In-house CFO turnover has hit a seven-year high, which is driven by more professionals retiring and high CEO turnover rates. Businesses are leaning on interim and outsourced CFO talent to fill their ranks without the:
- Long-term commitment
- Large upfront costs
You can go into 2026 with a chief financial officer helping guide your financial strategy and reporting, cash flow, capital management, risk management, investor relationships, and operational decisions.
But do you need to hire in-house? What are the costs involved? Is it the right time to work with a CFO, or should you wait to hit a certain revenue target?
We’ll answer these questions and more to help your organization decide if 2026 is the time to hire a CFO or not.
Why Outsourced CFOs Will Drive Financial Change in 2026
Chief Financial Officers guide businesses to make data-backed decisions based on forecasts and models. Business stakeholders rely on this information to reach the company’s operational goals, but this is just the start of how a CFO will help your company grow.
Benefits of Working with an Outsourced CFO
CFOs tend to have industry connections that go beyond their core tasks of budget and financial models, financial statement analysis, forecasting and account reconciliation. Your CFO may have links to:
- Insurance companies to minimize costs
- IT specialists to assist your firm
- Attorneys to help with legal matters
- Marketing firms
- Financing sources
Connections and experience guide business finances, keeping more money in your free cash flow while providing the guidance necessary to move the business forward.
Your CFO can look at profitability by product or service or location, grow your cash flow through financial planning, and create internal controls to mitigate the risk of fraud. Organizations lose an average of 5% of annual revenue to fraud, which is likely a conservative figure.
Outsourced CFOs can step into a role that safeguards your business while moving it towards your goals with sound financial reporting and guidance.
Since your outsourced exec is only part-time, their duties are more segregated than an in-house professional who has firm control over your business’s entire accounting department.
Over time, the need to hire a CFO only increases. But you might think you need to bring on one of these executives far earlier than you should.
When is the Right Time to Hire a CFO?
Hire a CFO too early and you risk lacking the support to leverage their role in your business. Hire too late? You’ll miss valuable growth opportunities that could have pushed your operations forward and helped you reach your goals faster.
But when you hire an outsourced CFO, you don’t have to be as concerned about bringing on an exec too early.
A few signs that you can benefit from a chief financial officer are:
- You don’t have the time or expertise to create financial strategies, projections, or investor reports.
- You need a real person to give you financial advice, such as whether it’s the right time to scale or the best way to do so.
- You’re constantly running into cash flow issues, or you’re not sure how to put a cash surplus to work for you.
- You’re experiencing rapid growth and can’t keep up.
- You want to reach new heights in your business and would like support when doing so.
You can also save a lot of money by going the outsourced route rather than being committed to an in-house full-time executive.
Upfront Costs are Lowered When You Use an Outsourced CFO
Don’t have a CFO?
Outsourcing is a great way to fill the role of an in-house CFO without the large upfront investment, especially if this is a new position you’re trying to fill in your business.
Full-time CFOs may make sense for your company, but it’s a costly investment:
- Middle-market companies, with revenue of $100m to $500m, pay CFOs $350,000 to $399,000 on average; top earners make $535,000+.
- Benefit costs can add an additional 25%-40% to the professional’s salary.
- Executive search fees for the first year can add up to 30% to these costs.
Starting with an outsourced CFO when you only need someone for 10 hours a month at the beginning (for example) is a great way to get on track with your financial guidance while avoiding the cost of an in-house exec.
Generally, only after you have a minimum of $50 million annually in revenue should you consider filling the role in-house. Even then, you might find that an outsourced professional fits the role better.
You can scale your outsourced execs’ hours up or down to meet your business needs where they’re at now.
No need to wait. No fear of underutilizing one of your key executives.
Plus, when you decide to go the outsourced route, you’ll spend less and gain more experience and expertise than you would otherwise.
Outsourced CFOs Bring Unique Experience and Expertise to the Table
In-house professionals work with just your business. While they get to know your operations inside and out, they may lack the external experience that propels your growth further. Outsourced CFOs have the unique opportunity to:
- Work with multiple companies
- Gain a wide range of experience
- Bring new perspectives to your business
- Take advantage of unique opportunities
- Overcome operational challenges
Your outsourced exec has exposure to the challenges of multiple businesses and are able to help companies navigate them in ways that are only possible through exposure.
Business needs grow. Revenue rises, financing becomes more complex, and it’s time to re-envision it going forward. Financial management, planning, and reporting become the cornerstone of many companies as they expand into new markets and gain market share.
A CFO will act as your strategic partner, assisting you with making sound financial decisions and taking advantage of growth opportunities at the right time.
Businesses can start relying on this expertise and experience earlier on, with the option to hire an outsourced CFO even for just 10 hours a month.
Click here to schedule an appointment or learn more about hiring a CFO.