The short answer
Fractional CFO firms differ in three ways that matter: who does the work (one senior person, or a team at several levels), what they will build in the first 90 days, and how the engagement is scoped, priced and ended. Compare them by writing down the work you need first, then asking each firm the same questions about the named people, the deliverables, the fee basis and the handover, and scoring the answers side by side.
Most fractional CFO proposals look alike: an experienced executive, a list of services, a monthly retainer. The differences are underneath, in how the firm is built and how it works month to month, and they decide whether you get a finance function or a few hours of advice. This guide is for owners of $5M to $50M companies who are past the question of whether to hire fractionally and now have to choose between firms.
It covers the three models you will meet, how to decide what you need before the first call, what the first 90 days should produce, the questions to ask and what strong answers sound like, how fees and terms are structured, how a good engagement ends, and a scorecard for the firms you talk to. If you are still deciding whether a fractional CFO fits at all, start with our guide to fractional CFO value.
The three models
Fractional finance firms are organized in three ways, and each one fits a different situation. None is wrong; the mismatch is what costs money.
| How it works | Solo practitioner | Multi-level firm | Advisory arm of an accounting firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | One senior finance executive, for a set number of days or hours a month | A CFO-level lead with analysts, a manager or controller and sometimes a director underneath | Partners and staff of a CPA firm, often the same people who do your tax or audit work |
| Best fit | A company with a capable controller that needs senior judgment on a few decisions | A company that needs the planning, forecasting and reporting built and run, as well as the decisions | A company that wants finance advice from the firm that already knows its books and tax position |
| Capacity | Fixed by one person's calendar; busy periods and transactions compete with the monthly work | Flexes by level; analysts absorb the modeling and close work so senior time goes to decisions | Follows the firm's busy season; tax deadlines can set the rhythm |
| What to check | What happens to the monthly cycle during a transaction or a vacation | Who the named people are at each level, and how the levels are priced | Whether forward-looking planning is a core service or an add-on, and how independence is handled if the firm audits you |
Your own staff shapes the choice. A company with a strong controller and clean monthly books can use a solo CFO well. A company whose finance stops at the bookkeeper usually needs the middle of the pyramid built, which a single senior person cannot do at a senior rate. Our post on the difference between strategic finance, a fractional CFO and bookkeeping draws those lines.
Decide what you need before the first call
The most useful hour in the selection process is the one spent before any firm is contacted, writing down what the finance function has to do in the next twelve months. Be specific: a renewal with the bank in March, a budget by December, a forecast that shows cash six months out, a board package, pricing on a new product line, a sale in three years. Then sort each item by the level of person it needs.
| Work | Level it needs | Typical rhythm |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly close review, reconciliations, data cleanup | Analyst or senior accountant | Monthly, 10 to 20 hours |
| Building and rolling the forecast, variance analysis, KPI reporting | Analyst with manager review | Monthly, 15 to 30 hours |
| Budget process, pricing and margin analysis, scenario models | Manager or director | Seasonal, with monthly updates |
| Bank and investor relationships, capital decisions, board meetings, preparing for a sale | CFO | A few hours a month, more around events |
Two things come out of this list. First, most of the hours are at the analyst and manager levels, and only a few are CFO work; a proposal that prices everything at the senior rate, or that assigns senior work to junior staff, will show up against it. Second, the list becomes the scope you ask every firm to price, so the proposals are comparable. Our six dimensions of a strategic finance function is a useful frame for making the list complete.
