Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) 20874
Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Employment Type: Part-time (Approximately 20 hours/week roughly 2 days of embedded support) Independent Contractor (Initial 6-month commitment transitioning to month-to-month thereafter)
Work Model: Remote (Exclusively sourcing from South Africa or Latin America)
Work Hours: US Eastern Standard Time (EST) alignment
Reports To: Owner / Managing Partner
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced hands-on Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with a deep background in construction contracting or project-based services to provide strategic financial leadership for a growing Philadelphia-based solar installation and contracting business generating $18M annually (projected to reach $24M next year).
Sitting above an established accounting team (Full-time Accounting Manager AR support offshore QuickBooks bookkeeper and external CPA firm) you will not handle day-to-day transaction processing or bookkeeping. Instead you will embed as a strategic partner to ownershipmodernizing project accounting models improving cash flow visibility refining gross margin structures developing meaningful KPIs and acting as an executive-level storyteller to banks bonding companies vehicle financing providers and trade creditors.
Key Responsibilities
1. Project Accounting WIP & Revenue Recognition
Work-In-Progress (WIP) Execution: Implement and refine percentage-of-completion accounting milestone-based recognition WIP schedules deferred revenue protocols and accrual structures appropriate for multi-period solar installation projects.
Project Profitability Analysis: Overhaul job costing gross margin reporting and milestone tracking to eliminate artificial earnings volatility caused by project timing or cash collection schedules.
Inventory & Fleet Governance: Establish financial discipline around high-value operational assetsevaluating inventory controls valuation methods vehicle financing models and fleet utilization metrics.
2. Strategic Financial Leadership & KPI Development
Executive Financial Advisory: Translate complex operational data into actionable strategic insights helping ownership understand the financial impacts of growth decisions capex investments and capital structures.
KPI & Dashboard Management: Design and monitor executive dashboards tracking critical metrics including project gross margins backlog WIP cash conversion cycles AR aging labor efficiency and EBITDA quality.
Budgeting & Long-Term Valuation: Build rolling forecasts annual budgets and scenario models; advise ownership on capital structure partner economics (deferred comp partner loans) and long-term private equity/exit readiness.
3. External Stakeholder Relations & Financial Storytelling
Lender & Bonding Support: Prepare executive-level lender-ready financial packages and present clear narratives to banks bonding agents vehicle lenders and trade creditors.
Balance Sheet Optimization: Reclassify and present balance sheet items (e.g. debt vs. equity partner distributions) to accurately convey the companys true liquidity and financial health to external reviewers.
Required Skills & Qualifications
Leadership Background: Extensive experience operating as a CFO Fractional CFO VP of Finance or Finance Director within founder-led or middle-market businesses ($10M$50M revenue range).
Industry Specialization: Proven finance background in construction contracting HVAC electrical utility services home services engineering or renewable energy/solar.
Project Accounting Mastery: Deep technical literacy in WIP accounting percentage-of-completion revenue recognition job costing and project-based accruals.
Systems Proficiency: Strong familiarity with financial modeling enterprise reporting and QuickBooks Online.
Communication & Executive Presence: Native or fluent professional English (C1/C2) with exceptional verbal presentation skills; able to explain complex financial nuances simply to non-financial founders and external financial institutions.
Schedule Availability: Full capacity to commit 20 hours per week with consistent US business hours overlap.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience preparing financial presentations specifically for bonding companies and construction lenders.
Background managing fleet-heavy businesses or equipment financing structures.
Exposure to private equity M&A transaction readiness or business valuation frameworks.
Success Metrics (KPIs)
Accurate WIP & Revenue Matching: Successfully deploying a standardized WIP methodology that reflects true monthly project performance.
Lender & Credit Alignment: Improving borrowing/bonding capacity through polished executive-ready financial packages and balance sheet cleanup.
Cash & Profitability Visibility: Establishing reliable 13-week cash flow forecasting alongside project-level gross margin transparency.
Required Experience:
Chief
Experience: years
Vacancy: 1