Greater Chicago & the Midwest
Interim FP&A Leadership for Businesses That Need Experienced Finance Support Now
Maintain forecasting, reporting, decision support, and finance leadership during periods of transition—without waiting months for a permanent hire.
We provide interim Head and VP-level FP&A leadership to privately held and PE-backed businesses throughout Greater Chicago and the Midwest.
- FP&A leadership vacancy
- CFO or finance leadership transition
- Acquisition or integration
- Rapid growth
- Restructuring
- ERP implementation
- Leave of absence
- Finance transformation
Designed for businesses that need immediate senior-level finance capacity for a defined period.
The problem
Finance Leadership Gaps Create Immediate Business Risk
When a senior FP&A leader leaves or business complexity suddenly increases, the work does not stop. Management still needs answers on the same schedule.
Management still needs
- Forecasts
- Monthly reporting
- Board materials
- Cash visibility
- Headcount planning
- Profitability analysis
- Operating reviews
- Scenario analysis
- Management decision support
What happens when the role stays open
- Forecasting deteriorates
- Reporting becomes inconsistent
- Management loses forward visibility
- Finance staff become overloaded
- Strategic initiatives stall
- Institutional knowledge can be lost
- The CFO or CEO absorbs FP&A responsibilities
- Board and lender reporting may suffer
The permanent hiring process may take months. The business still needs answers tomorrow.
Fit
When Should You Use Interim FP&A Leadership?
Eight situations where adding experienced interim FP&A leadership is usually the fastest path to continuity.
Leadership Vacancy
A VP, Director, or Head of FP&A leaves unexpectedly, or a permanent search is taking longer than expected.
Acquisition or Integration
The company needs stronger reporting, forecasting, integration tracking, or synergy analysis immediately after a transaction.
Rapid Growth
Financial complexity grows faster than the company's existing finance team.
Finance Transformation
The business needs leadership to redesign planning, reporting, systems, or FP&A processes.
ERP or Systems Implementation
The finance team needs additional leadership and analytical capacity while implementing new systems.
Leave or Temporary Absence
Maintain continuity while a key finance leader is unavailable.
Restructuring or Performance Pressure
Management needs immediate scenario planning, liquidity forecasting, margin analysis, and decision support.
Interim support is most valuable when the need is urgent, substantial, and temporary.
Definition
More Than Temporary Staffing
Interim FP&A leadership is not simply filling a seat. The role takes immediate ownership of critical FP&A responsibilities while improving how the function operates.
Leadership
Senior ownership of the planning and analysis agenda.
Execution
Building the forecasts, models, and reporting directly.
Stabilization
Protecting reporting deadlines and forward visibility.
Process improvement
Strengthening methodology, cadence, and data.
Knowledge transfer
Documenting how the function actually runs.
Team development
Coaching analysts and clarifying responsibilities.
Transition planning
Preparing the permanent or fractional future state.
The objective is to stabilize today’s finance needs while improving the function for whoever leads it next.
Scope of ownership
Immediate Ownership of Critical FP&A Responsibilities
Forecasting & Planning
- Rolling financial forecast
- Annual planning
- Revenue forecasting
- Headcount planning
- Long-range planning
Management Reporting
- Monthly executive reporting
- Variance analysis
- EBITDA bridges
- KPI reporting
- Management business reviews
Cash & Liquidity
- 13-week cash forecast
- Longer-term cash planning
- Working-capital analysis
- Debt and covenant forecasting
Profitability & Performance
- Customer profitability
- Product or service profitability
- Margin analysis
- Business-unit performance
Executive Decision Support
- Scenario modeling
- Pricing decisions
- Hiring decisions
- Capital allocation
- Growth initiatives
- M&A support
Team & Process Leadership
- Lead FP&A staff
- Coach finance team members
- Establish planning cadence
- Improve models
- Document processes
- Support permanent-hire onboarding
First 30 days
What the First 30 Days Can Look Like
A structured start protects reporting deadlines while the broader assessment is underway.
- 1
Week 1
Stabilize
- Meet CEO, CFO, Controller, and operating leaders
- Understand immediate reporting deadlines
- Review existing forecasts and models
- Identify critical business risks
- Clarify roles and responsibilities
- 2
Week 2
Assess
- Review forecast methodology
- Assess KPI reporting
- Evaluate cash visibility
- Review planning processes
- Identify data and reporting gaps
- 3
Week 3
Prioritize
- Stabilize monthly reporting
- Refresh forecast
- Address immediate decision-support needs
- Establish management cadence
- 4
Week 4
Improve
- Present short-term FP&A roadmap
- Improve key models and reports
- Clarify team responsibilities
- Establish transition priorities
The first priority is continuity. The second is improvement.
Support models
Interim or Fractional—Which Support Model Fits the Need?
Fractional FP&A
Ongoing capability
Best when
- The company lacks dedicated FP&A
- The need is recurring
- The company does not require full-time support
- Management wants scalable planning and analytics
- Typical duration
- 6–24+ months
- Typical capacity
- Part-time / shared
- Primary objective
- Add capability efficiently
Interim FP&A
Temporary leadership and capacity
Best when
- An existing role is vacant
- The need is urgent
- The company normally requires substantial FP&A capacity
- A defined transition or transformation is underway
- Typical duration
- 3–9 months
- Typical capacity
- Substantial or near full-time
- Primary objective
- Maintain continuity and bridge the transition
Fractional when you need more capability. Interim when you need immediate capacity.
