant brings something different that is often confused with it. Here is what each one actually owns, what they cost on the same basis, and when to pick the other one.
What an accountant actually is
An accountancy practice or outsourced finance provider, preparing the accounts, filing the returns and keeping the records straight.
What each one owns
| A fractional CFO | An accountant |
|---|---|
| Forward-looking decisions: what to do next and what it costs | The statutory accounts, the returns and the filings |
| The forecast, the runway and the scenarios behind them | Keeping the records correct and current |
| Sitting in the leadership meeting and owning a number | Tax compliance and the deadlines that carry penalties |
| Pricing, margin and where the money is actually going | Being right about the past, which is genuinely hard and essential |
What neither of them does
Neither one runs a finance team. If the company needs both the judgement and a function managed daily, that is a full-time hire.
How each one fails
The fractional CFO: Being brought in while the books are behind. A CFO cannot forecast from records that are not current, and the first month becomes cleanup at a day rate.
An accountant: Expecting a compliance provider to tell you the business is running out of money. That is not what they are engaged to do, and being annoyed about it afterwards is unfair.
What they cost, on the same basis
A fractional CFO charges £800 to £1,500 a day, and most engagements run one to three days a week. A monthly fee, usually a fraction of a day rate, scoped to compliance work rather than decisions. The monthly and annual arithmetic for the fractional side, against a full-time equivalent, is on the cost page for this seat.
Pick an accountant when
- The books are behind, the VAT is late, or the bank has not been reconciled in months
- What you actually need is accounts filed correctly and on time
- Nobody is asking a forward-looking question yet
We would rather say that plainly than win an engagement that was the wrong shape. Nobody pays us to list on the bench, so there is nothing in it for us either way.
When you want both
Most companies at this size have both, and should. The accountant keeps the past correct; the fractional CFO uses it to decide the future. Bringing in the second before the first is doing its job wastes the money.
Common questions
Is a fractional CFO cheaper than an accountant?
On a like-for-like basis it usually is, because you buy the days you need rather than all of them. A fractional CFO runs £800 to £1,500 a day, most often one to three days a week. A monthly fee, usually a fraction of a day rate, scoped to compliance work rather than decisions. But cheaper is the wrong question if the work genuinely needs the other one.
When should I pick an accountant instead?
The books are behind, the VAT is late, or the bank has not been reconciled in months What you actually need is accounts filed correctly and on time Nobody is asking a forward-looking question yet
Can I have both?
Most companies at this size have both, and should. The accountant keeps the past correct; the fractional CFO uses it to decide the future. Bringing in the second before the first is doing its job wastes the money.