A worked example: the same work, two ways
The figures are hypothetical. A $15M manufacturer with a bookkeeper and a part-time controller needs a budget, a monthly forecast with cash, lender reporting for a line renewal and a CFO in the room for the bank and the owner's decisions. It gets two proposals.
| Work for the month | Proposal A: solo CFO, three days a month | Proposal B: multi-level team |
|---|---|---|
| Close review and data cleanup (12 hours) | CFO does it, or it does not get done | Analyst |
| Roll the forecast, variances, KPI package (20 hours) | CFO does a lighter version | Analyst, reviewed by a manager |
| Budget build in the fourth quarter (40 hours over two months) | Extra days billed, or the controller stretches | Manager, with the CFO on assumptions |
| Bank package and covenant tracking (6 hours) | CFO | Manager prepares, CFO presents |
| Owner and bank meetings, decisions (6 hours) | CFO | CFO |
| Senior hours used on senior work | About a quarter of the 24 days bought | Nearly all of the CFO hours |
Proposal A is the right answer for a company with a strong controller who already does the first three rows. For this company it is not, because the CFO's days get consumed by analyst work and the monthly cycle thins out. The point of the exercise is to see which proposal matches the work, and to price them on the same scope. The cheaper monthly figure is often the proposal that quietly leaves rows undone.
What the first 90 days should produce
A firm that knows its work can tell you what you will have at 30, 60 and 90 days before you sign. The specifics vary with the company, but the shape of a good first quarter is consistent.
Two of the items matter more than the rest. The 13-week cash view in the first month is what tells you the firm starts from what can go wrong. The monthly package arriving on time in month three, with the forecast rolled, is what tells you the rhythm will hold after the first burst of attention. Our guide to improving financial reporting describes what that package should contain.
Questions to ask every firm, and what strong answers sound like
Ask each firm the same questions on the first call. The answers are more useful side by side.
- Who, by name, will do our work at each level? A strong answer names the CFO and the analyst or manager, says how long they have worked together, and offers to introduce them before you sign.
- What will we have at 30, 60 and 90 days? A strong answer looks like the chart above, adjusted for your company.
- Who owns the monthly close and when does the package arrive? A strong answer gives a date relative to month end and says what happens if your bookkeeper is late.
- How is the forecast built and how often is it rolled? A strong answer describes drivers, a 12 or 13-month horizon and a monthly roll. Our post on rolling forecasts covers what to listen for.
- Tell us about a bank relationship you managed through a difficult quarter. A strong answer mentions covenant headroom, early conversations with the lender and what was changed in the business.
- How did a scenario model change a client's decision? A strong answer names the decision, the assumption that moved and what the client did differently, without naming the client.
- How do you explain the numbers to managers who are not finance people? A strong answer talks about a few measures per department, in their language, with a monthly meeting.
- What is in the fee, what is extra, and how does scope change? A strong answer is a scope document with named deliverables and a stated process for adding work.
- What do you need from us to succeed? A strong answer is specific: system access, a weekly hour with the owner, a bookkeeper who closes by a date.
- What would you tell us not to do in the first year? A strong answer shows judgment and a willingness to disagree with the owner.
- How does the engagement end? A strong answer describes documented models, a handover plan and help defining the in-house role when the time comes.
- What do you not do? A strong answer draws clear lines, usually around tax, audit and bookkeeping, and names who they work alongside instead.
Then check references, and ask the references the same questions. The gap between what a firm says on the first call and what a client says a year later is the most reliable measure you will get.
Score the firms you talk to below. Weigh the items yourself; for most owners the named people and the 90-day plan matter most.
Fractional CFO firm scorecard
Firm A: 0 of 10. Firm B: 0 of 10. Firm C: 0 of 10.
Before the calls, the free Strategic Finance Assessment scores your finance function across six areas in about five minutes, which makes the scope list easier to write.
How fees and terms are structured
Fractional finance work is priced three ways, and each has a place. A monthly retainer for a defined scope gives a predictable cost, provided the scope is written down and the process for adding work is clear. Hourly or daily billing suits short advisory work and transactions, and can be hard to predict during a budget season or a close. Fixed-price projects suit a defined build: a model, a budget, a lender package. Many engagements combine a retainer for the monthly rhythm with projects for the larger pieces.
Whatever the basis, ask for the same things: the deliverables the fee covers, the named levels and roughly how the hours split between them, what counts as out of scope, how a change is approved, the notice period, and whether there is a minimum term. A monthly figure without those answers cannot be compared with another firm's. Pricing is scoped to the work at most firms, including ours, so expect a proposal rather than a rate card and judge it against your own scope list.
