FRACTIONAL CFO
Senior Financial Leadership, Scoped to the Decisions in Front of You
A fractional CFO provides senior financial leadership on a part-time or project basis — forecasting, financing preparation, and decision support, scoped to what the business needs and without the cost of a full-time position.
When this becomes relevant
Less a question of company size than of which decisions are in front of the business:
- Cash is tight in a way the income statement does not explain
- A financing, refinancing, or bonding conversation is coming
- Growth decisions need to be evaluated against projected cash rather than last month’s profit
- The reporting is being produced but is not answering the questions being asked
- An ownership change, sale, or succession is under consideration
- The financial picture has become too large to hold informally
What the work covers
- Cash forecasting — rolling forecasts tied to actual collection and payment timing
- Financial modeling — models with assumptions that can be traced and explained
- Scenario analysis — testing the plan under less favorable assumptions
- Capital allocation — evaluating where the next dollar does the most good
- Financing and lender preparation — assembling the package and evaluating terms and covenants against the company’s cash profile
- Management reporting — a defined set of measures the leadership team uses
- Budgeting and forecasting — a plan with a review rhythm attached
- Decision support — participation in decisions, not reporting after them
Controller or CFO?
A controller oversees how the close and the reporting are produced. A CFO works on what the business does next with that information. Where the accounting itself needs structure first, an engagement may begin at the controller level. See Fractional Controller and Outsourced Accounting.
Fractional, interim, or full-time?
| May fit when | |
|---|---|
| Fractional | The business needs CFO-level input regularly but not daily, and the role can be scoped to defined work and a set rhythm |
| Interim | A full-time seat exists and is temporarily vacant, or a defined project needs full-time attention for a period |
| Full-time | The volume and complexity of financial decisions require someone in the seat daily |
There is no revenue threshold that settles this. It depends on how many financial decisions the business is making and what they cost to get wrong.
Further reading: The Advantages of a Fractional CFO Over a Full-Time Hire · When Should You Consider Hiring a Fractional CFO? · How Fractional CFOs Help Businesses Scale
For contractors
Contractors encounter a particular version of this. Profit appears on the income statement while cash sits in retainage and unbilled work. Backlog looks like security until it is tested against working capital. A surety asks for a WIP schedule and the job cost data will not support one. Financing gets evaluated against a forecast that has not been built.
The decisions that follow are the CFO-level ones: whether the backlog can support the next crew or the next hire, which jobs are consuming cash rather than producing it, whether margin fade on recent jobs is a pricing problem or an execution problem, and whether overbilling on active work is funding the business in a way that reverses later. Those questions are answered from job-level margin and cost-to-complete data, not from the income statement.
See Construction & Contractor Accounting, Roofing, and HVAC.
How engagements are scoped
An engagement may begin with a defined piece of work — a forecast, a financing package, a reporting rebuild — rather than an open retainer. Depending on what that work surfaces, ongoing support may or may not make sense. Scope and rhythm are set from the decisions the business is actually making.
About Corey Roder, CPA
Corey Roder is a licensed CPA and the founder of Corey Roder, CPA PLLC. He served in the United States Army and holds degrees in Marketing, Chemistry, and Biology, and a Master’s in Accounting. He began his career in private equity and later worked as an auditor at Grant Thornton, across banking, real estate, technology, and manufacturing. He went on to work at national consulting firms on technical accounting including ASC 606 and ASC 842, and consulted for Toyota Financial Services during a transition from GAAP to IFRS. He founded a distillery and a construction company, serving as COO and CFO of the construction company and managing its financial and operational decisions.
Corey Roder, CPA PLLC does not itself perform audits, reviews, or other assurance engagements. Need an audit, review, or other assurance engagement? We can help coordinate it. Corey Roder, CPA PLLC maintains referral relationships with independent CPA firms that provide these services. The assurance engagement is separately contracted with and performed by the independent CPA firm.
Common questions
What does a fractional CFO do?
Forecasting, financial modeling, financing and lender preparation, management reporting, scenario analysis, and participation in decisions. Scope varies by engagement.
How is this different from my accountant or bookkeeper?
Those roles report what has happened. CFO work is about what happens next.
Do I need a controller instead?
If the close and the reporting need structure first, that is controller work. See Fractional Controller.
Is this only for large companies?
No. It is scoped to the decisions in front of the business, not to its revenue.
Do you work with contractors?
Yes. It is an area of focus, informed by having run a construction company as its COO and CFO.
Do you provide audited or reviewed financial statements?
No. Corey Roder, CPA PLLC does not itself perform audits, reviews, or other assurance engagements. Need an audit, review, or other assurance engagement? We can help coordinate it. Corey Roder, CPA PLLC maintains referral relationships with independent CPA firms that provide these services. The assurance engagement is separately contracted with and performed by the independent CPA firm. Corey Roder, CPA PLLC can provide accounting records and schedules within the scope of its engagement.
Get in touch
Start a conversation. Serving businesses in McKinney, Collin County, and the Dallas–Fort Worth area, and remotely nationwide.
Further reading: Transforming Cash Flow Issues into Growth Opportunities · Identifying Key Metrics to Track
Bring CFO-level thinking to the next decision
If the reporting is working but the questions in front of the business are forward-looking, a short conversation is usually enough to identify where CFO-level support fits.