5 Best Interim CFO Consulting Firms

If your CFO has left unexpectedly, you may be feeling anxious about your company’s financial stability. Finding a replacement can be daunting, especially with the added pressure to quickly fill this critical leadership role with the right person. 

So, what’s the best solution if you don’t have someone ready to step in right away? 

Partnering with an interim CFO consulting firm that provides experienced professionals can be an excellent option. These firms offer continuity when you need it most and can even transform a challenging situation into an opportunity for growth. Interim CFOs can implement financial system improvements and support the search for a permanent CFO, ensuring your company remains on solid footing.  

Table of Contents

1. Factors to Consider When Choosing a CFO Consulting Firm 
2. 5 of the Best CFO Consulting Firms  
3. How Your Company Will Benefit From a CFO Consulting Firm 
4. How To Get Your Financial Strategy On Track Today  

Factors to Consider When Choosing a CFO Consulting Firm 

Selecting the right interim CFO consulting firm is a crucial decision with far-reaching implications. When done well, it can substantially improve your company’s financial health and stability. That’s why conducting thorough due diligence is essential to making the best choice. 

So, what should you prioritize when evaluating an interim CFO consulting firm? 

Here are four key factors to guide your decision-making process: 

• Interim vs. fractional or other CFO services 
• Systems & technology experience & knowledge 
• Budgeting and overall cost 
• Industry experience 

Let’s break each of these down in more detail. 

Interim vs. fractional or other CFO services 

When working with CFO consulting firms, you’ll typically encounter two common service types: interim and fractional. 

Fractional CFOs operate on a part-time or project basis. They’re ideal if your company doesn’t need full-time financial leadership year-round but requires periodic support, such as during seasonal sales peaks or specific projects. 

Interim CFOs, on the other hand, provide immediate and temporary financial leadership for as long as needed—whether a few weeks or several months. This type of support is perfect when filling a sudden vacancy or during a critical transition. An interim CFO ensures financial reporting, cash flow management, and strategic planning continue without disruption. This allows you to avoid hasty hiring decisions that can result in costly misfits. 

Systems & technology experience & knowledge 

Consider your company’s current systems and technology stack when evaluating potential CFO consulting firms. Will they integrate with your existing tools? 

Additionally, think about how the firm will operate: in-person, remotely, or through a hybrid model. For remote or hybrid setups, ensure both your team and the consulting firm have compatible technologies in place to enable smooth collaboration. 

Once on board, an experienced consultant can evaluate and recommend upgrades to your financial management software, ERP systems, or other tools to improve operational efficiency and scalability.  They can also help with the project management and implementation phases of these key system upgrades, as often there is not the proper internal bandwidth on the team to do so. 

Budgeting and overall cost 

Cost is naturally a significant factor when choosing a CFO consulting firm. Evaluate whether the firm charges a flat rate, hourly rate, or per project, and select a pricing structure that aligns with your financial needs. 

While outsourcing costs may be comparable to hiring an in-house CFO, a skilled interim CFO often identifies quick opportunities for cost savings, which can offset their fees. Additionally, unlike a permanent hire, interim consultants don’t incur ongoing expenses like benefits or bonuses. 

By choosing a strong consulting partner, you can take the time needed to find the perfect permanent CFO, avoiding costly hiring mistakes that can have a ripple effect across your business. The interim CFO can also help stabilize and strengthen the accounting and finance functions to ease the transition to the newly hired CFO and allow the new CFO to spend time on adding value much faster versus having to focus on fixing legacy issues.  

Industry experience 

An interim CFO firm with relevant industry expertise can make a significant difference. Their deep understanding of your sector enables them to hit the ground running, address unique market challenges, and comply with industry-specific regulations from day one. 

With a proven track record in your field, they can quickly identify and solve pain points that others might overlook. This specialized knowledge ensures they integrate seamlessly into your operations and deliver results without the steep learning curve often required by less experienced consultants. 

Choosing a firm with relevant industry expertise accelerates the transition and maximizes their impact, helping your company thrive even during periods of change. 

CFO Consulting Firms Comparison  

Taking all of the above into consideration, we’ve done deep research and have consolidated an overview of the leading CFO consulting firms below: 

5 Best CFO Consulting Firms  

We’ve identified the following companies as the five best CFO consulting firms:  

1. 8020 Consulting 

Key Features: 

• Embedded financial operators with 20+ years of experience 
• Tailored financial strategies for growth and efficiency 
• Seamless integration into your team for immediate impact 
• Trusted by 90% of repeat clients 

At 8020 Consulting, we redefine corporate finance and accounting consulting. Our team of 100+ highly experienced financial operators integrates directly with your team, solving critical enterprise challenges with precision. We bring deep industry expertise to optimize cash flow, streamline operations, and support your strategic financial goals. 

Unlike smaller firms relying on unproven contractors or larger firms deploying junior teams with theoretical frameworks, 8020 Consulting embeds a curated expert onto your team to deliver actionable, high-impact solutions quickly. 

Our flexible and competitive fee structure is designed to meet your unique financial needs, ensuring you receive the exact expertise required to elevate your operations. Whether addressing immediate gaps or building a foundation for growth, we help you achieve success with speed and confidence. 

2. Vaco 

Key Features:  

• Talent solutions specialist 
• Experts in tech, digital, finance, and HR functions 
• Digitally managed services 
• Bespoke consulting services 

Vaco’s main focus is finding talent solutions, which companies will benefit from when trying to journey through times of change or uncertainty. They can find personnel to help with crisis management, restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. Their tech, digital, finance, and HR expertise gives them deep industry knowledge, for companies to leverage through a customized solution.  

