The short answer
There are four routes to an interim CFO: through a provider (an agency with its own pool of managers), through an open platform such as unitedinterim, through your own network and LinkedIn, or through a consultancy that fills the role with a team rather than one individual. Which route fits depends on three questions: how fast does the seat need filling? How specific is the profile? And who carries the risk if the person drops out?
For a short-notice, clearly bounded vacancy, a provider is the fastest route. For a very specific profile on a tight budget, searching directly pays off. For a function that is needed permanently but only part-time, interim management is the wrong model altogether.
Disclosure: nugrow works in interim management and CFO as a Service itself. This piece describes the market as it is – including the routes that lead past us.
The four routes compared
| Route | How it works | Time to first profiles | Cost | Fits when … |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provider / agency | Intermediary with its own manager pool, supplies pre-qualified profiles | 24 to 72 hours | 25–35 % margin on the day rate | speed matters and the profile is a common one |
| Open platform | Database of vetted profiles, direct contact with no commission | Days, depending on your own research | usually free for companies | there is time to do the selection and the budget is tight |
| Own network, LinkedIn | Direct approach via contacts, associations, advisory board, house bank | unpredictable | no margin, but high time cost | a specific name is already on the table |
| Consultancy | A team rather than one person; the role is delivered as a service | Days to a few weeks | Day rate or monthly retainer | knowledge should stay in-house and drop-out risk is a concern |
How the German market is structured
Providers and agencies
Providers are the standard route. They maintain their own pool of interim managers, pre-check availability and references, handle contracting and usually cover for absence. The industry service beeInterim lists 37 of the best-known and largest providers for the DACH region alone – from generalists with several thousand profiles to specialists in single sectors or functions. Several of them are explicitly finance-focused.
The typical 25 to 35 percent margin on the placed individual's rate is not a hidden fee: it pays for pre-selection, contracting and cover. It is still worth knowing what you are paying for – and asking what the provider actually does if the manager drops out in week three.
Open platforms
Platforms such as unitedinterim are neither providers nor executive search firms; they are marketplaces. For companies searching, they are free, no commission is charged, and contact runs directly between company and manager. Profiles are, by the operator's own account, checked manually before they go live, and availability is kept current. The price is your own effort: pre-selection, reference checks and contracting sit with you.
Associations as a filter
If you want to gauge a provider's quality up front, the industry associations get you further than a Google search.
| Association | Country | Who can join | What it signals |
|---|---|---|---|
| DDIM | Germany | Interim managers and providers, around 500 members | Industry standards, public member directory, annual market study |
| AIMP | Germany | established providers only | Provider focus, quality standards, ISO 9001 certification |
| DÖIM | Austria | Managers and providers, over 180 members | Quality standards for the Austrian market |
| DSIM | Switzerland | Interim managers, over 60 members | Representation and continuing education since 2006 |
Membership is not a seal of quality for any individual engagement. It does show that a provider is willing to be measured against industry standards – and it gives you a directory you can search by function and sector.
Twelve criteria to settle before you choose
| # | Criterion | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matching company size | A group CFO steers differently from someone who posts the entries themselves in a mid-sized firm |
| 2 | Experience with this specific trigger | Succession, turnaround, funding round and system migration each demand different routines |
| 3 | References that are allowed to speak | Two calls with former clients say more than any CV |
| 4 | Availability and workload | How many mandates run in parallel? Four days a week is not four days a month |
| 5 | A firm start date | “Available at short notice” is not a date |
| 6 | Cover arrangement | What happens if they fall ill in week three – and who pays to onboard the replacement? |
| 7 | System knowledge | DATEV, SAP, LucaNet, NetSuite: missing knowledge costs the first two weeks |
| 8 | Accounting standard | HGB, IFRS or US GAAP – non-negotiable in a group setting |
| 9 | Contract form | Service contract or temporary staffing, and why this form specifically |
| 10 | Scope of work | What the rate includes and what is billed on top – travel, closes, special projects |
| 11 | Knowledge transfer | Documentation and handover belong in the contract, not in the final week |
| 12 | Notice period | Mutual, with a provision for the case where the fit simply is not there |
The process: from enquiry to day one
- Sharpen the role (1–2 days). Not “we need a CFO”, but: which three outcomes have to exist after 90 days? That tells you whether finance leadership is needed at all or controlling would do – a difference of roughly 1,000 euros a day.
- Choose the route (same day). Provider when speed matters, platform when budget does, consultancy when drop-out risk and knowledge transfer do.
- Receive profiles (1–3 days). A good provider sends two to four fitting profiles, not twenty.
- Interviews (3–7 days). Two rounds: one technical, one with the team the person will work with.