Transition
Interim Support Should Leave the Finance Function Stronger
An interim engagement should not simply end when a permanent hire starts. The handoff is part of the work.
- 01
Stabilize
- 02
Assess
- 03
Improve
- 04
Document
- 05
Transfer
Typical transition deliverables
- Documented forecast process
- Reporting calendar
- KPI definitions
- Model ownership
- Planning calendar
- Team responsibilities
- Open issues log
- Permanent leader onboarding package
Success is not just keeping the function running. It is creating a stronger platform for the permanent team.
Future structure
Sometimes the Best Permanent Solution Is Not Another Full-Time Executive
An interim assignment often reveals that the company does not need to replace the role one-for-one.
Before
CFO + VP FP&A + accounting team
After assessment
CFO + Controller + internal analyst + fractional FP&A leadership
Potential benefits
- Lower fixed overhead
- Flexible analytical capacity
- Senior-level support
- Scalable structure
- Less recruiting risk
We help management determine the finance structure the business actually needs—not automatically recreate the structure that existed before.
Engagement structure
Flexible Interim Engagements
Engagement structure is based on the urgency, complexity, and level of leadership required.
- Initial term
- Typically 3 months
- Duration
- Often 3–9 months
- Capacity
- Approximately 2, 3, or 4 days per week—up to near full-time leadership
- Extension
- Month-to-month or defined extensions as needed
- Delivery
- On-site, remote, executive meetings, and management reviews
Investment
Interim FP&A Investment
Indicative monthly ranges. Final scope, capacity, and pricing are customized to the situation.
Interim Head / Director FP&A
$18,000–$25,000 per month
Typically starting around this range.
Interim VP FP&A
$25,000–$35,000+ per month
For broader leadership scope and greater availability.
Pricing depends on
- Required availability
- Seniority
- Organizational complexity
- Travel requirements
- Engagement duration
- Urgency
- Team leadership responsibilities
Interim engagements generally require a minimum 90-day commitment.
Fit profile
Designed for Businesses Where the Cost of Waiting Is High
Typical profile
- $10M–$100M+ revenue
- Privately held or PE-backed
- Existing accounting infrastructure
- Significant management reporting needs
- Complex forecasting requirements
- Leadership transition or temporary capacity need
Greater Chicago
Interim FP&A Leadership Across Greater Chicago
We support companies in the city and throughout the western, northwestern, and northern suburbs, combining on-site availability with remote support.
- Chicago
- Naperville
- Oak Brook
- Downers Grove
- Lisle
- Schaumburg
- Aurora
- Bolingbrook
- Northbrook
- Deerfield
On-site presence is used where in-person leadership matters most—management reviews, board preparation, and working sessions with operating leaders—supported by remote execution in between. Broader Midwest engagements can also be supported.
Why us
Experienced Leadership Without the Long Hiring Lead Time
Experienced Finance Leadership
Senior FP&A and finance-management experience, applied from the first week.
Immediate Impact
Focus first on the reporting, forecasts, and decisions management needs most.
Hands-On Execution
Ability to both lead the process and perform the analysis.
Business Partnership
Work directly with CEOs, CFOs, Controllers, and operating leaders.
Transition Focused
Document processes and prepare the organization for the permanent future state.
Technology Enabled
Use modern reporting, automation, BI, and AI tools where appropriate.
Learn more about the firm.
FAQ
Interim FP&A Questions Executives Ask
What is an interim FP&A leader?
An interim FP&A leader temporarily assumes senior financial planning and analysis leadership and execution responsibilities during a vacancy, transition, or transformation—owning forecasting, management reporting, cash visibility, and decision support while the permanent structure is determined.
How quickly can an interim FP&A leader start?
Availability varies by engagement, but interim FP&A leadership is designed around substantially faster deployment than a traditional executive search, which often takes several months from posting to start date.
How long do interim engagements typically last?
Most interim FP&A engagements run three to nine months, depending on the business situation, the complexity of the finance function, and the timeline for the permanent solution.
Is interim FP&A the same as fractional FP&A?
No. Interim FP&A generally involves substantial availability for a defined temporary period to maintain continuity in an existing role. Fractional FP&A provides ongoing shared capacity to add capability a company does not have internally.
Can you help recruit or onboard the permanent replacement?
Yes. Where included in scope, support can include role definition, interview support, process documentation, and structured onboarding for the incoming permanent leader.
Can interim support become fractional support?
Yes. In some cases the business determines that ongoing fractional FP&A leadership is a better long-term structure than replacing the full-time role one-for-one.
Do you work with existing CFOs and Controllers?
Yes. Interim FP&A frequently supports an existing CFO or Controller by taking ownership of planning, forecasting, analysis, and management reporting so accounting and finance leadership can stay focused on their own priorities.
Do you provide interim CFO services?
The primary focus is FP&A and forward-looking finance leadership. Broader finance leadership requirements can be discussed based on scope.
Next step
Don't Let a Temporary Finance Gap Become a Business Visibility Gap.
Maintain forecasting, reporting, cash visibility, and management decision support while you determine the right long-term finance structure.
Serving privately held and PE-backed businesses throughout Greater Chicago and the Midwest.