Iter Advisors · Finance leadership
A fractional CFO, also called a part-time CFO, is a finance director who manages an SME’s finances part-time without being employed by that business.
Part-time support is recurring, usually a few days each month. An interim CFO assignment addresses a temporary need such as a replacement, a financial close or a transaction. With Iter, manage cash flow, margins and financing with a dedicated senior finance professional. Iter Advisors is headquartered in Barcelona, with a team in Paris: we support businesses in France, in Spain and between the two, in French, Spanish or English depending on the CFO assigned.
The need arises when decisions become more complex than the information available to make them. You may run a profitable SME, a family business or a startup: see our fractional CFO for startups service for those specific needs. Fundraising is not a prerequisite. Three situations help identify the priorities to address.
Your order book is full, but cash balances fluctuate without a clear explanation. You know your revenue, but less about margins by customer or activity. The priority is to reconcile figures, forecast collections and understand what consumes cash before hiring or investing.
The business leader brings together the spreadsheets, teams use different versions and reporting arrives too late. The work focuses on responsibilities, the closing calendar and useful indicators. The CFO works with the people already in place to organize a finance function suited to your business.
You need to present a project to a bank, prepare a funding round or assess an acquisition. The work makes assumptions explicit, tests scenarios and organizes the requested documents. These projects have a defined scope, separate from monthly support where required.
If you only need bookkeeping, or a full-time finance leader, compare the part-time arrangement with other solutions before deciding.
The scope is agreed at the start: not every engagement includes every deliverable. Recurring work generally combines forecasting, reporting and a review with the business leader. Financing, transformation or acquisition work is added according to your situation.
Examples to select during scoping. The proposal specifies deliverables, required inputs and approvals.
| Working document | What Iter prepares | What your team validates |
|---|---|---|
| Cash forecast | Documented cash flows, assumptions, variances and scenarios. | Receipt dates, due dates and financing decisions. |
| Monthly reporting | Defined indicators, reconciled sources and decisions to discuss. | Data quality, business explanations of variances and agreed actions. |
| Budget | Assumptions, scenarios and actuals monitoring. | Priorities, hiring and spending commitments. |
Accounting, legal or payroll production belongs to the parties designated in the contract.
This outline illustrates a review without using client data. Each finding is linked to a decision, with progress checked at the next review.
| Finding | Question to examine | Action to follow |
|---|---|---|
| Delayed collections | Which invoices need following up? | Assign a collection owner and deadline |
| Margin below budget | Which cost or channel explains the variance? | Targeted analysis before a decision |
| Planned investment | What is the effect on cash balances? | Scenario for the business leader to approve |
The external accountant prepares accounts and filings within the scope of the engagement letter. The fractional CFO uses this information to forecast, manage performance and prepare decisions with management; the CFO complements the accountant’s work.
These examples describe documented work. They illustrate two different needs; they do not predict the timing or results of a new engagement.
Opti Digital
At this adtech SME, the engagement combines monthly reporting, closing procedures, ERP migration and non-dilutive financing. It also includes coordinating tax and legal matters with external advisers. It shows how recurring financial management can work alongside projects to organize the finance function.
For the business leader: an organized finance function and a contact who connects the different workstreams. No financing amount or productivity gain is claimed here.
Read the Opti Digital engagementSolarMente
The documented case covers 2022 to 2024: a financial model with multiple scenarios, a data room, board reporting and cash control procedures. It includes the financial integration of Eltex following its acquisition in 2024, as the cleantech company grew.
For the business leader: organize the information and assumptions needed for a transaction. Management, investors and advisers also contributed; success cannot be attributed solely to Iter’s support.
Read the SolarMente engagement« their ability to challenge us and inform our strategic decisions. »
The indicative start time is 8 to 15 days, subject to confirming the profile and scope. Setup then follows your priorities and the condition of your data, rather than imposing the same 90-day program on every business.
We review your tools, available data and upcoming decisions. The written scope defines deliverables, frequency, contacts and work outside the engagement. Your team identifies who supplies information; the accountant’s role is clarified to avoid duplication.
The process combines collecting and reconciling data, preparing analysis and reviewing it with the business leader. Agreed actions have an owner and a deadline. Work may be spread across the month: an indicative number of days does not mean everything happens in one meeting.
