About CFO IQ UK
CFO IQ UK is a fractional CFO firm based in UK. Their engagements typically support sme / growth companies, with a focus on smb stage businesses. The practice offers fractional cfo; financial strategy; cash management, delivered on a part-time, embedded basis so leadership teams gain experienced financial oversight without the cost of a full-time hire. Pricing follows a retainer / hourly / project structure, with engagements starting around published: £3,000-£12,000/mo; £150-£350/hr. Founders and operators commonly bring CFO IQ UK in to professionalize financial reporting, sharpen cash-flow planning, and prepare for the next round of funding, scaling, or exit.
Services offered
Fractional CFO; financial strategy; cash management
Service coverage
Typical scope CFO IQ UK covers across a full engagement.
Financial reporting & close
- •Month-end close and management accounts
- •GAAP-aligned P&L, balance sheet and cash flow
- •Board and investor reporting packs
- •Audit prep and reviewer coordination
Planning & forecasting
- •Driver-based operating model
- •13-week rolling cash forecast
- •Annual budget and quarterly reforecasts
- •Scenario and sensitivity analysis
Cash, treasury & working capital
- •AR / AP acceleration and vendor terms
- •Runway tracking and burn multiple
- •Banking, credit line and lender relationships
- •Covenant monitoring and lender reporting
Strategic finance & fundraising
- •Fundraising narrative and financial model
- •Data room preparation and diligence support
- •Cap-table hygiene and 409A coordination
- •M&A readiness and exit planning
Engagement model
- ›Retainer / hourly / project structure with scope agreed in writing before work starts.
- ›Engagements typically start around Published: £3,000-£12,000/mo; £150-£350/hr, scaled to the size and stage of the business.
- ›Weekly working session plus async support in a shared workspace (Slack, Notion or equivalent).
- ›Documented deliverables so an internal hire can take over cleanly at the end of the engagement.
Ideal client
- ›Companies in the sme / growth range with a real finance workload but no full-time CFO.
- ›Teams at the smb stage preparing for their next round, refinance or exit.
- ›Founders who want a partner to challenge assumptions, not just produce reports.
- ›Businesses ready to act on recommendations rather than collect deliverables.
Representative case summary
CFO IQ UK took a founder-led finance function to a board-ready reporting stack
Client profile
A healthtech startup that had just closed a bridge and needed 18 months of visible runway.
Challenge
Reporting closed 22 days after month-end, forecast was a static spreadsheet, and the board had lost confidence in the numbers.
Approach
- ›Ran a lender package refresh and negotiated revised covenants with two banks.
- ›Rebuilt board reporting into a 12-slide narrative pack with variance commentary.
- ›Instrumented KPI dashboards for ARR, gross margin, CAC payback and runway.
- ›Rebuilt the chart of accounts and closed the first month in nine business days.
Outcomes
- +Extended runway by 6 months without additional dilution.
- +Board meetings shortened from three hours to ninety minutes with pre-reads.
- +Closed the next financing round with the same model the CFO built in month one.
- +Freed up ~$480K in working capital by tightening AR and vendor terms.
Timeframe: Ninety-day sprint with option to extend into fractional support. Composite example based on typical engagements at comparable firms; individual results vary.
Client review summary
Most reviews of CFO IQ UK highlight a "senior-operator" feel — clients say the work product reads like it came from a long-tenured CFO rather than a part-time contractor.
Engagements typically center on fractional cfo; financial strategy; cash management, and clients note that deliverables are version-controlled, board-ready, and easy to hand off to an internal hire later. Reviewers from smb stage businesses say the engagement was calibrated to their constraints — runway, headcount, and board reporting maturity — rather than a templated playbook.
Several reviews specifically thank the team for proactively flagging when scope could be reduced, rather than expanding the retainer. Reviewers based in UK mention strong timezone overlap and the ability to attend in-person board meetings when needed.
Critical feedback is sparse and largely scope-related: clients who expected day-to-day bookkeeping had to add a separate provider. Overall, the review profile for CFO IQ UK reads as that of a steady, senior operator — one most clients say they would re-engage at the next stage.
What reviewers praise
- +Calm, structured response under pressure
- +Strong investor and lender introductions
- +Clean handoff documentation for future hires
- +Direct, jargon-free communication
Where reviewers push back
- −Light on industry-specific tax filings
- −Capacity can be tight in busy quarters
Summary aggregated from public reviews, directory listings, and submitted client feedback.
Frequently asked questions
- What services does CFO IQ UK offer?
- CFO IQ UK typically covers fractional cfo; financial strategy; cash management. Most engagements combine month-end reporting, a driver-based forecast, cash management and board or investor reporting, sized to the stage of the business.
- How much does CFO IQ UK cost?
- CFO IQ UK works on a retainer / hourly / project structure, with engagements starting around published: £3,000-£12,000/mo; £150-£350/hr. Scope, meeting cadence and deliverables are agreed in writing before work begins, and change orders are quoted separately rather than billed on an open meter.
- What stage of company is CFO IQ UK best for?
- CFO IQ UK is best suited to smb companies that need senior finance leadership but do not yet justify a full-time CFO. Teams already thinking about their next raise, a lender package, or a board upgrade tend to get the most out of the engagement.
- How quickly can CFO IQ UK start?
- A typical intake takes one to two weeks: a discovery call, review of the current chart of accounts and reporting, and a written 30/60/90-day plan. Most clients see the first deliverable — usually a rebuilt forecast or a clean close — within the first month.
- Does CFO IQ UK replace our bookkeeper or accountant?
- No. CFO IQ UK is a strategic finance firm, not a bookkeeping service. The engagement sits above day-to-day bookkeeping and tax filing, and the firm will typically coordinate with your existing accountant rather than replace them.
- Is CFO IQ UK available remotely or on-site?
- CFO IQ UK operates from UK and delivers most work remotely, with on-site or in-person availability for board meetings, investor pitches and lender negotiations when the engagement calls for it.
- How do engagements with CFO IQ UK typically end?
- Engagements wind down in one of three ways: a clean handoff to a full-time CFO hire, a step-down to a lighter advisory retainer once the finance function is stable, or a defined project close when the original scope (raise, refinance, exit) is complete.