Your CFO Just Left.
Or Is About To.
The board still needs a forecast. The month-end close still has to happen. Interim finance leadership that embeds in days, stabilizes the function, and sets up your next permanent hire — whether that role is called CFO, Finance Director, or Head of Finance.
If You're Staring at an Empty Finance Seat, Start Here
Interim finance leadership isn't just for CFO departures. These are the scenarios we cover.
Your CFO Resigned
Two-week notice, no succession plan, board meeting in three weeks. We step in fast, take ownership of the close and the board deck, and run the seat while you search for a permanent hire.
Your Finance Director Gave Notice
VPs of Finance and Finance Directors carry a huge share of the operating work. When one leaves, the close slips, reporting breaks, and the team loses its center. We cover the role directly — not just the CFO title.
You're Between Permanent Hires
You've decided to upgrade the role, but the executive search is going to take six months. The function can't wait. Interim leadership keeps the business running — and often improves it — during the gap.
You're Heading into Diligence Without a Leader
PE deal, acquisition, or Series A — and your finance seat is empty. The cost of a slow answer to a buyer or investor is enormous. We run the diligence response directly until the deal closes.
You've Outgrown Your Controller
Your controller has been doing CFO-level work for a year and it shows. Interim leadership bridges the gap so you can formally upgrade the function without losing the person who got you here.
Your Head of Finance Is on Extended Leave
Medical, parental, sabbatical — the company needs continuity. We cover the role cleanly, keep your existing team in place, and hand back an intact function when the permanent leader returns.
The Whole Scope, Not Just the Title
Finance leadership means different things at different companies. We meet the role where it is.
Close & Reporting
Own the monthly close, variance analysis, management reporting, and board package. Nothing slips.
FP&A
Forecasts, budgets, scenario planning, and the "what-if" analysis the CEO needs to make decisions in real time.
Cash & Treasury
13-week cash flow, credit facility management, banking relationships, and working capital decisions.
Investor & Board Relations
Quarterly board meetings, investor updates, diligence responses, and the kind of polish that builds confidence.
Three Phases, Clean Handoff
Stabilize — Weeks 1 to 2
Full-time or near-full-time
Close the current month. Answer open questions from the board, auditors, and investors. Meet the team, audit the systems, and document what's running and what's broken. End of week 2: you have a clear picture of the function's state and a concrete stabilization plan.
Operate — Months 1 to 6
10–30 hours per week, scaled to the seat
Run the function. Monthly close, board reporting, FP&A, investor relations, cash management, team leadership. Improve what's obviously broken. Build the systems, documentation, and team structure that make the next permanent hire succeed from day one.
Hand Off — Months 6 to 9
Tapered, supporting the permanent hire
Define the permanent role scope, support the executive search, interview finalists, and onboard the new leader. Taper out once they're running the function confidently. The best engagements end with a stronger function than the one we stepped into.
Common Questions
For urgent gaps — a CFO departure with a board meeting in two weeks, a due diligence request with no one to answer it — we can typically embed within 3 to 5 business days. A first week focused on stabilization, not discovery. For planned transitions where the outgoing leader is still in place, we prefer 2 to 3 weeks of overlap for a proper handoff.
All of them. The title is usually less important than the scope. A VP of Finance at a $30M company often does everything a CFO does at a $60M company. We meet the role where it is — covering month-end close, FP&A, board reporting, investor relations, treasury, or whatever the open seat actually owns. If you're not sure what title you need to replace, that's a conversation we have on the first call.
Three phases. Week 1 to 2: stabilize. Close the current month, answer open questions from the board or auditors, document what's running and what's broken. Month 1 to 3: operate. Run the function, improve what's obviously broken, build the systems and documentation that make the next hire succeed. Month 3 onward: hand off. Support the executive search, interview finalists, onboard the new leader, and taper out cleanly. Most engagements run 3 to 9 months.
Yes. Part of the interim role is defining what the permanent role should look like, which may be different from the role you lost. We write the job scope, vet recruiting firms, screen candidates, interview finalists, and support onboarding. The best interim engagements end with a permanent leader stepping into a function that is measurably better than it was before the transition started.
That's a fractional CFO engagement, not interim. The difference: interim is temporary, covering a known gap. Fractional is ongoing — permanent CFO-level leadership at part-time hours, usually 10 to 15 hours per week. Both are engagements we do. If you're trying to figure out which one fits, book a call.