Regular reviews revisit assumptions and priorities. A new entity, acquisition or tool change may require a contract amendment. Contact channels, urgent requests and cover for absences are agreed during scoping, according to the availability your organization needs.
Plan for an internal contact, appropriate access and time to validate assumptions. Preparation effort depends on data quality and is estimated together; we do not promise the same number of hours for every company.
Iter Advisors has a presence in Paris, Barcelona and Toulouse. Barcelona is the firm’s headquarters. On-site and remote arrangements are agreed when defining each engagement.
The indicative range for recurring Iter engagements is €3,000 to €8,000 excluding VAT per month. The fee covers an agreed scope and level of seniority set out in the proposal. The indicative working days shown in the packages do not represent a bank of hours.
The budget varies with expected deliverables, the number of entities, data quality and organizational complexity. A company with existing reporting needs different work from one rebuilding its finance function. Compare production, analysis and supervision together when reviewing proposals.
The Essential package includes monthly reporting, a cash flow forecast and a finance review. Other packages extend the scope according to needs. One-off projects and interim CFO engagements are priced separately; fundraising or an acquisition is not automatically included in every recurring engagement.
No work beyond the agreed scope is billed without a signed amendment. Before committing, clarify what is included, what your team must contribute and how the scope can change. Comparing a monthly fee with a full-time salary alone is insufficient: availability and responsibilities differ.
To examine scope, availability and additional costs, see our method for comparing fractional CFO quotes.
View the packages and detailed pricingSébastien Doat, Co-founder, fractional CFO and CFO, is your finance contact. The assigned profile depends on your needs: a CFO or senior Finance Manager, with the support included in the package. The first conversation checks that fit, rather than offering the same level of seniority for every task.
Partners oversee commitments and contribute to major projects. Scoping distinguishes who prepares reporting, who leads the review and who checks sensitive deliverables. Continuity depends on understanding the engagement and arranging cover; it does not promise that one person will always be available.
Automation and AI can help collect data or prepare analysis where they address an identified need. They do not replace checking the figures or discussing them with the business leader. The priority remains understandable, usable information and tools suited to your team.
Our approach to AI in financeWritten by Sébastien Doat · updated on
A fractional CFO is a finance director who supports a business part-time without being employed by that client. External CFO support can also cover a temporary interim assignment. Financial leadership complements the work of the external accountant, within agreed responsibilities.
The external accountant prepares accounts and filings within the scope of the engagement letter. The fractional CFO uses this information to forecast, manage performance and prepare decisions with management; the CFO complements the accountant’s work.
At Iter Advisors, recurring support has an indicative fee range of EUR 3,000–8,000 excl. VAT/month depending on scope and seniority; see fractional CFO pricing.
Outsourced CFO support describes finance leadership provided externally. Part-time support is recurring, usually a few days each month. Interim support is a temporary replacement or transformation assignment with an agreed duration and availability.
Working with a CFO does not automatically require changing accounting firms. Your accountant produces and checks accounting and tax information under the agreed engagement terms; the CFO organizes its use for financial management. Responsibilities and communication are agreed together. For more detail, compare the roles of a CFO and an accountant.
A software change is not an automatic prerequisite. Existing tools are reviewed for data access, reliability and processing time before proposing changes. Any migration needs a defined objective, cost and scope. Our approach to AI in finance explains this method.
The business leader retains decisions and payment authorization. CFO analysis supports those decisions. Tool access must match the assigned tasks; any delegation requires an explicit arrangement, separate from simply accessing financial information.
The contract should specify how files are returned, what documentation is provided and how handover to your team or next provider works. Discuss these points during scoping, alongside data access and confidentiality rules.
A lasting need for daily presence may justify hiring. For a temporary replacement or transformation, an interim CFO is another option. A part-time CFO suits recurring work with a partial workload. Choose according to the work actually required.
Yes. Priorities may include cash flow monitoring, investor reporting and financing preparation. The level of support depends on your organization and available data, rather than only the funding stage. See our fractional CFO for startups.
Describe your priority, current organization and deadline. We will get back to you to clarify your needs and agree on a conversation. This helps identify a useful scope and the information needed for a proposal. The form does not automatically book an appointment.
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