What does an Interim CFO cost? Daily rate, calculation and the comparison with a permanent hire
Experienced interim CFOs in Germany charge a daily rate, typically €1,200–2,500. You pay only for days actually worked, invoiced monthly under a service contract. Employer contributions, bonus, severance and recruiting fees do not apply. A six-month mandate at three days a week costs around €117,000 at an example rate of €1,500.
The daily rate: €1,200 to €2,500
The range is wide, and there are reasons for that. DDIM, the German association of interim managers, puts average daily rates in professional interim management across all roles at €1,200 to €1,400. CFO mandates often sit above that, because they carry responsibility for financing, liquidity, the board and the auditors, and mistakes there cost money immediately. The top of the range goes to mandates involving restructuring, a financing round or an ERP migration under time pressure.
A daily rate is not a daily salary. According to the Interim Management Report 2025, interim managers work an average of 171.9 paid days a year. The rate therefore has to cover business development, idle time between mandates, training and periods of absence. Anyone multiplying the daily rate by 220 working days is comparing the wrong quantities.
What the daily rate includes
- The full working capacity of an experienced executive from day one, with no ramp-up loss. What that means in practice is described in the answer to What does an interim CFO do?
- No employer contributions to social insurance, no holiday or sick pay, no pension, no company car. The interim manager carries these costs and prices them into the rate.
- Travel expenses are agreed separately, either as incurred or as a flat allowance. Details in the answer to How is an interim CFO billed?
What moves the daily rate up or down
Four factors decide where a mandate sits within the range.
Profile and seniority
A CFO who knows both worlds, the corporate group and the start-up, costs more than a controller with leadership ambitions. In my case that is more than 30 years in finance, almost 18 of them at Coca-Cola, and interim manager since 2011 with 15+ documented mandates. What I do with that is on the About me page.
Industry and complexity
Covering a vacancy in a well-run finance organisation sits at the lower end. A financing round with due diligence, a restructuring with input to an IDW S6 opinion or an ERP migration with complex interfaces sit at the top, because they demand specialist knowledge and responsibility for the outcome.
Scope and duration
I work full-time or three to five days a week. A longer mandate with a fixed number of days gives both sides planning certainty and leaves room on the rate. Typical duration is 6 to 18 months, see How long does a typical interim CFO mandate last?
Direct mandate or provider
If the contact comes through an interim provider, DDIM reports that the provider usually keeps 25 to 35 per cent of the agreed daily rate as commission. In a direct mandate that share falls away, or it comes back to the company as a lower rate.
Worked example: what a whole mandate costs
The table uses an illustrative rate of €1,500 and rounded working days per month, excluding holidays and public holidays. It is not a quote; the actual rate follows from the first call.
| Scope | Days / month | Cost / month | 6 months | 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days a week | 13 | €19,500 | €117,000 | €234,000 |
| 4 days a week | 17 | €25,500 | €153,000 | €306,000 |
| Full-time, 5 days a week | 21 | €31,500 | €189,000 | €378,000 |
Example rate €1,500 per day, travel expenses not included. At €1,200 the figures are one fifth lower, at €2,500 two thirds higher.
How long a mandate runs depends on the task. In my documented mandates the span is 6 to 36 months: stabilisation after the management buy-out at PeriGuard took 6 months, the ERP migration at the automotive OEM 9 months, finance leadership with a CRM rollout at KRÜSS 17 months across several assignments, and building the entire finance function at vialytics 30 months.
Interim CFO or permanent CFO: the comparison
The question is usually: for what? Four differences matter.
Availability
An interim CFO usually starts within one to two weeks after the brief is agreed. A permanent hire needs search, selection and the candidate's notice period. Meanwhile the financing round, the audit or the ERP project carries on, just without leadership.
Cost structure
A permanent hire brings fixed costs, employer contributions, bonus, often equity and the cost of the search, and it stays even when the task is done. An interim CFO costs only the days worked, can be terminated flexibly and leaves without severance.
Fit with the task
For time-limited or acute needs the interim CFO is the right instrument: vacancy, growth phase, financing round, ERP implementation, restructuring. For the permanent, steady-state position a permanent hire is right. The two are not mutually exclusive: at KRÜSS I led the finance function and handed it over in a structured way to the permanent incumbent. More under When an interim CFO instead of a permanent CFO?
Risk
A wrong hire at CFO level costs a year or more, a missed financing round can cost the company. Against both, a fixed-term mandate is the cheaper insurance, especially for companies with €4m to €100m revenue that have no fully built finance leadership. See Is an interim CFO worthwhile for smaller companies too?
When the daily rate pays off
The yardstick is the return on interim management: what would the decision have cost that would have gone wrong without a CFO? Three examples from my mandates:
- At vialytics I built finance, controlling, reporting and FP&A from zero to Series B level in 30 months and supported two financing rounds with responsibility for due diligence. ARR grew from €3m to €15m over that period.
- At PeriGuard the task after the management buy-out was to stabilise the company in 6 months, build finance and controlling and prepare the bank financing.
- At BLOKS the job was liquidity planning and investor communication in insolvency, the phase in which every day without reliable numbers costs options.
All mandates with key facts and results are under Results. How a mandate runs, from goal-setting to handover, is on the Approach page.
Frequently asked questions on cost and billing
Is an interim CFO's daily rate negotiable?
Yes. The levers are scope, duration and utilisation: a longer mandate with a fixed number of days per week is calculated differently from a short assignment with an open end. We discuss the rate itself in the first call.
Are there flat fees or fixed prices instead of a daily rate?
The norm is a daily rate for days actually worked, invoiced monthly. A flat allowance for travel expenses is possible. A success component, for example tied to a milestone such as closing a financing round, is agreed case by case.
Does an interim CFO have to work full-time?
No. I work full-time or three to five days a week, depending on the task. The scope is set at the start and adjusted if needed; the split between on-site and remote work is agreed per project, see Does an interim CFO work on-site or remotely?
How quickly can an interim CFO start, and when do costs begin?
Usually within one to two weeks after the brief is agreed, see How quickly can an interim CFO start? Costs begin with the first day worked; the first call and the proposal stage are free of charge and without obligation.
How do I get a concrete proposal?
Through a 30-minute first call. We clarify the starting position, goals, scope and urgency; on that basis you receive a proposal with daily rate, days per week and duration. I answer enquiries within 24 hours.
- DDIM – Dachgesellschaft Deutsches Interim Management e.V.: Fees in interim management (in German; average daily rates €1,200–1,400, provider commission 25–35 per cent).
- EO Executives: Interim Management Report 2025 (in German; survey of 1,671 interim managers, December 2024 to January 2025, 171.9 paid days a year).
- Own mandates 2011 to 2026, documented under Results.
What would your mandate cost?
A 30-minute first call, without obligation. You describe the situation, I tell you whether and in what scope an interim CFO is the right answer. Reply within 24 hours.
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