How to Become an Interim CFO: Lessons from 3 Pros Who Have Made the Leap

Making the leap from full-time finance professional to interim Chief Financial Officer isn’t just a career pivot—it’s a strategic reinvention. Whether you’re eyeing more flexibility, craving fresh challenges, or looking to leverage your financial expertise across multiple organizations, the interim CFO path offers high-reward opportunities. Demand for interim and fractional CFOs is soaring driven by market disruptions, private equity needs, and leadership gaps in existing companies.

But what does it really take to thrive in an interim role? InterimExecs CEO Robert Jordan spoke with three veteran interim CFOs who’ve successfully made the transition. Their insights reveal the mindset shifts, skills, and realities every seasoned financial management leader should know before stepping into the role.

 

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Experience Is Key

All three veteran interims – Yoav M Cohen, Astrid Rapp, and John Lafferty – spent years working in traditional finance roles as full-time executives at organizations ranging from small owner-led businesses to massive Fortune 500 companies.

For each of them, the transition from full-time work as a permanent hire to interim and fractional contract-based work as a chief financial officer was an organic process. A former employer called and was in need of short-term financial leadership from someone with a particular skillset and a track record of success. A CFO consulting gig turned into an interim assignment. A positive relationship with a banker led to a short-term appointment turning around a struggling company.

And, says Cohen, who specializes in turnaround situations, success requires more than simply knowing your way around financial statements. Broad experience across industries, types of organizations, and operating roles will make you a more marketable interim CFO.

“Finance, operations, and strategy is a very good combination to become an interim CFO,” he says.

No 2 Days Are the Same

For Cohen, Rapp, and Lafferty, variety and adaptability are the best parts about their interim CFO careers.

Smaller organizations and early-stage startups might be looking for a part-time CFO who will come in once a month to monitor cash flow, prepare a budget, and offer strategic guidance. Bigger companies might need an interim CFO who can oversee a specific project, such as spinning off a business, implementing an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) initiative, or running due diligence ahead of a merger or IPO. Public companies that have an unexpected vacancy in the CFO role will need the right interim CFO to oversee the finance team and manage the required financial reporting.

“Every day is different and every client is different,” Rapp says. “That’s exactly what I think is exciting.”

Cohen adds: “Somebody who wants to become an interim and doesn’t like that every day looks different has to think about it if it’s the career for him or her. Because a lot of people really prefer the steady situation.”

Sometimes, There Will be Fraud

Rapp encountered it twice, once as a permanent CFO and again as an interim. The second time got particularly dicey. When she took the proof she had gathered to the board, they immediately spirited her out of the country, then brought her back with 24-hour bodyguards to fix the problem.

“They called me Emma Peel,” she says. “In the end, it was a very rewarding thing because when I came into all this, I wasn’t aware that there was fraud going on. I just found out and had to deal with it.”

Coming into an organization that has been burned by fraud in the past can be a real challenge, Lafferty says.

“You’ve got a lot to overcome with those guys and you have to start by establishing a basis of trust and be willing to roll up your sleeves and go to work fixing the problem. And I think as things start to turn around then that CEO/owner begins to understand the value of what you are bringing to him.”

Flexibility Matters

When an organization hires an interim executive, the contract might be for a specific project, such as leading a strategic planning initiative. Or it might be more open-ended. Or it might for a defined period, like Lafferty’s first interim gig.

He agreed to take the gig for 30 days… and was still there three years later.

Sometimes, the gig can end abruptly when a new permanent replacement CFO gets hired. InterimExecs contracts include a clause allowing either side to terminate the contract with 30 days’ notice.

It’s a B2B Relationship

You’re not an employee. The organization wants your financial expertise, your experience, and your leadership.

There are plenty of upsides to this business model, Rapp says:

• You are your own boss. “You can decide when to work or how much to work.” Even if you only want to work three or four days a week, “if they want you, they are going to take that.”
• Being a contractor helps you stay above the fray. You can focus on the financial challenges without getting bogged down in company politics.
• If something goes sour, you can leave without recriminations. Just “shake hands and say goodbye.”
• You can command a higher per-day rate than you would as a full-time CFO. That’s cost-effective for companies because they aren’t paying for your health insurance, offering paid vacation time, or funding a golden parachute.

You’ll Need to Be the Marketing VP, Too

This can be a particular challenge for veteran C-suite executives who are used to having people for that. But marketing is the key to survival in the gig economy — even as you are running financial operations for your current client, you need to be sending out feelers, attending networking events, and speaking at conferences in search of your next client.

It can be difficult, Rapp says.

“Once you are in the assignments, you don’t have time to do that and you never know when the assignment is going to end” so you can’t commit to a new gig, she says. “You have to be a person who loves carpe diem.”

Marketing is Cohen’s least favorite part of the job. But, he says, every time he thought about building a consulting firm and bringing on board team members to do that work, he realized it would mean “I’ll end up managing a consulting firm, which is really not what I wanted to do.”

Read More:

• Why Public Companies Need the Right CFO, Right Now
• How an Interim CFO Can Quickly Grow Your Business

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Are you in need of a new CFO to guide your company? Call or text us at +1-847-849-2800 for a confidential conversation about how we can help you find the right interim CFO who can be on site in as little as 48 hours.