http://ww2.cfo.com/careers/2017/05/whats-definition-outsourced-cfo/



When I met with one of my first potential clients, one question she asked was how I would handle multiple clients simultaneously.  I explained that it’s all about organization and managing priorities. The full time CFO has responsibility for many deliverables. He or she keeps track, prioritizes, delegates as needed and reports out. Same for the fractional executive. They are part of the organization, involved in the development and  execution of strategy, and have a vested interest in the long term success of the company and its stakeholders. The biggest difference is that they support multiple shareholders.

The “contract” portion of the role is only establishing the approximate amount of time dedicated to an organization for billing (ie payroll).  Like a full time employee, sometimes the effort is more than what is contracted.  Sometimes it’s less. But the value to the stakeholders is that they don’t have to worry about using their financial resource and having to get an itemized invoice for every single billable hour.