Fractional Finance Director
Finance director expertise, without the full-time cost.
A great FD changes what a business believes it can do. Northbound Associates puts that expertise inside your company for two to four days a month: the commercial judgement, the board presence, the discipline, without the six-figure salary and the six-month search.
CFO or FD?· 01
Call it what you like. The work is the same.
Some businesses look for a finance director, some for a CFO. In an SME the job is identical: own the numbers, protect the cash, drive value, hold the board conversation. Northbound Associates delivers it fractionally, whichever title fits your organisation chart.
What your FD takes off your plate· 02
The engine, run by someone who has run it before.
Four responsibilities.One engine. Four responsibilities.
01 / 04
- 01
The monthly rhythm
Management accounts, board reporting, cash forecasting, run without you chasing.
- 02
The commercial calls
Pricing, hiring plans, funding decisions, backed by numbers instead of nerves.
- 03
The finance team
Whether that's your bookkeeper, an outsourced function, or nobody yet, your FD builds and runs the engine. We can stand up the whole function, not just the leadership.
- 04
The next event
Banks, investors and buyers all speak FD. Yours will be fluent before they call.
The operating rhythm, the commercial calls and the next event.
The models· 03
Fractional, part-time, interim, virtual.
Different labels, one standard. Here is what each actually means, honestly.
The core model: an experienced FD embedded in your business for two to four days a month, ongoing. You get the commercial judgement, the board presence and the discipline of a senior finance leader, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. The engagement flexes with the business: more days around a raise or year-end, fewer when things are steady.
Interim cover is full-time and short-term: maternity cover, a sudden departure, a gap while you hire. It solves a different problem to fractional. We take a small number of interim engagements where the fit is right, and we'll tell you honestly if what you actually need is a permanent hire.
Virtual means remote-first delivery on a modern, automated finance stack: live dashboards, cloud accounting, video board meetings. Outsourced can go further, with the whole finance function run for you. Both are delivery choices, not different jobs. The work, and the standard, stay the same.
Book a call.
Thirty minutes, no pitch. Bring your management accounts and leave knowing exactly where you stand.
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