A fractional CFO does not replace your accountant or bookkeeper, and the contract you sign should say exactly what you are getting. Those are the two things business owners ask us about most before an engagement starts: who does what, and how to avoid surprises later. This post answers both, and sets out how we handle them in our fractional CFO services at Intrinsic CFO.
How a fractional CFO works with your accountant or bookkeeper
Your accountant or bookkeeper produces the numbers; a fractional CFO turns them into decisions. The two roles sit on top of each other, and neither works well without the other.
| Stays with your accountant or bookkeeper | What we add as your fractional CFO |
|---|---|
| Bookkeeping and transaction processing | Budgets, rolling forecasts and scenario planning |
| Payroll | Cash flow and working capital management |
| VAT and tax returns | KPIs and board-ready management reporting |
| Year-end accounts and compliance | Funding, investment and pricing decisions |
| Month-end close and management accounts | Improving finance systems, processes and controls |
Everything in the right-hand column depends on the left-hand column being reliable and on time. If your monthly management accounts arrive six weeks after month end, or nobody fully trusts them, no forecast built on them will be worth much.
So the first thing we look at is the quality of the numbers we will be relying on. Where there are gaps, we agree a fix with you and your accountant before we build anything on top.
What to insist on before you sign
Insist on six things, whoever you are talking to. Each one closes off a common source of surprise.
- A written scope. What is included, what is not, and what you will receive each month. “Strategic support” is not a scope.
- A fixed fee. A pre-agreed monthly retainer means you know the cost before the work starts. Open-ended hourly billing is where most fee surprises come from.
- Agreed response times. Ask how quickly you will hear back when something urgent lands, and get it in writing.
- Clear notice terms. You should know how to end the arrangement and what it costs to do so.
- An honest answer on capacity. Ask how many clients they are working with now, and what happens when two of them need help in the same week.
- Evidence you can measure. Ask what changed for past clients in terms you can compare: cash position, debtor days, margin, funding raised. Testimonials alone do not tell you that.
Then test their thinking on your own numbers. A polished presentation tells you how someone sells. A short piece of real work tells you how they think.
How we set up an engagement at Intrinsic CFO
We built our process around those six points, so you can check our thinking before you commit to anything long term.
- A free first call. A practical, no-pressure conversation about your business, your challenges and your goals.
- A finance health check and 90-day plan. We review your numbers, systems and reporting, then give you our findings and a plan for the first 90 days. This is the real piece of work you can judge us on.
- A monthly retainer. Ongoing support runs on a pre-agreed monthly fee, with the scope set out in writing.
The terms are simple. We respond the same working day. After the first 90 days, either side can end the arrangement with one month’s notice.
We have worked with more than 30 growing businesses, mainly with turnover between €5m and €15m, across professional services, tech, energy, and transport and logistics. We hold professional indemnity insurance, and we limit the number of retainer clients we take on so that the same-day commitment holds when several clients need us at once.
Talk to us
If you are weighing up a fractional CFO, start with the free first call. We work with businesses in Waterford and the South East, and remotely across Ireland. Book a call and bring your questions, including the six above. Our FAQs answer the most common ones.
