What does an interim CFO cost per day in the UK?

Published 2026 guides put UK interim CFO day rates at roughly £1,000 to £2,000, depending on company size, complexity and IR35 status: Stanton House's 2026 guide gives £1,250 to £2,000 outside IR35 across the UK, and Investigo's 2026 London guide gives from £900 at smaller businesses and from £1,000 at large or listed ones.

When should a business bring in an interim CFO?

When the gap between an outgoing CFO's departure and a permanent replacement is likely to exceed six weeks, particularly if the business has a live exit process, refinancing, or year-end audit in the gap window. Gaps under four weeks are usually better handled by stretching the existing team.

How quickly can an interim CFO start?

For senior interim CFOs on our bench, typical time from brief to on-site is three to four weeks. Immediate cover (within a week) is possible for shorter engagements at slightly higher rates.

Can an interim CFO convert to permanent?

Roughly a third of the senior interim CFO placements we have made in the last two years have converted to permanent. We structure every interim engagement with conversion possible but not assumed, so both sides get to see each other work before making a permanent commitment.

Interim CFO Services in the UK: On-Demand Senior Finance Cover

When an interim CFO is the right answer

Four scenarios where an interim CFO is almost always the right call:

Exit-process bridging. The outgoing CFO has notice, the exit process is live, and there is no way to hire and land a permanent CFO before close. An interim with prior exit experience holds the seat through completion.
Post-departure gap-fill. The permanent CFO left with 30 days notice and the search for a replacement will take 12 to 16 weeks plus notice. An interim covers the intervening period.
Sudden capacity crunch. A live refinancing, a covenant renegotiation, or a specific transformation programme that the existing CFO does not have capacity to lead alongside the day job.
Extended trial. Increasingly, boards use interim placements as a three-month extended trial before offering a permanent seat. Roughly a third of our senior interim placements convert to permanent.

What the data says about interim work

The Institute of Interim Management's 2026 survey of around 2,000 interim managers, across all functions rather than finance alone, puts the average day rate at £907, and £1,004 in the private sector. Senior finance roles sit towards the top of that range, as the guides below show.

When interim is the wrong answer

Three scenarios where the maths favours running short-handed rather than bringing in an interim:

Gaps under four weeks. The productivity ramp-up for an interim takes two weeks. If the gap is short, the interim is barely productive before the permanent CFO arrives.
Highly relationship-driven moments. Businesses in the middle of a specific investor negotiation, a live customer situation, or a covenant conversation where introducing a new face for six weeks does more harm than the short vacancy.
Mid-ERP rollout. Interims are not usually productive during a live systems transition. The learning curve consumes the interim's productive weeks.

How we run an interim engagement

Every interim CFO engagement follows the same shape:

Brief and calibration within 48 hours of the enquiry.
Two or three interim candidates presented within a week.
Interviews within a fortnight.
Start on-site within three to four weeks of initial enquiry.
Weekly written check-in from the interim to the chair, with a monthly review.
Explicit conversion conversation at the eight-week mark if both sides are considering permanent.

Day rates and package

What published 2026 guides say about interim finance day rates:

Published 2026 guides put UK interim CFO day rates at roughly £1,000 to £2,000, depending on company size, complexity and IR35 status.
Stanton House, 2026 (UK, outside IR35): interim CFO £1,250 to £2,000 a day, interim Finance Director £850 to £1,250, interim Financial Controller £650 to £850. Inside IR35 work typically costs more.
Investigo, 2026 (London, outside IR35): interim CFO from £900 a day at smaller businesses and from £1,000 at large or listed ones. Neither guide publishes its sample size, so treat them as a guide to the range rather than a price list.

Engagement typically runs three to six months, though a meaningful minority convert to permanent inside that window.

The extended-trial pattern

Increasingly, boards use interim CFO placements as a structured extended trial. The specific pattern that works: engage on a defined three-month interim brief, agree upfront that both sides will have a conversion conversation at week eight, and structure the terms so that conversion is friction-free rather than a renegotiation.

The upside is significant. Both sides get to see each other work before making a permanent commitment.

Talk to us about your CFO gap

If you have a CFO gap emerging or in play, or if you want to build a rolling relationship with an interim you can call on when needed, get in touch. Same-day response.