When You Don’t Need Full Time, But You Need Full Expertise — The Case for Fixed-Term FDs & CFOs

Host: Welcome to Finance Leadership Unlocked, the podcast where we explore how businesses can build smarter, scalable, agile finance teams without overcommitting. I’m your host, Adrian Lawrence, and today we’re diving into a topic that more and more companies are embracing — hiring fixed-term, interim, or fractional FDs and CFOs. We’ll talk through when this makes sense, how to make it work, and why FD Capital is uniquely positioned to help you get it done right.

1. The Problem: Full-Time CFOs Aren’t Always the Best Fit (4 minutes)

• Many businesses assume that growth or complexity immediately requires a full-time CFO or Finance Director — but that isn’t always true.
• A full-time hire brings high salary, benefits, recruitment risk, and may not be fully loaded with work from day one.
• In transitional periods — fundraising, acquisition, restructuring, turnaround, project work — you may need strategic financial leadership, but only for a defined term.
• Additionally, smaller or scaling firms may want top-tier financial expertise but can’t yet justify a full-time C-suite budget.

So the question is: how can you get top financial leadership for exactly as long as you need it — without overcommitment?

2. The Solution: Fixed-Term / Interim / Fractional FDs & CFOs (5 minutes)

• Fixed-term / interim / fractional executives offer a bridge: you get senior leadership for a defined period, or part-time, tailored to your business demands.
• They can step into gaps (e.g. a CFO leaves, you’re pursuing a capital raise, or leading an M&A), or operate as long-term but part-time partners.
• These roles come with the right balance of cost efficiency, flexibility, and high impact.
• Because the deliverables are clearly scoped, accountability is higher, and ROI tends to be more measurable.

From FD Capital’s perspective, these are not niche roles — they are core to how we match leadership to need. FD Capital recruits for full-time, part-time, portfolio, and interim CFO/FD roles. 

“At FD Capital, we understand that not every business requires a full-time Chief Financial Officer … our part-time CFOs provide the strategic insight … on a flexible, part-time basis.” 

3. Use Cases & Success Stories (4 minutes)

Let’s walk through a few situations where fixed-term FDs / CFOs add value:

• Fundraising & Equity / Debt Structuring
  Suppose your business is preparing a funding round. You need someone who knows how to articulate your story financially, model scenarios, manage investor due diligence — but that work is intense for a few months rather than ongoing. A fixed-term CFO from a pool with private equity experience (which FD Capital often works with) becomes ideal.
  
  
• During Transitions or Leadership Gaps
  Your CFO resigns, or your Finance Director is off long-term. Having an interim or fixed-term replacement ensures continuity — without rushing a permanent hire.
• Transformation Projects
  Mergers, acquisitions, systems implementation, restructuring, cost optimization — all of these often need strategic financial leadership for a period. A contract FP&A overhaul, for example, can be led by a capable FD or CFO for 6–12 months.
• Scaling SMEs / Startups
  Many smaller businesses can’t afford a full-time CFO, but as they scale, they need guidance on governance, forecasting, KPI frameworks, and risk. 

Visit our website to find out more

Fixed Term FDs https://www.fdcapital.co.uk/fixed-term-contract-finance-director/

Fixed Term CFOs https://www.fdcapital.co.uk/fixed-term-contract-cfos/