In brief
Frankfurt mandates more often have an addressee who demands numbers by fixed rules: a bank with covenants, the financial supervisor, a parent company with IFRS requirements or a private equity investor. The work shifts from explaining to proving – on time, by someone else's definitions and auditable.
nugrow's network comprises around 500 freelancers across the German-speaking region. For Frankfurt mandates that means the appointment usually comes from the Rhine-Main area. Presence is neither a bottleneck nor a cost factor that drives the decision.
What is different in Frankfurt
The financial centre competes for the same people. In the first quarter of 2025, 73,908 people in Frankfurt worked for banks in jobs subject to social security, almost 12 percent of all bank employees in Germany. For a mid-sized company or a fintech that means finance professionals are in demand, salaries are high and permanent hires take time. A vacancy here is rarely filled in four weeks.
Regulated business models. Payment institutions, lending platforms and asset managers need a BaFin licence and report to the supervisor. Own funds, regulatory reporting and outsourcing rules run alongside the HGB accounts. The finance lead has to keep both views together – otherwise the supervisor is the first to notice a discrepancy.
Banks and covenants. Growth and acquisitions here are often financed by banks or debt funds. Loan agreements frequently define metrics such as leverage or interest cover differently from internal reporting. Whoever calculates them wrongly finds out when the bank asks – more in covenant reporting for banks and debt funds.
IFRS and group proximity. Many subsidiaries of international groups are based in the Rhine-Main area. Besides the HGB accounts they deliver an IFRS reporting package to the parent, with their own deadlines and accounting rules. The typical sticking points of the reconciliation are in converting from HGB to IFRS.
Private equity investors with a fixed format. After the deal, PE houses expect monthly numbers in their format, a 100-day plan and reliable forecasts. What that looks like in practice is in interim CFO for PE portfolio companies.
On-site presence
The appointment usually comes from Frankfurt or the surrounding area. Two to three presence days a week are therefore possible without travel setting the rhythm. nugrow itself is based in Bochum and works across the German-speaking region, on site and remotely.
How much presence makes sense depends on the trigger. Around bank meetings, audits, quarter-end closes and in the first weeks of a mandate, presence counts. Once reporting runs, fixed dates and presence at the key events are enough. That is settled before the start, not along the way.
Typical triggers
- Setting up covenant reporting – after a new financing or when the metrics get tight. See covenant reporting.
- A fintech between licence and funding round – bringing planning, own funds and investor reporting onto one basis.
- IFRS package for the parent – after a takeover by an international group, often at short notice.
- A financial investor comes in – bringing reporting onto the investor's format and securing the 100-day plan.
- CFO vacancy in a tight market – bridging until the permanent hire is in place; see CFO handover and vacancy.
What it costs
Day rates follow role and trigger, not city. An interim CFO starts at €1,800 net per day; the other roles are on the pricing page. Expenses are stated in the proposal. The benchmark is not the day rate but the total cost over the term – compared with a permanent hire in a market where banks compete for the same people.
A note for international groups
If your German subsidiary reports to a parent abroad, the IFRS package and the HGB accounts are two deliverables with two deadlines. The German side does not go away because the group reports under IFRS. An interim finance lead who works in English to your group manual and keeps the statutory side clean removes the friction that otherwise shows up at the year-end audit.
Frequently asked questions
Does nugrow work on site in Frankfurt?
Yes. From a network of around 500 freelancers across the German-speaking region we usually place someone based in the Rhine-Main area; two to three presence days a week are possible. nugrow has no office in Frankfurt; the company is based in Bochum.
Does an interim CFO take over regulatory reporting?
They have to understand it and reconcile it with the accounts, but not prepare it themselves. The filings remain specialist work, in-house or outsourced. The finance lead's job is to make sure both sets of numbers come from the same data and that differences are explained.
What belongs in covenant reporting?
The contractually defined metrics, calculated exactly as the loan agreement defines them, a reconciliation from the accounts, the compliance confirmation to the bank on the agreed date and a forecast of whether the thresholds will hold in the coming quarters.
What does an interim CFO cost in Frankfurt?
Day rates follow the role, not the city: interim CFO from €1,800 net per day, head of finance €1,300, FP&A €1,150, controlling €1,050, bookkeeping €850. Expenses are stated in the proposal.
How quickly can a mandate start?
First suitable profiles within 24 hours, start a few days after the decision. The process is in briefing a mandate and comparing proposals.
Read on
- Interim CFO · Pricing · References.
- Interim CFO in Berlin · Interim CFO in Hamburg · Interim CFO in Stuttgart.
Sources and status
The article is based on nugrow's mandate practice. Employment figures: Helaba, Finanzplatz Fokus, 30 October 2025. Status: October 2026.