How a good engagement ends
A fractional arrangement is usually a stage, and the firm should plan for the stage after it. The signals that it is time for an in-house finance leader are practical rather than a revenue number: the CFO work has become weekly rather than monthly, the company is adding locations, entities or a second business, a transaction or an investor will need someone there every day, or the owner wants a finance partner in the building.
Ask how the firm handles that transition before you sign. A good answer includes documented models and procedures the next person can run, a written handover, help defining the role and interviewing candidates, and an overlap period. Some firms stay on in a narrower role, running FP&A under the new CFO, which keeps the reporting rhythm intact while the new leader settles. The test is simple: the models, the files and the system access belong to you, and leaving should be a planned event rather than a negotiation.
Common mistakes
- Choosing on the resume. The CFO's background matters less than who does the thirty hours of monthly work beneath them.
- Comparing monthly fees without comparing scope. The lower figure often leaves the forecast, the close review or the budget out.
- Skipping the written scope. Without it, every proposal is priced against a different job and the engagement drifts.
- Buying senior time for analyst work. The CFO spends the days on spreadsheets and the decisions wait.
- Not fixing the books first. A forecast built on a late or messy close is wrong from the start; the firm should say so and help.
- Leaving the exit undefined. Ownership of models, files and access should be settled at the start.
- Not checking references on the specifics. Ask former and current clients whether the package arrived on time and who did the work.
Frequently asked questions
How do fractional CFO firms differ from one another?
Mainly in who does the work and how the engagement is built. Solo practitioners provide one senior executive for a set time each month. Multi-level firms pair a CFO with analysts and a manager so the planning and reporting get built and run, with senior time kept for decisions. Accounting firms offer advisory alongside tax and audit. Each fits a different company; the mismatch is what costs money.
What should a fractional CFO deliver in the first 90 days?
By day 30, discovery, system access, a 13-week cash view and a clear picture of the reporting gaps. By day 60, a 13-month forecast with cash, an agreed set of measures and the first monthly package. By day 90, the monthly rhythm running on time, the forecast rolled once with actuals, a bank or board package if one is due, and a review against the scope you agreed.
How are fractional CFO engagements priced?
Usually as a monthly retainer for a defined scope, sometimes hourly or daily for short advisory work and transactions, and as fixed-price projects for a model, a budget or a lender package. Fees vary with the scope and the levels of people involved, so most firms propose rather than publish rates. Compare proposals only after each firm has priced the same written scope, with the hours by level shown.
How do fractional firms work with my bookkeeper or CPA?
Alongside them. The bookkeeper or controller keeps running the transactions and the close; the fractional team builds the planning, forecasting and reporting on top and brings the decisions to the owner. Your CPA keeps tax and, where applicable, audit. A good firm says plainly what it does not do, agrees a close calendar with your bookkeeper, and sends tax questions to the CPA rather than answering them.
When should a company move to a full-time CFO?
When the CFO work becomes weekly rather than monthly: a transaction or investor who needs someone there every day, multiple entities or locations, or an owner who wants a finance partner in the building. The right fractional firm helps define the role, interviews candidates, hands over documented models and procedures, and sometimes stays on running FP&A under the new leader so the reporting rhythm continues.
What questions should I ask a fractional CFO firm?
Who, by name, will do the work at each level; what you will have at 30, 60 and 90 days; who owns the monthly close and when the package arrives; how the forecast is built and rolled; a bank relationship they managed through a hard quarter; a decision a scenario model changed; what the fee covers and how scope changes; what they need from you; and how the engagement ends.
Compare us with the same questions
MyExec is a multi-level firm: a CFO-level lead with analysts, managers and directors, staffed to the work and scaled up or down as the business changes. On a free 30-minute call we will walk through your scope list, say what we would build in the first 90 days, and tell you plainly if a different model fits better.
See how the levels fit together on our services page, or read what the work changed for clients in our case studies.
