Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

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-onFractional 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 ownership—modernizing 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.
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.
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 assets—evaluating inventory controls, valuation methods, vehicle financing models, and fleet utilization metrics.
Inventory & Fleet Governance:Establish financial discipline around high-value operational assets—evaluating 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 company's true liquidity and financial health to external reviewers.
Balance Sheet Optimization:Reclassify and present balance sheet items (e.g., debt vs. equity, partner distributions) to accurately convey the company's 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