Manufacturing finance is about unit cost and capacity. A manufacturing CFO owns the standard cost system, the labour and overhead variance reports, and the capital allocation decisions on equipment, plant, and inventory buys.
Metrics that matter
- Standard cost vs. actual cost by SKU
- Purchase price, labour, and overhead variances
- Capacity utilisation and OEE
- Inventory turnover and days on hand
- Gross margin by product line and customer
- Working capital as a % of revenue
Common finance challenges
- Standard costing setup and maintenance
- Overhead allocation methodology
- Capital equipment ROI modelling
- ERP implementation and cost visibility
- Customer profitability across long-tail SKUs
What to look for in a specialist CFO
- Prior manufacturing CFO or controller experience
- Comfort with ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics)
- Understanding of lean and cost accounting
- Bank facility and asset-based lending experience
Frequently asked questions
- Do smaller manufacturers really need a CFO?
- Once you have >$5M revenue and >20 employees, the answer is almost always yes — even part-time. Standard costing and working capital alone justify the fee.
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