Duration

12 Minutes

Guest

  • Joe O'Regan

    Head of Intrinsic CFO

Host

  • Alec Drew

    Host of The SME Business Show

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Episode Summary

A Fractional CFO is a cost-effective, part-time finance expert who provides strategic financial services to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). These professionals are especially valuable to businesses with turnovers between €2 million and €20 million, startups undergoing funding rounds, or SMEs in periods of major transition. Joe outlines the onboarding process — including discovery meetings and detailed questionnaires — which help the fractional CFO understand the company's financial landscape and business culture.

Fractional CFOs offer services such as financial planning, budget forecasting, KPI management, cash flow oversight, and strategic advice. They also support businesses in areas like mergers and acquisitions, competitor analysis, and preparing for business sales.

Furthermore, Joe emphasises that a key aspect of their role is making financial data understandable for CEOs who might not be financially literate. Joe also highlights the importance of full transparency with existing finance teams to minimise resistance and integrate effectively into company culture.

The episode concludes with practical advice on managing multi-currency transactions, dealing with subsidiaries, and maintaining strong financial governance, all of which fall under the expertise of a skilled fractional CFO.

In this episode, Alec Drew and Joe O’Regan, Head of Intrinsic CFO, explore how a Fractional CFO provides financial expertise on a part-time basis that can guide strategic decision-making which can ensure a company's financial stability.

Key Insights:

  • A Fractional CFO Provides Strategic Financial Leadership Without Full-Time Costs. Fractional CFOs offer the same high-level expertise and strategic input as full-time CFOs but on a part-time, flexible basis. They are ideal for SMEs with turnover between €2 million and €20 million, startups raising capital, or businesses undergoing transitions, delivering cost-effective access to financial leadership that supports smarter growth and resilience.
  • Onboarding and Discovery Are Critical to a Fractional CFO’s Success. A thorough onboarding process, including detailed questionnaires and discovery meetings with all directors, ensures that the fractional CFO fully understands the business’s financial health, leadership alignment, and operational challenges. This structured start builds trust and creates a strong foundation for tailored financial strategies.
  • Simplifying Finance for Business Leaders is a Core Responsibility. Not all CEOs and business owners are fluent in financial language. A good fractional CFO doesn’t just manage numbers — they act as a financial translator, turning complex data into clear, actionable advice that empowers leadership teams to make better, faster decisions.
  • Fractional CFOs Strengthen Businesses for Growth, Acquisition, or Sale. Whether supporting M&A activity, preparing a company for sale, or helping to scale operations, fractional CFOs guide companies through strategic shifts. They offer critical insights like recommending audited accounts for sale preparation and conducting detailed competitor and market analysis to sharpen a company’s position.
  • Building Internal Trust and Navigating Company Culture is Essential. When entering an organisation, a fractional CFO must be transparent about their role, easing fears — especially within finance teams — and preventing workplace rumours. Their ability to embed themselves respectfully into company culture can make or break their effectiveness.
  • Identifying and Correcting Financial Gaps Protects the Business. Fractional CFOs are trained to spot weaknesses in accounting practices, system inefficiencies, or gaps in compliance. They advise leadership immediately, guide corrective actions, and — when necessary — will step away if the company leadership fails to uphold their fiduciary duties, reinforcing the importance of financial governance.
  • Multi-Entity and Multi-Currency Expertise is Increasingly Vital. In a global business environment, many SMEs operate across different currencies and territories. A fractional CFO brings practical treasury management advice, such as setting up foreign currency bank accounts to minimise exchange fees, and ensures subsidiaries are properly integrated into the parent company’s financial reporting and governance structures.

Today’s Guest(s):

Joe O'Regan, Head of Intrinsic CFO

Joe O’Regan brings over two decades of professional experience delivering advisory services across a wide range of industries, including energy utilities, pharmaceuticals, technology, transportation, education, and FMCG. His career spans leadership roles in the management consulting divisions of Deloitte and PwC, as well as financial management positions within Allied Irish Bank (AIB) and Pioneer Alternative Investments.

[00:00]: Introduction.

[00:14] Alec: Hello and welcome to the SME Business Show with me, Alec Drew. Each show focuses on one particular topic and so we invite an expert from that sector to share their knowledge, insights and tips to help you with your business challenges. Today’s topic involves financial planning and the role that a fractional CFO might play in your organisation and I’m delighted to be joined by Joe O’Regan, Head of Intrinsic CFO. Hi Joe.

[00:39] Joe: Hi Alec, thank you for inviting me today.

[00:41] Alec: I’ve heard of the expression fractional CFO. What is that?

[00:45] Joe: A Fractional CFO is a fractional chief financial officer.

[00:49] Alec: And how does that differ from a traditional chief financial officer?