- References (2–3 days). Two calls. The question that carries: would you work with this person again – and on what would you not?
- Contract (2–5 days). Contract form, scope, cover, knowledge transfer, notice period.
- Start. Realistically two to four weeks from first enquiry to first working day – against six to nine months for a permanent hire.
Contract and law: where this gets expensive
The standard case in German interim management is the Dienstvertrag, a service contract: the manager delivers a bounded service as an independent contractor, without being integrated into the client's chain of command. That is exactly where the risk sits.
If the person is in practice managed like an employee – fixed working hours, subject to instruction, fully integrated into the organisation, doing line work rather than a project – the arrangement can be reclassified as Scheinselbstständigkeit, bogus self-employment. The consequences fall mainly on the client company: back payment of social security contributions and possible tax consequences. The manager operating through their own GmbH does not automatically prevent this.
The alternative is Arbeitnehmerüberlassung, temporary staffing through a provider that holds a licence under the German Temporary Employment Act (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz, AÜG). It is the legally safe route when the role genuinely is integrated and subject to instruction – but it brings its own limits, notably a maximum assignment duration.
In practice: the contract form is not a formality to leave to the provider. If you are filling a role with full management responsibility and daily presence, ask the question actively – and have the answer justified. When in doubt it belongs with your own lawyer before signature, not after.
What it costs
Day rates for interim CFOs in Germany run at 1,400 to 2,500 euros at market level, and above that in restructuring and group settings. Going through a provider adds 25 to 35 percent. Speed is the item that usually gets left out of the calculation: the provider's margin is not the most expensive line. Time to fill is. Each month without finance leadership generally costs more than the margin across the whole engagement.
Five warning signs
Twenty profiles within an hour. Anyone who does not pre-select has not understood the brief – and has pushed the work back to you.
No nameable references. Confidentiality is a fair objection. That nobody across an entire career is allowed to speak is not.
Unclear who will actually do the work. If the proposal names a firm and the project brings someone else, settle that in advance.
Onboarding is billed. The point of interim management is being productive from day one. Two weeks of paid onboarding contradicts the model.
The contract form stays vague. Anyone who dodges the service-contract-versus-temporary-staffing question is moving a real risk onto the client.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find an interim CFO?
Via four routes: a provider with its own manager pool, an open platform such as unitedinterim, your own network and LinkedIn, or a consultancy that fills the role with a team. The provider is the fastest, the platform the cheapest, the consultancy the route with the lowest drop-out risk.
What does placing an interim manager cost?
Providers typically charge a 25 to 35 percent margin on the placed individual's day rate. Open platforms are usually free for the searching company; in exchange, pre-selection, reference checks and contracting sit with you.
How long until an interim CFO starts?
Realistically two to four weeks from first enquiry to first working day. First profiles from a provider often arrive within 24 to 72 hours. For comparison: a permanent hire takes six to nine months including notice period.
What should I check during selection?
Experience with the specific trigger rather than the job title, two reference calls, a binding cover arrangement, the contract form, and that knowledge transfer is part of the scope of work – not something left to the final week.
Service contract or temporary staffing?
A service contract is the standard case for an independent interim manager with a bounded assignment. If the person is in practice subject to instruction and integrated into the organisation, bogus self-employment is a real risk – in which case temporary staffing through a provider licensed under the AÜG is the safe route. The consequences of getting the classification wrong fall mainly on the client company.
What is an association membership worth?
It is not a seal of quality for an individual engagement, but it is a usable pre-filter. DDIM and AIMP in Germany, DÖIM in Austria and DSIM in Switzerland set industry standards and maintain directories that can be searched by function and sector.
When is interim management the wrong model?
When the function is needed permanently but does not occupy a full-time person. CFO as a Service is the fitting model then – ongoing part-time support instead of a fixed-term full-time engagement.
Further reading
- Interim management for the finance function – how an engagement with nugrow works in practice.
- CFO as a Service at nugrow – when the function is needed permanently but only part-time.
Sources
Number and structure of providers in the DACH region: beeInterim, overview of interim management providers. Associations, member numbers and standards: DDIM, AIMP, DÖIM and DSIM, plus the association overview published by Interim Manager Portal. How open platforms work and what they cost: unitedinterim, company FAQ. Distinction between service contract and temporary staffing and the criteria for bogus self-employment: Management Angels and DDIM. Day rates and provider margin: Interim Profis and Effizienzbuchhalter. As of September 2026. This article is not legal advice.
Dieser Blog dient als Plattform, auf der ich mein Wissen teile und es GründernInnen und UnternehmerInnen erleichtere, die Herausforderungen im Bereich Finanzen, Buchhaltung und Controlling zu meistern.
