Hiring guide
Reviewing a fractional CFO retainer: what to keep, change or stop
By CFO Index · Published
After several reporting cycles, the renewal question is no longer what a CFO promised to do. It is whether the agreed service is being delivered, whether your team can use it and whether the same scope still fits. Review those questions separately before expanding the retainer or replacing the provider.
Bring the original agreement and the delivery record
Use the signed scope, subsequent approved changes, reporting calendar and accepted outputs. Review all agreed deliverables over the chosen period, not just the most impressive presentation or the latest missed deadline. Separate recurring responsibilities from one-off setup work. If a deliverable was never defined clearly enough to assess, mark that as a scope gap rather than inventing a performance target after the event.
Assess delivery, usability and continuing need separately
The scorecard below is an original service-review template. It does not rate named providers or prescribe an industry benchmark. For each row, record the evidence, conclusion, responsible person and next step. A report can arrive on time and still be unusable; a well-produced report can also become unnecessary when the business changes.
| Review area | Evidence to examine | Decision to make |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery against scope | Agreed due date, actual delivery and acceptance status | Keep the cadence or agree a specific remedy |
| Usability of outputs | A manager reproduces a number and explains its limitation | Fix the output, documentation or training gap |
| Dependencies and delays | Input cutoff, access requests and escalation records | Assign the blocker rather than blaming by impression |
| Capacity and continuity | Named delivery people, coverage and actual response windows | Confirm the service can support the next cycle |
| Continuing relevance | Decisions still requiring CFO input and duplicated work | Retain, narrow, replace or stop the responsibility |
Do not let a delay metric hide the cause
Hypothetical example: three monthly forecasts were due on the sixth working day, conditional on agreed inputs arriving by the second. Two arrived on time. For the third, the client's inputs arrived on day five and the forecast arrived on day nine. The raw result is two of three on time. Among cycles with timely inputs, it is two of two. Keep both facts, the actual dependency and whether the CFO escalated promptly. Neither view alone proves good or poor service; investigate the agreed response and the remaining delivery time.
Distinguish a delivered file from an accepted result
Check whether the output reconciles to its sources, identifies material limitations and answers the agreed question. Record rejected or reworked work separately from accepted work. Give the provider a chance to explain the evidence and correct factual misunderstandings in the review. Avoid claiming the CFO caused every change in cash or profit: customer behaviour, management decisions and operating conditions also affect outcomes. A decision log can show how work was used without inventing financial returns.
Choose a remedy that matches the finding
If a model works but monthly updates are late because source exports are missing, improving input ownership may be more useful than buying more senior hours. If the agreed work is repeatedly unsupported or unavailable, require a bounded correction plan or assess alternatives. If the setup phase is complete and an internal finance manager can maintain the process, discuss reducing recurring work to defined review sessions. These are decision options, not an automatic recommendation to retain or replace any provider.
Write the scope reset before the next cycle
List what continues, what stops, new deliverables, acceptance criteria, input cutoffs, delivery dates, named roles, coverage and fees. Distinguish a discussion proposal from a change accepted by both parties. ICAEW's practice guidance advises firms within its scope to agree revised terms when services change and review engagement letters for currency. That is professional-context guidance, not a claim that every fractional CFO worldwide is governed by ICAEW. Check the actual contract and seek advice on disputed obligations or termination.
Give conditional continuation an expiry date
For an unresolved issue, name the repair, owner, evidence needed and review date. For example, the next forecast must include a reconciled cash opening balance and a documented input cutoff; the client must provide the agreed export by that cutoff. State what management will review if either condition fails. Do not leave 'improve communication' as an indefinite action or treat the absence of a complaint as acceptance.
Keep the review small enough to repeat
Finish with a one-page decision: continue unchanged, continue with a written reset, move a defined task to another owner, or plan an orderly end subject to the agreement. Attach the supporting scorecard and unresolved items. If the relationship ends, separately agree ownership of files, access changes, unfinished work and handover dates. The purpose is a workable next operating cycle, not a retrospective sales pitch or an artificial score that conceals serious gaps.