Interim CFO & Controller Services
Lost your CFO or Controller? We put an experienced interim in the seat — covering the close, bank covenant reporting, and lender communication while you hire.
The Finance Function Doesn't Stop Because a Key Person Did.
If the seat is empty now, tell us what's due next: the close, the covenant package, the board meeting.
Prefer to call? 866-324-4473
When a CFO or Controller leaves — whether they gave two weeks notice or were gone by Friday afternoon — the gap is immediate and the pressure is real. Payroll runs on schedule. The bank expects its covenant package. The board wants to know the company is in good hands.
Most businesses in this situation do one of three things. They ask the Controller to step up and fill the CFO role — which usually means the Controller is now stretched beyond their capability while their own work goes undone. Or the CEO absorbs the finance responsibilities on top of everything else they're carrying, which rarely goes well for either the business or the CEO. Or they try to hold on and search for a permanent replacement, hoping nothing critical surfaces in the meantime. That last one is the most dangerous, because something critical almost always does.
The right answer is to put an experienced interim in place quickly. Someone who can walk in, get oriented fast, understand what's going on in the finance function, and keep everything running at the level leadership needs — while giving the company the time and breathing room to make the right long-term decision rather than a rushed one.
What We Do
Every Interim We Deploy Leads the Finance Function From Day One.
The word "interim" sometimes implies someone filling a seat until the real person arrives. That's not what this is. The interim we deploy is an experienced CFO or Controller who has done this before — who knows how to come into a business they've never seen, earn the trust of the team quickly, identify what needs immediate attention, and run the function at a high level from the start.
We start by learning the systems, the team, the open items, what's due and when. Then we own the work. The close happens. Reporting goes out. Your banking relationship is managed. If there's a board meeting, we're ready for it.
Your existing accounting team — if you have one — doesn't get displaced. In most cases, they're relieved. They've been waiting for someone to step in and lead. We work with them, direct them, and make sure they're doing the right work at the right level while we're there.
Financial close and reporting
The monthly close happens on time. Financials go to leadership in a format they can use. Board packages get prepared with the same rigor and quality your board expects.
Banking and lender relationships
Covenant compliance, ongoing lender communication, and any requests from your banking relationships — managed proactively, not reactively.
Cash flow visibility
A forward-looking cash position so leadership isn't making operational decisions without knowing what the business can afford in the next 30, 60, and 90 days.
Leadership presence at the table
Someone in the finance seat who can speak to the business's financial position with authority and clarity — to the CEO, the board, the bank, and anyone else who needs a confident answer.
Planning for what comes next
The interim period is also a diagnostic. We learn the business deeply, and by the end of it we can tell you what the finance function needs going forward — which informs whether the right next step is a permanent hire, a fractional arrangement, or a full team deployment.
When to Call
Every One of These Situations Is Urgent.
There is no version of a finance leadership gap that isn't serious. Some are more obvious than others, but all of them carry real risk the longer they go unaddressed.
The businesses that get this right move quickly. They make the call when the problem surfaces, before it has compounded.
Call 866-324-4473Unexpected departure
The CFO or Controller resigned, was terminated, or is suddenly unavailable. You have open items, pending deadlines, and a team that needs direction. The question isn't whether to bring someone in — it's how fast you can get them there.
Transaction in process
You're selling, raising capital, being acquired, or pursuing an acquisition, and you don't have a CFO equipped to manage financial diligence, pre-QoE prep, or lender reporting. This is not the time to be without experienced financial leadership in the seat.
Performance issue requiring transition
The current CFO or Controller isn't performing at the level the business needs and the relationship needs to end. Having an experienced interim ready to step in removes the pressure of making a rushed permanent hire to solve a problem that can't wait.
Planned leave or retirement
Your CFO is retiring or transitioning and the search for a replacement is running long. Six months felt like enough runway until it wasn't. An interim in place keeps the function running at the standard the business requires while the search continues without pressure.
What Comes After
The Interim Period Is Also Your Best Diagnostic.
Most businesses that bring in an interim are focused on the immediate problem — stopping the bleeding, keeping reporting on track, managing through the transition. That's exactly right. But the interim period is also an opportunity that businesses don't always take full advantage of.
By the time the interim engagement has run its course, we know your business. We know where the finance function is strong, where it's weak, what the team can handle, and what it can't. We know what the person who fills this role permanently needs to be able to do — and we know because we've been doing it. That's different from a job description a hiring manager wrote.
When the time comes to make a permanent decision, we can help think through whether the right answer is a full-time hire, a fractional arrangement, or a full team deployment. If you go the route of a permanent hire, Vessel Advisors has an executive recruiting practice staffed by people who understand what good looks like in finance and accounting leadership.
What Good Looks Like at the End
You've used the interim period well if you leave it knowing more than you did going in.
- The finance function ran at a high level throughout. Close happened on time. Reporting was accurate and useful. Banking relationships were managed. Nothing fell through the cracks.
- You have a clear picture of what the finance function needs — the right roles, systems, and processes — rather than a guess based on what was in place before.
- You made a deliberate, informed decision about what comes next — not a rushed one made under pressure.
- Your team is better than when we arrived — more capable, better directed, and clearer on what their work is supposed to accomplish.
Before You Call
These Are the Questions We Hear Most.
How quickly can you get someone in place?
Speed is the point of an interim placement. We maintain a network of experienced interim CFOs and Controllers available for deployment, and we have a process for getting them oriented to a new business quickly. Call us as soon as the seat opens and tell us what's due: the close, the covenant package, the next board meeting. The earlier we know the deadlines, the more options you have.
What level of person are you deploying?
Senior. These are experienced CFOs and Controllers who have led finance functions before — not junior staff filling a seat. The person we send in has been in a close. They've managed a banking relationship. They've presented to a board. You're not paying for someone to learn on the job at your expense.
We have an existing accounting team. What happens to them?
They keep their jobs and, in most cases, they get better at them. We come in as the leader — directing the existing team, filling the gaps, and making sure everyone is doing the right work at the right level. Your team typically feels more supported with us there than they did before. The absence of senior leadership is usually harder on an accounting team than people realize.
We're in the middle of a transaction. Is this different?
Yes, and we know it. Transactions require a different level of financial leadership than day-to-day operations. The reporting requirements are more intensive, the scrutiny is higher, and the stakes of getting something wrong are significant. We have experience in these environments and we know what the other side of the table is going to ask for. If you're in a deal and don't have a CFO, this is the call to make today.
What does this cost?
It depends on scope — how many days per week, the complexity of the function, and what the situation requires. We scope the engagement to the situation, and our guide to fractional CFO cost walks through what drives the price.
Can the interim become a permanent or fractional arrangement?
Often yes. Many of our most successful long-term relationships began as interim engagements. The interim period is a working trial for both sides — you see how we operate under real conditions, and we learn the business deeply enough to know whether a longer-term arrangement makes sense and what shape it should take.
Let's Talk
The Sooner You Call, the Better Your Options.
Every day without experienced financial leadership in place is a day the business is running at risk. Reporting gets further behind. Decisions get made without full information. The permanent search happens under more pressure than it should.
Call us. Tell us what's happening. We'll tell you plainly whether we can help and what it would take — and if we can, we move fast.
How can we help?
What’s going on in your business and where would you like help?
An Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Company for two consecutive years.