An anonymised case description from an actual interim CFO mandate. Sector, scale and type of shareholder are stated; the company name is not. All details come from the mandate description on the interim CFO references page. Results are not broken down by date there, so they are given here for the mandate as a whole.
Starting position
A B2B software company on a subscription model with more than 100 employees, owned by a growth investor. The finance department consisted of five people. The shareholder was pursuing a buy-and-build strategy, so M&A activity ran alongside the day-to-day business.
An existing team of five is a different starting position from an unfilled finance function: the work consists less of taking on tasks personally than of ordering them – and of translating the shareholder's requirements into routines the team can keep running after the mandate ends.
Brief
Interim CFO with operational responsibility for the finance department and leadership of the five-person team, and at the same time a sounding board for management and the shareholder. Mandate type: CFO transition with post-merger integration.
Scope
- Operational responsibility for a finance department of five
- Sounding board for management and the shareholder
- Finance-side support for the M&A activity under the buy-and-build strategy
- PE-grade reporting, forecasting and KPI framework
- Structuring the finance organisation, its processes and systems
Approach
The same order applied that has proven itself across these mandates: reporting capability and a cash forecast first, then planning, then systems. With an existing team a second layer comes in – responsibilities, approval routes and a closing calendar that holds once the interim appointment has ended.
The M&A activity ran in parallel. In practice that means the monthly close cannot stall while due diligence and integration absorb capacity. Separating the two strands – operations with the team, transaction with the interim CFO – is why the role is frequently filled externally in this phase.
Result
- A finance department of five led operationally
- PE-grade reporting, forecasting and KPI framework established
- Finance organisation, processes and systems structured
- M&A activity under the buy-and-build strategy supported on the finance side
Duration
Four months, June to September 2025.
Does this match your situation?
Where a finance team exists but the steering does not, the question is less who does the work than who sets the order. Background on this mandate type: interim CFO in private equity and consolidated accounts after buy-and-build. How an engagement runs is on the interim management page; all mandates at a glance on the interim CFO references page.
