The finance lead is leaving – and a replacement takes six to nine months. In the meantime the monthly close, bank reporting and investor numbers still have to be delivered. We provide the interim CFO who closes the gap and onboards the successor.
The CFO or head of finance has resigned, is out long-term or has been released. The notice period is running, the search has only just begun, and the next closing date is already in the calendar. Often things hang on that person that are documented nowhere: the bank relationship, the logic in the forecast, the arrangements with the auditor.
The managing directors cannot absorb the role on the side, and the team below is tied up operationally. Every week without leadership raises the risk that a deadline slips or an unchecked number goes out.
The interim CFO takes over financial leadership completely – not as an adviser, but with responsibility for the close, liquidity, reporting and the team. First come the dates that will not wait: monthly close, bank and investor reporting, tax deadlines, ongoing audits.
Then what threatens to walk out the door with the departure: knowledge. Bank contacts, forecast logic, open contract issues and arrangements with auditors are documented so the successor does not start from zero.
And finally the succession itself: sharpening the requirements profile, assessing candidates professionally, organising a handover with overlap. The mandate ends when the new person is up and running – not on the day their contract begins.
Profiles within 24 hours, interview, contract. If the notice period is still running, a joint handover week with the outgoing CFO – the most valuable period of the whole mandate.
Closing calendar, open reporting obligations, bank contacts, ongoing audits. Everything due in the next 90 days is made visible and owned.
The function runs, the team has a contact person, reporting goes out on time. In parallel, the documentation that was missing at the departure is built.
Involvement in selection, then a two- to four-week overlap with the new finance lead. The mandate ends with a documented handover.
Suitable profiles usually within 24 hours, start after interview and contract signature – typically within one to two weeks. Using the outgoing CFO's notice period even allows an overlapping handover.
Six to nine months. That is how long a new hire takes on average including search, notice period and onboarding. The contract is fixed-term with an extension option in case the search runs longer.
Day rates between EUR 1,400 and 2,500, our reference rate is EUR 1,800. Three days a week over six months comes to around EUR 140,000. For comparison: an unfilled finance lead costs nothing in the same period – until the bank report is late or the annual accounts are not signed off.
Yes, and it is often the most valuable part. Someone who has done the role for six months knows better than any job description which profile the company actually needs – and can assess candidates professionally.
Then the mandate starts with a stocktake from the systems: open closes, deadlines, contracts, bank contacts. That takes two to three weeks longer than an orderly handover, but it is routine.
Usually not – interim is deliberately fixed-term. Anyone looking for permanent part-time financial leadership will find the right model on the external CFO page. A switch from interim to a permanent model is possible in individual cases.
The service: Interim CFO. For the smaller variant without overall responsibility see Head of Finance on a fixed term, day rates by role on the pricing page.
Term in the glossary: Interim CFO.
Related articles: CFO handover and vacancy, Interim CFO as replacement cover and How to find an interim CFO.
Related situation: Interim CFO or permanent hire?
All triggers for an interim CFO engagement at a glance: triggers overview.