The 3 Types of the Fractional CFO - And What Founders Need to Know
How to Spot the Difference Between Advice, Action, and Impact
Not all Fractional CFOs are created equal. The best ones I've seen share three core values: partnership built on trust, clarity, and decisive action. Our guest, Elliott Gaspar, is firmly in this camp.
In this episode of The New F*Word, I had a great conversation with Elliott from OxConsult, a hands-on fCFO who has helped scale startups to £400M in revenue and raised over £600M in funding. Elliott talks honestly about what it means to show up for founders, not just in board meetings, but inside the messy, moving parts of a growing business. It’s all about being clear on the kind of practice you want to build, the value you want to deliver, and staying connected to the reasons you got into this work in the first place.
We explored the three types of fCFOs that are emerging right now, So If you have been wondering where you fit as an fCFO and how to build your business in a way that feels right for you, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.
The 3 Types of Fractional CFOs
I didn’t set out to become a fractional CFO because it was trendy. I got into this work because I enjoy solving real problems that sit at the heart of growing businesses and do not fix themselves.
For me, the fractional CFO role is all about stepping into businesses, rolling up your sleeves, and making finance a tangible driver of progress. Not every fCFO sees it that way, though.
Over the past few years, I have noticed three different types of fCFOs emerging. Understanding these differences is important if you want to be clear about the kind of service you offer and the kind of professional you want to become.
1️⃣ High experience, low engagement
There are CFOs out there with extraordinary careers, people who’ve spent decades at the sharp end of FTSE 100 decision-making, leading major organisations. Now, later in their careers, many of them are stepping into fractional roles as a way to stay connected while gradually winding down towards retirement.
For this type of fCFO, the engagement is light, but the experience they bring is heavyweight. They show up at board meetings, offer insight that only comes from years at the top, and then step back again until the next one.
There’s huge value in that experience. But if you're building a practice where being hands-on and fully embedded, helping design systems, solve problems, and drive decisions is important, this approach might not be for you.
2️⃣ High ambition, low strategic depth
The second type I seem to be coming across more recently is made up of early-stage accountants who are looking for something more. This type of CFO has come from a professional services firm, they might feel a bit stuck and see the fractional CFO title as a stepping stone to the job they really want.
This Fractional CFO is driven and willing to put in the work, and that kind of energy should never be underestimated. Gaining this kind of experience can only come from being embedded in a business, making decisions firsthand, and learning from the outcomes.
There is real potential here, and it is something I genuinely respect. Everyone has to start somewhere. Building strategic depth is not about ticking off years; it's about being willing to get involved with the details of a business and seeing how real businesses grow and change over time. With that experience, the leap turns into something lasting and meaningful.
3️⃣ The Hands-On Builders (aka my camp)
The third type is where I see myself, and many of the best fractional CFOs I know. These are the people who are not just sitting on the sidelines offering advice; they are getting fully stuck in.
They are the ones who step in, understand how everything connects, and make sure the financial foundations are built properly. It is about being close enough to the business to spot what is needed, and being hands-on enough to actually make it happen.
This type of work is about more than just reporting the numbers. It is about building a financial foundation that helps founders make better decisions, faster. It is about being the partner who does not just point out what needs fixing but helps do the fixing. That is the kind of service I believe makes the biggest difference.
What Founders Are Getting Wrong
Fractional CFO work is still misunderstood. In a founder's mind, it can easily get mixed up with advisory accountants or finance controllers. The role is not always clearly defined, and often it is not clearly valued either.
From where I sit, that is not a problem. It is an opportunity.
As a whole, fractional CFO is just not well defined, it's not well understood, it's not well priced, it's all out for the taking. And that's sort of why I've got quite into it as an industry.
There is no established playbook. No set way of doing things. For me, that is the exciting part. It is a wide-open space for those of us who are serious about building something meaningful and setting the standard for what great fractional CFO support looks like.
To raise the standard, we need to start by addressing some of the biggest misconceptions founders still have about finance, and where even the best-intentioned businesses can go wrong.
Three things founders get wrong about finance
1️⃣ Treating finance purely as a cost centre, not a driver of strategic decision-making.
One of the biggest shifts we need to help founders make is seeing finance not just as a cost to the business, but as something that can actually drive smarter decisions and better outcomes.
Too often, finance gets boxed in with compliance work like tax returns, bookkeeping, and filing accounts. Those things matter. They are the basics. But if finance stops there, the business misses out on everything it could be doing to move forward.
The best CFOs are not sitting in the back office, ticking boxes. They are in the room, helping founders make sense of complexity, shaping strategy, and building trust.
When you can walk into a board meeting and talk clearly about your cash position, your customer acquisition cost, your lifetime value expectations, and what would happen if a project slips by six months, you do more than just answer questions. You lead with confidence. You show you understand your business inside out.
That is what founders need. That is what great fractional CFOs deliver. Reframing finance from overhead to opportunity is not just helpful, it is essential if we want to be seen as real partners in building businesses that last.
2️⃣ Skipping over proper financial systems until it's too late.
Another mistake I see far too often is companies growing faster than their systems can keep up.
In the rush of scaling, basic financial infrastructure gets pushed to the side. Things like setting up the right accounts, keeping proper records, and making sure spending is tracked accurately are treated like something that can wait...until it can't.
The rush of growing sort of necessitates moving faster than your systems are keeping up with.
I have seen businesses expand into the US without even setting up a legal entity first. I have seen huge chunks of spend coded under 'Other' for years, because no one stopped to build the right structure at the beginning. The cost of bad systems adds up. This leads to not only messy accounts but also wasted time, delayed decisions, and avoidable mistakes that keep dragging the business down.
And this is not just a problem for early-stage startups. I have worked with companies turning over tens of millions a year who still cannot get a clean set of books.
The saying rings true: "garbage in, garbage out." If your inputs are poor, your outputs will be too.
That is why great fractional CFOs put just as much emphasis on building the right financial infrastructure as they do on the strategic conversations that sit on top of it.
3️⃣ Underestimating the value of scenario planning and data-led boardroom presence.
Boards want leaders who can back up decisions with real numbers, not gut feel.
Too often, founders walk into board meetings unable to answer the most basic financial questions. What is your CAC? What is your expected LTV? How much cash runway do you have if things do not go exactly to plan?
If founders cannot answer those questions in a meaningful and convincing way, trust is eroded at the board.
The role of a fractional CFO is not just about preparing reports. It is about preparing founders to walk into the room sharp, credible, and ready. Which is why I have pivoted my messaging towards 'data-driven decisions.' It is about helping founders sound like they truly understand their own business and their customers.
A CFO should be there to be your partner. That is why I have pivoted all of my LinkedIn content to be about 'data-driven decisions'. You want to join these meetings, sounding like you understand your own startup.
Simply put, scenario planning is an essential, and no longer just a nice-to-have. The true value of a fractional CFO is not in recapping what happened last quarter. It is in giving founders the clarity and confidence to navigate what is coming next.
Final Thoughts
The fractional CFO role is still being defined, the standards are still being set, and the future is being shaped by people who are willing to raise the bar.
That is why I believe community matters just as much as technical skills.
I started the Fractional Finance Forum to bring together like-minded fCFOs who are serious about sharing knowledge, solving real problems, and helping each other grow. Today, it is a community of over 90 fractional CFOs across the UK.
If you want to be part of the conversation, learn from peers, and help build the future of finance leadership, you are welcome to join us. The future of finance is not corporate. It is collaborative.
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