Interim CFO.
Cash visibility, a reporting pack the board can trust, lenders managed and controls enforced. Six deliverables, the rates, and when fractional is the better shape.
Direct answer
An interim CFO takes control of cash, reporting, banks and financial controls for a defined period, typically three to nine months. In Italy the rate runs EUR 1,000 to EUR 2,200 per day or EUR 18,000 to EUR 38,000 monthly. The mandate ends with a finance team able to hold the standard alone.
Deliverables
What the mandate produces.
01
Thirteen-week cash
A rolling forecast with named assumptions, updated weekly, that the board and lenders both accept.
02
A monthly pack that closes
Same format every month, on a fixed date, with variance explained rather than described.
03
Banks and covenants
Direct lender relationship, covenant headroom modelled, no surprises delivered late.
04
Controls and authority limits
Who can commit what, documented and enforced. Usually the fastest cost saving available.
05
Working capital
Receivables discipline, payment terms, inventory. Cash released without new financing.
06
A team that continues
The controller or finance manager trained to hold the standard after the mandate ends.
Honest note
My own scope.
I run CEO and Managing Director mandates, not the CFO chair. Where a mandate needs both, I bring a finance operator into the structure and stay accountable for the whole plan. This page exists because boards search for the finance seat while the real gap is often at CEO level, or the other way round, and it is cheaper to work that out on a call than after signing.
Related: interim COO, turnaround CEO Italy, interim management.
FAQ
Interim CFO. Buyer questions.
What does an interim CFO do?
An interim CFO takes control of cash, reporting, banks and controls for a defined period. Typical brief: a reliable thirteen-week cash forecast, a monthly pack the board can trust, covenant and lender management, and a finance team capable of running without them by the exit date.
When does a company need an interim CFO?
When the CFO has left, when the numbers arrive late or wrong, when a covenant or refinancing is approaching, during a due diligence process, or after an acquisition when two finance functions must become one. Any of these alone justifies the mandate.
How much does an interim CFO cost in Italy?
EUR 1,000 to EUR 2,200 per day, or EUR 18,000 to EUR 38,000 per month on retainer, depending on group complexity, number of legal entities and whether the mandate includes lender negotiation or a transaction. Invoiced with 22% IVA, no placement fee.
Interim CFO or fractional CFO?
Interim is full-time with an exit date and suits crisis, transaction or replacement situations. Fractional is two or three days a week, ongoing, and suits companies too small for a full-time CFO but too complex for a bookkeeper. Same seniority, different contract shape.
Can an interim CFO work alongside an interim CEO?
Yes, and in turnarounds it is often the fastest configuration: the CEO holds customers, banks and the board while the CFO rebuilds cash visibility and controls. It only works with a single written plan and one reporting cadence, otherwise the team receives two versions of the truth.
Next step
Cash unclear. Numbers late.
Thirty minutes to size the gap and say whether it is a CFO seat, a CEO seat or both. Written scope within 48 hours.