Renzo DemartiniFractional CFO and board adviser · Canberra
A fractional CFO in the room, without a full-time hire.
Chartered Accountant and finance executive. I work with business owners, CEOs, boards and investors as a fractional CFO on a monthly rhythm, as a part-time lead through a deal or a systems change, or as an independent adviser to the board.
In short
- Fractional CFO: senior finance judgement on a monthly rhythm, for a business that doesn’t need a full-time CFO yet.
- Lead the change: part-time and hands-on for a defined period, through an integration, an automation programme or an operating-model change, until the change holds.
- Board and investor adviser: due diligence, integration oversight and an independent read of the numbers.
- I lead group finance at a growing Australian business, so I do this work every week, not just advise on it. Alongside that I take on up to 20 advisory clients a year, with about 40 hours a month between them: two or three at any one time.
01 Which one
Fractional CFO, change lead or board adviser: which one you need.
Fractional CFO
You’re running a growing business and want a senior operator and accountant in your corner, not a full-time hire. We review the numbers each month, test the decisions on your desk and hold the plan to account.
Ongoing adviserLead the change
Something specific has to change: an acquisition to integrate, a set of workflows to automate, a finance function to rebuild. I lead it part-time and hands-on over months, alongside your team, and stay until the change holds.
Lead the changeBoard and investor adviser
A board or investor needs an independent finance and operations view on a deal or a business: due diligence, oversight of the integration, and advice that reads the ledger and the operations together.
Board and investor support
Not sure? Most engagements start with a Diagnostic, a fixed-scope review that usually takes one to two weeks and ends in clear priorities. It also tells us which of the three you need. If what you need is a CFO in the seat five days a week, that is a full-time hire, and I’ll say so.
02 Across Australia
Fractional or part-time CFO, across Australia.
A fractional CFO is a part-time CFO: senior finance judgement on a monthly rhythm, without a full-time salary. I’m based in Canberra and work with businesses across Australia, remotely and in person.
03 Before you hire one
Three checks before you hire a fractional CFO.
Ask any adviser the same three things, me included.
- What will I get? The month closed within days, a rolling forecast kept current, a board pack that leads with the decisions and one person accountable for each. If a proposal lists hours but no deliverables, ask for the deliverables.
- How often? A monthly rhythm at the least, with working time through the month and before each board meeting. Write down the hours you get. Mine are about 40 a month in all, between two or three advisory clients at any one time.
- What will it cost? Ask for a fixed monthly fee and what is in it. An Ongoing adviser is from A$3,500 a month and leading the change is from A$6,500 a month, with no hourly billing. I confirm the fee in writing once we’ve agreed the scope.
04 A month
What a month looks like.
The shape of a typical month, not a timetable. The scope is agreed in writing before work starts.
- Early in the month
The month, closed
The numbers land within days of month-end, not weeks. Where the close is slow, fixing it comes first. I’ve taken it from 21 days to 5 at one business and from 10 to 5 at the next.
- Through the month
The forecast and the decisions
A rolling forecast kept current, and working time with the CEO to test the decisions on the desk: pricing, hiring, spending, capital or a deal.
- Before the board meets
The board pack
A short pack that leads with the decisions rather than the data: the result, the cash and the few measures that drive the business, with commentary that explains movements instead of repeating them.
- When the board meets
The finance view, in the room
I present the numbers to the board or its finance committee and answer the questions they raise.
05 Board and investor support
Board and investor support: due diligence, oversight and board papers.
For a board or an investor, the job is an independent view. Due diligence from someone who has had to live with the deal afterwards, where every finding is either a price issue or an item for the integration plan. Oversight of the post-deal integration against the deal model, with synergies counted only once they’re in the ledger. And board papers a director can make a decision from.
I know the board’s side of the table. I’ve reported to boards as CFO and Head of Finance, and from July 2026 I’m Independent Finance Advisor on the Finance Subcommittee of Capital Region Community Services, a not-for-profit.
Board and investor support is a fixed fee per deal, or a monthly retainer for ongoing support.
