Thinking About Hiring a Fractional CFO? Here's What to Look For.

Here’s what you should be looking for—beyond the bullet points on a resume.

👉 Relevant experience

You don’t necessarily need someone who’s worked in your exact industry. What matters is whether they understand the financial dynamics that shape your business.

Project-based billing? High-volume transactions? Global operations?

A great fractional CFO knows how to navigate those challenges, even if they’ve seen them in a different context.

👉 Stage-specific insight

Startups, scale-ups, and steady-state businesses all have different financial needs. The right CFO has walked through those stages and knows when to push, when to stabilize, and when to prepare for what’s next.

👉 Strategic mindset

You’re not hiring a glorified bookkeeper. You want a partner who can translate numbers into insight, and insight into action. Forecasting, scenario planning, margin analysis… it’s all about making confident decisions with data.

👉 Operational depth

Finance doesn’t live in a vacuum. The best CFOs understand how sales targets, hiring plans, and delivery timelines impact the financial picture, and help you align them.

👉 Culture fit

This one’s often overlooked but critical. Fractional or not, your CFO will be part of your leadership team. Make sure it’s someone you trust, respect, and actually want to work with when the pressure’s on.

Because the right fractional CFO doesn’t just balance the books.

They help you build the business.