Fractional CFO Job Description Template (2026)

Full JD (copy-ready)

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# Fractional CFO — Job Description

## Role summary
A Fractional CFO owns strategic finance for our company on a part-time retainer: building and maintaining the financial model, running FP&A and a rolling cash forecast, defining and reporting the KPIs that matter, preparing board and investor materials, and advising the founders on pricing, unit economics, and capital strategy — the judgment layer above an accounting team that owns the close.

## Responsibilities
- Build and maintain the three-statement financial model and keep it reconciled to actuals every month.
- Run a rolling 13-week cash forecast and report runway, burn, and liquidity risk to leadership.
- Own the monthly budget-vs-actuals review with variance analysis and written commentary.
- Prepare the monthly board deck: financials, KPI dashboard, and a clear narrative on what changed and why.
- Define and instrument the metrics that matter — CAC, LTV, gross margin, payback period, net revenue retention.
- Lead fundraising or lending prep: data room, cap-table math, fundraising model, and diligence support.
- Advise on pricing, packaging, and discounting from a contribution-margin and CAC-payback standpoint.
- Model scenarios for major decisions — hiring plans, spend, capital raises — and quantify the trade-offs.
- Set the finance calendar and coordinate with the accounting team so the close is accurate and on time.
- Ensure revenue recognition, deferred revenue, and accruals are handled correctly under the applicable standard.

## Must-have skills
- 8+ years in progressive finance roles, including a CFO, VP Finance, or senior FP&A seat at a US or European company.
- Fluent three-statement financial modeling in Excel or Sheets, built from a real chart of accounts.
- Hands-on FP&A: budgeting, rolling forecasts, variance analysis, and scenario planning.
- Cash management experience — 13-week forecasting, working-capital levers, and runway analysis.
- Board and investor communication: has built board decks and defended assumptions in diligence.
- Working knowledge of GAAP revenue recognition (ASC 606) and how it affects SaaS and services businesses.
- Fluency in at least one accounting system (QuickBooks Online, NetSuite, or Xero) and comfort pulling billing data.
- Strong written English for board memos, investor updates, and async leadership communication.

## Nice-to-have skills
- Has run a full priced fundraise, SAFE round, or bank line of credit end to end.
- SaaS metrics depth: net revenue retention, magic number, Rule of 40, cohort analysis.
- CPA, CFA, or MBA — useful signal, not a substitute for judgment.
- Experience standing up a dedicated FP&A tool (Jirav, Causal, Mosaic, or Pigment).
- M&A or exit-readiness experience: diligence, quality-of-earnings, and integration.

## Tools and technology
- Excel / Google Sheets
- QuickBooks Online / NetSuite / Xero
- Jirav / Causal / Mosaic (FP&A)
- Fathom (reporting)
- Carta (cap table)
- Stripe / Chargebee (billing data)
- Looker / Tableau (KPI dashboards)

## Reporting structure
Reports to the CEO or founders. Partners with the head of accounting or an offshore accounting team (who own the close), the head of sales on pipeline and comp, and the leadership team on hiring and spend decisions. Presents to the board.

## Success metrics (KPIs)
- Cash forecast accuracy — 13-week actuals tracked against forecast within a tight variance band.
- Board deck and monthly financials delivered on a fixed calendar, every period, on time.
- Runway visibility: leadership always knows current runway and the levers that extend it.
- Forecast-vs-actuals variance narrowing quarter over quarter as the model tightens.
- Fundraise or lending readiness — data room and model diligence-ready when capital is needed.
- KPI dashboard live and trusted, so decisions reference the same numbers the CFO reports.