06 Reporting
Reporting a board can trust.
A faster close is the means. Decisions are the outcome. At two businesses in a row I rebuilt the reporting and the month-end close, and in both the board used the new reporting for capital allocation.
Good board reporting is short. If the board can’t make a decision from it, it needs another rewrite, however fast it arrives. More in Management reporting that drives decisions and How a month-end close went from 21 days to 5.
Controls are part of the same job. A board should know who can commit the business, and to how much. A delegations of authority register sets that down. Before you approve an automation, size it with your own figures: the AP automation ROI calculator does that for supplier bills.
07 Track record
The track record behind the advice.
16 years in finance, from the ledger to the boardroom, and leading finance and operations since 2018. Chartered Accountant (CA ANZ) and MBA.
- A$40MRevenue in four years, from under A$10M, as CFO of a window-furnishings manufacturer and retailer. EBIT doubled. Read the case study
- 12Up to 12 SME clients at once in my own virtual-CFO practice.
- 21→5Days to close the month as CFO, then 10 to 5 as Head of Finance at the next business. Read the case study
- A$300KDivision profit in 12 months, from a loss, at a 6% EBIT margin. Read the case study
Not sure which of these you need? Most engagements start with a Diagnostic: one to two weeks, a fixed fee, and you’ll know what to fix first.
Start a conversation08 Questions
Common questions.
Can you be our interim CFO?
Not in the seat every day. An interim CFO is close to a full-time role, and my advisory work is about 40 hours a month in all. What I offer instead is Lead the change: part-time and hands-on for a defined job, such as an integration or an automation programme, alongside your team, stepping back when the change holds. If you need someone full-time, I’ll say so and help you hire the right person.
Fractional, part-time or virtual CFO: what is the difference?
The three names overlap, and people use them loosely. A fractional CFO is a senior finance leader who gives a business a share of their week or month, and usually works with several businesses at once. A part-time CFO gives the same share of time, sometimes on fixed days. A virtual CFO does the work remotely, in your systems and on calls. Whatever the name, the test is the same: what you get, how often and who is accountable. I work as a fractional CFO on a monthly rhythm, as an Ongoing adviser.
How much does a fractional CFO cost?
A Diagnostic is a fixed fee, from A$4,950; leading the change is from A$6,500 a month; an Ongoing adviser is from A$3,500 a month; and Board and investor support is a fixed fee per deal, from A$7,500, or a monthly retainer. I confirm the fee in writing once we’ve agreed the scope. No hourly billing.
How much of your time do we get?
It depends on the scope, and we agree it in writing before work starts. I lead group finance at a growing Australian business, so I do this work every week, not just advise on it. Alongside that I take on up to 20 advisory clients a year, with about 40 hours a month between them: two or three at any one time. If you need a CFO in the seat five days a week, you need a full-time hire.
Do you work in our systems?
Yes. I work in your systems and accounts, so your data stays with you. Where it helps, I also build the finance systems myself.
How does an engagement end?
The written scope sets it. When I lead a change, I stay until it holds and then step back. An Ongoing adviser engagement runs on its monthly rhythm for as long as it is useful to you.
Keep reading
Related reading.
- Reporting
Management accounts and reporting that drive decisions, and that a board can trust
Design the report around one decision, then run five checks before an automated report reaches the CEO and board, and test them by breaking the report on purpose.
Read → - Finance operations
How a month-end close went from 21 days to 5
A slow close is rarely one big problem; it is many small waits, and the fix is to remove them in the right order.
Read → - Integration
The first 100 days of an integration
An acquisition is one decision, but an integration is a hundred smaller ones, and most of them should be made before the deal completes.
Read → - Case study · GrowthA$40M
Revenue from under A$10M to A$40M in four years
Pricing, brand, the sales funnel and capacity, with the finance function keeping up.
Read the case study → - Case study · Control21→5
Month-end close from 21 days to 5, then from 10 to 5
Two closes rebuilt, and reporting the board used for capital allocation.
Read the case study →
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