[00:52] Joe: So a Fractional CFO is an outsourced, part-time, cost-effective finance expert. So they provide financial strategy, oversight, and planning to small businesses without the need to be there in a full-time capacity.

[01:07] Alec: So what would be typically the normal sort of time that a fractional CFO might be involved in a business?

[01:13] Joe: It very much varies by the needs of the business. So it could be anything as little as a couple of hours a month to several days per month, depending on the complexity of the business at that moment in time.

[01:25] Alec: So a fractional CFO will go into a business. How did they get up to speed in a business in terms of understanding that business?

[01:32] Joe: Yes, good question. So they’ll have a discovery meeting with the client and go through a detailed questionnaire with them to learn more about the business.

[01:40] Alec: Let’s take an organization that has more than one director. How do they manage that?

[01:45] Joe: In that instance, they will get the owners or co-founders to do their own questionnaire each. And then they’ll sit down with them and go through the questionnaires to make sure they’re on the same page.

[1:58] Alec: I’d say that’s important.

[01:59] Joe: Oh, absolutely. Especially with regards to husband and wife businesses.

[02:04] Alec: Right. Okay. And what sort of size organization would typically use a fractional CFO?

[02:10] Joe: It’ll be a small business who can’t justify the requirement of paying for a full-time CFO.

[02:16] Alec: And when you talk about a small business, put that in financial terms so our audience understands that.

[02:21] Joe: Yeah, sure. So if you think a business with turnover between two and 20 million per year, or it could be a startup who’s going through fundraising rounds or just a small business who’s going through a significant transition.

[02:36] Alec: A fractional CFO brings in other skills as well. Maybe you might let our audience know about those.

[02:41] Joe: Yes, so the core skills that a fractional CFO will bring to an SME are planned budget forecasting, KPIs, management, reporting, cash flow management, cash flow forecasting and general strategic advice and guidance to the owner.

[03:00] Alec: Let’s just talk about that strategic advice. What would that incorporate?

[03:03] Joe: Lots of things can come out of that discussion so just some examples would include merger and acquisition support, Financial reporting and guidance, systems and process optimisation.

[03:19] Alec: Is a fractional CFO ever brought into a business maybe where they’re considering selling it?

[03:23] Joe: Yes, absolutely. And from what I’ve seen in the past, generally SMEs won’t have audited sets of accounts. So a first tip among a long list of tips would be to start getting audited accounts as part of the preparation for sale.

[03:43] Alec: So they’ll actually handhold them through the whole process?

[03:45] Joe: Yes, indeed, yes.

[03:47] Alec: So how long does it take for a fractional CFO to become familiar with a new organisation they go into?

[03:52] Joe: So if you think back to the questionnaire, so in month one, that discovery meeting and detailed questionnaire will take place during the onboarding. And then in months one to three, you’ll set out what the strategy is and planning. And then in months three to six, once everything is integrated, it’s optimisation from there on.

[04:17] Alec: And in terms of the reporting mechanism, does a fractional CFO always report to the chief executive officer of an organisation?

[04:24] Joe: Yes, in general they do. And from the CEO’s point of view, they like and welcome that because it can be a very lonely place for them being the owner of the business.

[4:34] Alec: I’ve come across many CEOs who are not very account literate. How does that translate for a fractional CFO?

[04:41] Joe: Yes, and finance is a language of itself, and it’s the role of the fractional CFO to explain financial terms in an easy-to-interpreted way that helps the CEO make informed decisions.

[04:57] Alec: What other benefits would a fractional CFO bring to an organisation?

05:01] Joe: There are many other benefits, but just one that springs to mind off the top of my head would be conducting detailed competitor analysis. A lot of small businesses don’t do that, but as soon as they see the benefits of it, it very quickly becomes the norm.

[05:17] Alec: Maybe you might talk about competitor analysis. Give me an idea of that.

[05:20] Joe: So from a competitor analysis point of view, I’m just thinking of one of my own clients in that scenario. It would be financial ratios and stock ratios. So it could be how quickly they’re turning over their stock, how quickly they’re getting paid by their customers, how quickly they’re paying their suppliers, their gross profit, their net profit. But there’s, I could go on and on, but there are just some, but what you want to understand in that scenario is, are you in line with your industry averages ahead of them or behind, And regardless of where you are right now, why are you there and do you want to be there and how can you change if you want to change that?

[06:02] Alec: Well, that seems like very beneficial information to have.

[06:05] Joe: Yes. And let’s say that particular client as well, what we followed on from that was helped them understand what their 90 day cash flow needs were. And that became very, very clear. So that was a key metric for them that their bank balance never dropped below that metric.

[06:23] Alec: And so that sort of slots into a strategic plan?

[06:26] Joe: Yes, it does, because they’re building up cash reserves as well for investments and acquisitions also.

