Advisory
What does a fractional FD actually do? (And who needs one)
A fractional FD is a finance director you share — a few hours of senior financial thinking each month, without the £80,000 salary a full-time FD commands. The idea is simple: most owner-managed businesses don't need a finance director five days a week, but nearly all of them need one a few hours a month. Here's what that actually looks like.
The monthly rhythm
The core of the job is turning your numbers into decisions, on a schedule. Each month: management accounts prepared from your live data — profit and loss against last year and budget, balance sheet, cash position. Then the part that matters: a short commentary in plain English on the three things that moved and why, one risk worth watching, and one recommendation. Then a call to decide what you're doing about it.
That rhythm changes behaviour. Instead of discovering your year at the year-end, you're steering it month by month.
What sits on top
Depending on the level of involvement: a KPI dashboard so the six numbers that drive your business are visible at a glance; a rolling cashflow forecast, so a squeeze in October is visible in July; and quarterly deep-dives on the strategic stuff — pricing, funding, whether to hire, whether that big customer is a blessing or a concentration risk.
What a fractional FD is not
Not a bookkeeper — the records need to exist before an FD can read them. Not an auditor. And not a replacement for your accountant's compliance work; it sits on top of it. The best arrangements pair the two, which is why accountancy practices are increasingly where fractional FD services live: the data, the tax picture and the forward view all in one place.
When it's worth it
The honest test: are you making pricing, hiring or spending decisions on instinct because the numbers arrive months late? Is cash tighter than profit says it should be? Has the business grown past the point where you can hold it all in your head? Any yes, and a few hundred pounds a month for someone watching the numbers with you tends to pay for itself quickly — usually in one avoided mistake.
We offer exactly this as our Fractional FD service — three levels, from monthly management accounts and commentary through to board attendance. If you're not sure whether it fits, the ten-minute discovery call is free, and we'll tell you straight if it's not for you yet.
This is general information, not advice for your circumstances. If you'd like it applied to your situation, get in touch — the first chat is free.
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