Interim CFO for a transition, a raise, or a sale.
An interim CFO covers the finance seat while you search, raise, sell, or get through an audit. Three to four days a week for a fixed term, typically three to twelve months. Megan VanWinkle, CPA, MBA, has run finance and accounting inside a large company for years and currently manages financial systems there. Based in Orlando, Florida. Remote across US time zones.
Six moments when an interim CFO is the right call
Each one has a clock on it. The close doesn't wait, and a placeholder isn't enough.
A finance leadership transition
Your CFO or controller left or is leaving. The close, the forecast, and the bank need an owner now, and the search needs someone who has done the job to help run it.
A raise ahead
Investors will ask for clean financials, a forecast, and the story behind both. You want those answers written down and true before the first diligence call.
A sale ahead
A buyer's financial review is coming. A sell-side financial due diligence pass and a CFO in the room change the outcome.
After an acquisition
A PE portfolio company or an acquirer needs the acquired books, close, and systems folded in on schedule. See finance integration.
A first audit or a lender deadline
An investor, a lender, or a customer requires audited financials. Someone has to own audit readiness without stopping the business.
The founder is the CFO
The founder or the CEO has been running finance from a spreadsheet. The company has outgrown that, and the next leader needs a function to inherit.
What happens before the plan
Every engagement opens with a two-week finance assessment and a written plan you keep, whether or not the engagement continues.
Assessment
Books, close process, cash, controls, systems, banking, vendor and payroll obligations, and one-on-ones with everyone who touches the numbers.
Written plan
Risks ranked, a 90-day plan, the cash forecast, and the decisions that can't wait. Reviewed with leadership and the board or investors if they want it.
Run the function
Own the close, the forecast, reporting, the audit, and the banking relationships. Take the finance conversations with investors, buyers, and lenders.
Handoff
Help hire the permanent finance leader, document the process and the system, and step back. Many clients keep a fractional cadence afterward.
Choose interim when the clock is running
- The seat is empty and the close is waiting. Payroll, the bank, the board deck, and the tax calendar don't pause for a search.
- A transaction is on the calendar. A raise, a sale, or an acquisition needs a CFO who has prepared the numbers and defended them.
- You want the search done well. An interim who knows the books writes a better job description and runs a better interview.
- You're not sure you need a full-time CFO. Interim answers that question with evidence. Sometimes the answer is a strong controller and a fractional CFO.
Not a placeholder. Not a bookkeeper.
A placeholder keeps the seat warm and defers the hard decisions to the next person. An interim CFO makes them, owns them, and hands over a function that's in better shape than it was.
Megan will also tell you if the right answer is to promote from inside, and she'll help the person you promote succeed.
Meet Megan →Interim CFO questions
What does an interim CFO do?
An interim CFO runs the finance function for a fixed term: the close, cash and forecasting, reporting to the board and investors, the audit, the banking relationships, and the finance side of a raise, a sale, or an acquisition. The goal is to leave with the function in better shape and a permanent leader in place.
How long does an interim CFO engagement last?
Typically three to twelve months. Long enough to run a search properly, get through a raise, a sale, or an audit, or finish an integration. The term is set in the agreement and can extend if the search takes longer.
How many days a week is an interim CFO?
Three to four days a week, on your calendar. Enough to run the function, not just advise it. More during close week, an audit, or a transaction.
What does an interim CFO cost?
Scoped after a call. Interim engagements run on a monthly retainer or a day rate, settled in the first conversations and written into the agreement, with a reduced rate for a six-month or longer term.
Interim CFO or a search?
If the seat is empty and the close, the forecast, or a transaction is waiting, interim. A search takes months and the numbers do not pause. Megan can run the function and help with the search at the same time, then hand off to the person you hire.
Interim CFO or interim controller?
A controller owns the close, the books, and the controls. A CFO owns the forecast, the capital, and the board and investor conversations. Megan covers either seat, and the first two weeks tell us which one is actually empty.
Do you work on-site?
Megan works remotely across US time zones from Orlando, Florida. On-site for kickoff, close weeks, board meetings, and the moments that need a room.
Is the finance seat empty?
A free 30-minute call. You'll leave with a recommendation, interim or otherwise.