[06:33] Alec: Organisations have their own culture, and probably each organisation has a different culture. How does a fractional CFO, you know, get involved with that or navigate their way through it?

[06:43] Joe: So the best way is for the CFO, when they first arrive on site, that the CFO explains to the staff why they’re there and how they’re going to help.

[06:53] Alec: So that will sort of remove any rumours that are going around maybe about the strength of the company or issues around it?

[06:59] Joe: Indeed yes and full transparency just sets everyone at ease and eliminates gossip and concern.

[07:10] Alec: I suppose one of the areas of probably most resistance would be the accounts department, who are probably worried about their jobs. How does a fractional CFO deal with the accounts department?

[07:19] Joe: Yes, naturally people are precious about their jobs, but once the fractional CFO goes in and sits down with the accounts team, explain why they’re there and how they’re going to help the account staff and make their life easier, that resistance quickly fades.

[07:36] Alec: I know from speaking to accountants that there’s many different ways of interpreting accounts. How does a fractional CFO deal with that?

[07:43] Joe: A good fractional CFO will be guided by best accounting practices and also by standard operating procedures.

[07:52] Alec: So a fractional CFO has gone into a business, suddenly has spotted gaps in the accounts. How do they deal with that?

[07:59] Joe: So if they’ve spotted gaps in the accounts, they have to alert the CEO immediately and advise accordingly on what the corrective action needs to be.

[08:09] Alec: And so would a fractional CFO investigate that on behalf of the company if they were so requested?

[08:16] Joe: Yes they would and so like in ideally what in general terms if a fractional CFO is going into a company for the first time what they’ll do is they’ll get somebody to walk them through how they book a sales invoice, how they book a purchases invoice, what their bank reconciliations look like, what their standard operating procedures are for the finance function. Just by that overview alone, a strong Fractional CFO can spot the gaps you refer to.

[08:42] Alec: Many companies use different types of accountancy software. How does, again, the Fractional CFO navigate that?

[08:49] Joe: Well, to a Fractional CFO, when you strip back the accounting platforms, they’re all the same. They all provide a chart of accounts, a balance sheet, a P&L, and a cash flow statement.

[09:00] Alec: So you’ve now discovered, or a Fractional CFO has now discovered going into an organisation that a proper set of books are not being kept. How do they manage that?

[09:09] Joe: Yes, it’s a great question you asked there, Alec, and it’s very important. Straight away, you reminded the directors of the business of their fiduciary duties with respect to the company’s office and the Companies Act. And if the directors of the company are not willing to take this seriously, you have to just be willing to walk away from any further engagement with that company.

[09:33] Alec: All right. And so, again, the organisation may have different branches or subsidiaries in different territories. How is that managed?

[09:43] Joe: So, say, like if you have an overseas entity, you’ll want to know who are their advisors in that territory, who are their senior management in that territory, how does that subsidiary fit into the overall structure of the company, and what’s its relationship with the parent company?

[10:01] Alec: So it’s important to speak with those and everybody knows whose role is what within that whole structure.

[10:06] Joe: Exactly. And how they fit into the overall group structure.

[10:10] Alec: And how often would you meet these sort of counterparts in other jurisdictions?

[10:15] Joe: So again, it will depend on the nature and complexity of the business and what the subsidiary is doing in that area. So for example, one business I worked with before, the bulk of their revenue was coming through an overseas subsidiary. So in that situation, you’re very hands-on with the subsidiary, whereas if it’s a small subsidiary, it would be less so, but again, it literally depends on a case-by-case basis.

[10:41] Alec: Many of the companies in today’s sort of business world transact in multi-currency. How do you manage that, and how does a fraction CFO get their head around all of that?

[10:51] Joe: The fraction CFO then will sit down and look to see what the treasury procedures are in place. So take an example, you have a subsidiary in the UK. You’ll ask, right, do you have a sterling bank account? The reason you’ll want to see that is because they’ll typically have customers in the UK and they’ll have suppliers in the UK. So just the fact of having a sterling bank account will mean you can receive payment in in sterling and make payments out in sterling. And this will save the company a lot of unnecessary expense on foreign exchange charges and fees.

[11:29] Alec: It seems that a fractional CFO can play a pivotal role in organisations of the right size. Where can people find out more about that?

[11:38] Joe: Yes, so you can reach out to me on socials and my website is www.intrinsiccfo.com and I’d be delighted to hear from any companies or in fact anyone who’s interested in becoming a fractional CFO and it would be a free no obligations chat.

[12:00] Alec: A special thanks to our guest today joe O’Regan from Intrinsic CFO for coming into the studio and sharing so many valuable business tips. If anything we discussed today resonated with you, why not reach out to us across any of the social media channels SME Business Show. Thank you for your company and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

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