3. DHJJ 

Key Features:  

• Tax services 
• Business audit and assurance 
• Business strategy 
• Financial advisory service 

DHJJ is an expert in tax, accounting, audit, and strategy. Their Illinois location may not make them suitable for everyone, but they are fantastic at what they do. With a large staff, they help companies fulfill their financial potential. They strive to offer a personal service, too, building a caring relationship with clients. It’s a key differentiator in a time of mass automation.  

4. NOW CFO 

Key Features:  

• Financial support for a wide range of positions 
• Financial planning and reporting 
• Audit preparation and inventory management 
• Staff training and HR support 

NOW CFO employs a partnership-based approach for companies, which need immediate support when transitioning or growing at speed. They aim to embed any interim CFOs into a company so any suggested improvements are sustainable. They have a wealth of experience in providing guidance in areas such as financial planning, cash flow management, and compliance.  

5. RGP 

Key Features:  

• Investor Relations 
• ESG Initiative planning 
• Outsourced accounting services 
• Talent search support 

Built upon many years experience in consultancy, RGP has a huge global network - with clients in almost 40 countries. It offers a suite of solutions in addition to its outsourced CFO services so it can tailor its provision to each individual company as required. The number of clients it has is impressive, as is the company’s level of expertise. However, its size may put off smaller firms in need of CFO support.  

How Your Company Could Benefit From a CFO Consulting Firm 

The support, guidance, and expertise that a consulting CFO provides can have a transformative impact on your business. 

Here are the key benefits that top CFO consulting firms offer: 

• Improve profitability, growth, and efficiency 

• Minimize risk and avoid penalties 

• Reduce overhead and labor costs 

• Gain an unbiased, outside perspective on your strategy 

• Immediate help with fund raising and assisting in M&A preparedness and execution 

• Let’s explore these essential benefits in more detail. 

Improve profitability, growth, & efficiency 

A consulting CFO’s primary focus is enhancing profitability to drive sustainable growth and operational efficiency. Through strategic financial planning and cost optimization, they help establish a robust financial foundation for your business. 

This enables scalable growth without overextending resources or compromising profit margins. By implementing efficient processes and systems, they ensure your business is ready for expansion while maintaining financial stability. 

They also establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and other financial metrics to regularly monitor and assess performance, giving your company a clear path toward improvement. 

Minimize risk & avoid fees, or other penalties 

Beyond cutting costs, CFO consulting firms play a critical role in ensuring regulatory compliance and mitigating financial risks. Their expertise reduces the likelihood of fines, penalties, or legal issues stemming from non-compliance with local or international regulations. 

An interim CFO will: 

• Prepare for audits by maintaining accurate financial records and documentation. 

• Develop risk mitigation strategies such as hedging against market volatility or currency fluctuations. 

• Implement financial controls and security measures to detect and prevent fraud. 

Their proactive approach safeguards your business against potential financial and operational risks. 

Reduce overhead & other labor costs 

Achieving financial efficiency often requires reducing overhead and labor costs, but doing so effectively can be challenging without expert oversight. 

CFO consulting firms help streamline financial processes to create leaner operations by identifying and eliminating unnecessary roles or expenses. Their expertise extends to recommending and implementing the best available technology to automate repetitive tasks, producing faster and more accurate results while reducing manual effort. 

These changes not only improve financial efficiency but also free up resources for higher-value initiatives. 

Gain an outside perspective on your strategy 

One of the most valuable benefits of working with a consulting CFO is their objective, unbiased perspective. Free from internal politics, they can evaluate your financial policies and processes with a critical eye, identifying weaknesses or blind spots you might overlook. 

By drawing on their extensive experience across various industries, consulting CFOs can introduce best practices and implement proven strategies tailored to your specific needs. Their insights provide a competitive edge by aligning your financial strategy with industry standards and long-term goals. 

This external viewpoint strengthens your business and ensures your financial operations are optimized for success. 

Immediate assistance with fundraising and M&A activities 

Many consulting CFO’s have experience in working with potential investors and lenders in the pursuit of raising capital or preparing for a buy or sell process.  Many companies, especially in the middle market, may not have a CFO that is experienced with M&A transactions and a consulting CFO can offer this capability and immediate assistance. 

The consulting CFO could provide leadership and support in the preparation of M&A diligence and data room management, managing quality of earnings audits, preparing key forecasts and analysis, working with outside professionals such as brokers and bankers as needed, and be a strong voice and advocating for the company throughout whatever M&A process is encountered.  

Get Your Financial Strategy On Track Today with 8020 Consulting 

Hiring an interim CFO to provide the financial support your business needs can transform your company’s profitability and efficiency, paving the way for stronger, more sustainable growth. But achieving these results requires partnering with the right firm—one that can offer a fresh perspective and implement meaningful, effective changes. 

At 8020 Consulting, we do more than fill a role. We embed strategic financial expertise directly into your team to help your business: 

• Establish a solid financial foundation 
• Build resilience in the face of challenges 
• Maximize profitability and efficiency 
• Achieve sustainable, long-term success 

With a proven track record of driving financial success, we empower your business to achieve lasting results by seamlessly integrating into your operations and providing strategic guidance to unlock its full potential. 

Contact 8020 Consulting today to discover how we can provide the financial leadership your company needs to succeed. 

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