Interim CFO Services

Unlike a standard recruitment placement, FD Capital remains involved throughout the engagement. Our interim CFO service has three phases: placing the right person quickly, supporting them and you during the engagement, and ensuring a clean handover at the close.

The scope of what your interim CFO actually delivers depends on the situation — a distressed turnaround looks different to a fundraising gap or a post-acquisition integration. We structure the brief accordingly from the outset.

The First 30 Days

The opening month of an interim CFO engagement is critical. A new interim CFO cannot spend three weeks in meetings before contributing — the situations that create the need rarely allow that luxury. Our candidates are embedded executives, not consultants arriving with a framework. From day one, they take ownership.

Typical first-30-day priorities:

Financial position review

The interim CFO establishes a clear picture of the current financial position: cash runway, key liabilities, covenant status, and any immediate risks. This is not a review document — it is the foundation for action.

Board and stakeholder alignment

The interim CFO meets the board, key investors or lenders, and any external advisors. Credibility is established early. For PE-backed businesses, this means understanding the reporting cadence and what the fund requires. For lender-managed situations, it means taking control of the communication.

Finance team assessment

Most interim mandates involve inheriting a team. The interim CFO quickly identifies capability, gaps, and where short-term external support may be needed. Weak finance team infrastructure is addressed, not managed around.

Immediate priorities locked in

By the end of week four, the interim CFO and your leadership team will have agreed a focused set of priorities for the remainder of the engagement. These are documented and progress is tracked.

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Interim CFO engagements with FD Capital are structured around the situation, not a standard template. We agree the following at the outset:

Scope — what the interim CFO owns and what falls outside the brief. This prevents scope creep and protects both parties.

Duration — most engagements run three to six months, with extension by mutual agreement. Transaction-led mandates are tied to the deal timeline. Distress mandates are reviewed monthly against business conditions.

Day rate — typically £700 to £1,500 per day depending on seniority, sector specialism, and situational complexity. We are transparent about rate expectations from the first call. Turnaround and transaction mandates carry higher rates; coverage mandates for a straightforward CFO gap sit at the lower end of the range.

Notice — interim engagements include agreed notice provisions on both sides, typically two to four weeks. We do not place candidates with no exit route.

Support throughout — we stay in contact with both you and the interim CFO for the duration of the engagement. If the fit is not working, we address it early.

A well-structured handover at the end of an interim CFO engagement is as important as the start. Our interim CFOs plan for their exit from the outset — not as an afterthought in the final week.

Standard handover deliverables include a finance function state document (what works, what needs development, what is in progress), a structured briefing for the incoming permanent CFO, and — where appropriate — a period of overlap to ensure continuity. Many of our clients use the interim CFO’s assessment of the business as the foundation for the permanent CFO job brief.

We can run the permanent CFO search in parallel with the interim engagement so the transition is planned, not rushed.

Most recruitment firms do not operate this way. They place a candidate, collect a fee, and their involvement ends. FD Capital is different because our entire business is built around senior finance leadership — we place CFOs and Finance Directors only, which means our interim network is deep, our understanding of what a good engagement looks like is genuine, and our interest in the outcome is commercial, not merely reputational.

 

✓	Shortlist in 3–7 working days
✓	Candidates available for immediate start
✓	Engagement support throughout — not just placement
✓	Parallel permanent search available from day one
✓	No placement, no fee

 

“Our CFO resigned with a fundraising round already in progress. FD Capital had three credible interim candidates in front of us within the week. The one we appointed stepped straight into investor meetings and completed the round with us. The investors barely noticed the transition.”

CEO, PE-backed healthcare business, London

What is the difference between an interim CFO service and an interim CFO placement?

A placement is a transaction — a candidate is found and introduced, the fee is paid, and the relationship ends. An interim CFO service covers the full engagement: the brief, the search, the onboarding, support during the engagement, and a structured handover at the end. FD Capital provides the service, not just the placement.

How do you structure the engagement brief?

We take a short brief call to understand the situation — urgency, specific skills required, sector experience, and the business context. We do not require lengthy written documentation before starting. The brief shapes how we match candidates, not the other way around.

What if the interim CFO is not the right fit?

We stay in contact throughout the engagement. If a placement is not working — for either party — we address it directly and where necessary find a replacement. We have never left a client without cover.

Can the interim CFO move to the permanent role?

Yes, and it happens regularly. We support the transition from interim to permanent and can structure the commercial terms accordingly. Many businesses find that the interim period is the most effective way to assess whether a CFO is the right permanent hire.

Do you support the permanent CFO search while the interim is in place?

Yes. Running the permanent search in parallel with the interim engagement is the most efficient model. The interim CFO stabilises the business, the permanent search proceeds without pressure, and the incoming CFO benefits from a structured handover rather than arriving cold.

If you need an interim CFO — whether in the next few days or planning ahead — call our senior team for a no-obligation conversation about what is available and how quickly we can move.

020 3287 9501

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Have one of our specialists call you back to discuss your hiring needs.