What is a fractional CFO, and what should one check before introducing a client?

What a fractional CFO is

A fractional CFO is a senior finance executive who serves several companies part-time, giving each one CFO-level judgment for a share of the cost of a full-time hire. The role is strategic rather than transactional: the fractional CFO owns the forecast, the cash plan, board and lender reporting and the finance side of big decisions, while a bookkeeper or controller closes the books.

Most clients are founder-led or sponsor-backed companies that have outgrown a controller but cannot yet justify a permanent CFO, or that need senior help for a defined event such as a raise, a refinancing or a sale. Some fractional CFOs work solo; others belong to firms that place several executives across a client roster.

What does a fractional CFO do each month?

The work follows the client's calendar. A typical month includes the close review with the controller, an update to the 13-week cash flow forecast, a KPI pack for the owner, a covenant check before the lender report and preparation for the quarterly board meeting. Around those fixed points sits project work: the annual budget, a pricing review, a data room for a financing, or the selection of a new ERP.

That seat matters for this site. A fractional CFO knows which systems the company runs, how far back the records go and who signs contracts, which is most of what a data-licensing screen needs.

How fractional CFO engagements are priced and structured

Fractional CFO cost depends on the model, the time committed and the complexity of the business. There is no standard rate, so compare written scopes rather than headline prices.

Illustrative: a fictional 140-person freight brokerage hires a fractional CFO on a retainer to rebuild its forecast before a refinancing. Within two months the CFO has mapped its transportation management system, CRM, accounting ledger and support inbox, and knows the company keeps nine years of shipment and exception records in an archived platform.

Fractional CFO vs similar finance roles

The outsourced model is covered in what client accounting services (CAS) are. A fractional CFO often coordinates other diligence work a company buys, such as a quality of earnings report before a sale.

What a fractional CFO should check before a data-licensing introduction

Companies with years of operational records can license them to AI labs and data buyers for a one-time payment while keeping ownership. Before raising the idea with a client, run five checks. The playbook on referral opportunities for fractional CFOs goes further.

• Client consent: the owner or CEO has agreed that you may introduce the company and share basic fit information, and nothing more.
• Authorized sponsor: a person with authority to commit the company, such as the owner, CEO, an employed CFO or an authorized representative, will own the conversation. Your engagement letter may not give you that authority.
• Baseline fit: a US company with 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations and records spread across several systems. The who qualifies page sets out the full baseline.
• Contracts and data rights: the company created the records, and its customer contracts, NDAs and privacy notices do not forbid licensing them. Records that mainly belong to the company's own clients need those clients' consent.
• Your own fee rules: if you hold a CPA license, check the professional rules before accepting any referral reward.

On that last point, the AICPA Code's commissions and referral fees rule (ET 1.520) bars a member in public practice from accepting a commission for recommending a product or service to a client when the member or firm also performs an audit, review, certain compilations or an examination of prospective financial information for that client, and it requires permitted referral fees to be disclosed to the client (AICPA Code of Professional Conduct). State rules can be stricter than the AICPA Code, as the New Jersey Society of CPAs points out. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

How the introduction runs once the client agrees

1. You register as a partner and either send the owner your referral link or submit the company through the referral form.
2. SourceX talks to the sponsor about headcount, operating history, systems and rights.
3. The company lists its systems, years of history and export options in a data inventory; you never export, upload or describe records.
4. Price and terms are settled with the company before any buyer sees the opportunity, and nothing binds the company until it signs.
5. After a deal closes and the buyer pays, the company receives its one-time payment and your reward follows once SourceX has received its fee.

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. The reward comes out of SourceX's fee, never the client's proceeds, and no reward is guaranteed. The page on what a finder's fee is explains how this differs from a traditional introduction fee.

Next step

Test one client against the baseline with the company fit checker, then register as a partner so your introduction is credited when the owner applies.