Startups face critical financial decisions that can make or break their trajectory – often at the most challenging times. Traditional hiring for full-time finance roles often proves impractical due to cost and time constraints. Instead, forward-thinking companies are turning to consulting firms that specialize in interim finance support and fractional FP&A services.
Whether you’re chasing funding milestones and scaling operations or resources are limited for your finance team, you need support you can trust. At Kranz Consulting, we specialize in interim finance and fractional FP&A and outline how these services provide immediate access to senior-level expertise without the long-term commitments – or the hefty overhead that comes with permanent hires.
What are Interim Finance and Fractional FP&A?
Interim finance provides temporary, project-based financial leadership and analysis expertise to growing companies, usually in the short-term. This typically involves deploying a specialized team to tackle specific challenges, such as cleaning up monthly accounting processes, drafting a comprehensive budget, or preparing for due diligence.
Fractional FP&A, on the other hand, delivers strategic financial planning services on a flexible, as-needed basis. This often involves a consultant stepping into a financial leadership role – perhaps as your interim CFO – to provide ongoing advisory support that scales with your needs.
Both approaches combine the extensive experience of senior finance professionals with the agility of outsourced services. You get expertise in financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, and strategic analysis – but without the full-time employee overhead that can strain early-stage budgets.
When Interim Finance and Fractional FP&A Become Essential for Startups and Growing Companies
There are clear signs when these services shift from “nice to have” to “absolutely necessary” – and most growing companies reach this point when their existing finance capabilities can no longer keep up with growing business demands.
Critical moments when interim finance and fractional FP&A become essential:
- During periods of rapid growth when existing finance capabilities are overwhelmed and mistakes become costly.
- Before and during fundraising rounds requiring sophisticated financial projections that can make or break investor confidence.
- When implementing new systems or processes or preparing for acquisitions and mergers where expertise gaps surface quickly.
- During leadership transitions or when permanent finance hires are delayed, leaving critical knowledge gaps.
- When individuals lacking specialized expertise are forced into financial leadership roles beyond their capabilities.
- For seasonal businesses needing enhanced financial support during peak periods when cash flow becomes critical.
- When facing complex financial challenges requiring specialized expertise that isn’t available internally.
- During due diligence processes where external validation and professional presentation can determine deal success.
Key Advantages of Interim Finance and Fractional FP&A Over Traditional Hiring
Interim finance professionals bring senior-level expertise and diverse industry experience, so you’re not training junior analysts on your time. Unlike traditional hires that can take 3-6 months to ramp up, they deliver immediate impact from day one.
With fractional support, you pay only for what you need – avoiding the costs of salary, benefits, equity, and overhead – while maintaining flexibility to scale support up or down as your business evolves. These professionals also provide objective insights free from internal politics, reduce onboarding requirements, and often transfer valuable knowledge to internal teams. And with no long-term commitments or severance obligations, you gain both agility and cost efficiency.
Final Thoughts on Benefits of Interim Finance and Fractional FP&A
Interim finance and fractional FP&A services bridge critical gaps for growing companies at exactly the moments when traditional solutions fall short.
At Kranz Consulting, we’ve spent nearly 30 years helping entrepreneurs and founders navigate these exact challenges. Our interim finance and fractional FP&A services are designed for companies that need senior-level financial expertise without the long-term commitments that can constrain growth.
Ready to accelerate your company’s financial capabilities?
Schedule a consultation with one of our experts to discuss how our fractional FP&A services can drive your next phase of growth.