Your finance team needs leadership.
Not necessarily a CFO.
The team has no lead, the head of finance has left or the month-end close keeps coming in late: an interim head of finance runs accounting and controlling, secures the close and reporting and prepares the handover to a permanent hire – from €1,300 per day.
In brief
Last updated: 20 September 2026
An interim head of finance takes over the operational lead of the finance department: running the team, owning the month-end close, keeping an eye on liquidity and delivering reporting to management and investors. The role sits below management or a CFO, not in their place. Typical triggers are a vacant lead position, a grown team without leadership and a close that is regularly late. Tasks, duration, fees and handover are defined in the specific engagement.
Is finance leadership at management level what's really missing?
- Role: interim head of finance – supplemented by accounting, controlling or FP&A from the nugrow network if needed
- Start: first profiles usually within 24 hours, engagement typically begins within a few days; assignments usually run three to twelve months
- Cost: from €1,300 per day, usually two to three days a week – three days a week over six months is around €16,887 per month. Details on the pricing page
- Track record: our Finance Manager Alexander Meißner has completed more than a dozen interim mandates as Head of Finance, Finance Manager and Controller since 2021, including at Ryte, Assaia, VMRay, Magazino and Integrity Next. nugrow GmbH is based in Bochum and active across Germany.
Experience from 350 projects.
Our results speak for themselves
Our interim mandates span accounting, controlling, FP&A, financial planning, head of finance and head of controlling roles, and many other specialist mandates. Altogether, we've reached these milestones:
Situation for Interim Management
Our know-how
Our experience spans 350 projects, including interim mandates and consulting projects such as digitalising a finance department. This includes working with common finance tools, from accounting and controlling to reporting.
Find out how we can help your finance function
Our Partners & Collaborations
Carefully selected to create synergies that provide real added value to our customers. We work hand in hand with leading experts and organizations to ensure innovative solutions and exceptional service.
Corporates and large companies
In larger structures interim is rarely a stopgap but an instrument with a clear end date. Three triggers come up most often.
A vacancy in one entity
Until the internal successor is in place, the close, consolidation and reporting carry on regardless. A fixed-term appointment keeps that rhythm without a permanent position having to be created.
Transformation and carve-out
A system change, merging entities or carving out a division ties up the team on top of everything else. Interim capacity takes on either the project or the day-to-day work – whichever gap is larger.
Special projects with an end date
A closing calendar, clear team responsibilities and agreed management reporting: the Head of Finance leads delivery. Financing and shareholder-level decisions remain with the CEO or CFO.
Interim management process
Briefing & Search
Before selection, we clarify team size, reporting line, systems and upcoming closing deadlines. The mandate includes leadership responsibilities, a work plan and handover. Additional accounting or FP&A capacity is agreed separately.
Screen & Interview
In this phase, we conduct a thorough review of potential candidates, including an assessment of their qualifications and previous successes. We then organise detailed interviews to ensure that the selected interim managers have the right skills and attitude.
Decide & Sign
After the interviews, you will make the final decision for the best candidate. As soon as the choice is made, all contract details are clarified and the contract is signed so that the interim manager can start working as quickly as possible.
Further reading
We have answered the questions that come up before you engage an interim manager in detail.
Decision and selection
- Interim CFO, CFO as a service or a permanent hire? – the decision guide to work through before you start looking for a provider
- Finding an interim CFO – providers, platforms, associations and twelve selection criteria
- What does an interim CFO cost? – day rates by role, billing models and a worked example
Process and contract
- Interim management in the finance department – roles, how a mandate runs and the first 90 days
- Service contract or employee leasing? – criteria, deadlines and liability when the classification tips over
Terms in the glossary
- Interim CFO – responsibilities, typical situations and how it differs from other models
- Interim management – the principle, the triggers and the legal framework
- Head of finance – the finance role most often filled on an interim basis
- Employee leasing – licence requirement, the 18-month limit, equal treatment
- Bogus self-employment – criteria, back payments and the status determination procedure
- Service contract and contract for work – effort versus result, acceptance and warranty
Interim CFO references – twelve mandates since 2019 in portfolio companies of Main Capital Partners, Verdane, Paragon Partners, AEM Capital, Insight Partners, eCapital and BayBG, each with the brief, the scope and the outcome.
FAQ
Do you have any questions? We've got answers. In our FAQ section, you'll find comprehensive information and assistance on the most common concerns so that you can quickly and easily get the support you need.
More on this: Pricing and day rates · Interim CFO, CFO as a service or a permanent hire? · Twelve mandates at a glance · Case study: CFO transition and buy-and-build · Case study: exit preparation
Articles on typical interim situations
The CFO has resigned: bridging the vacancy
Options, timeline and cost when finance leadership drops out at short notice.
Carve-out finance up to day one
A standalone balance sheet, accounting entity and payment operations by the first day on your own.
Your first statutory audit
Who is required to be audited, how it runs and the preparation that keeps the timetable.
All articles at a glance
Transactions, crisis and closing – sorted by topic.