What support does my business need?
Finance director or CFO?
Finance director and chief financial officer (CFO) are both titles for the most senior finance person in a business. They overlap a lot, and firms use them loosely.
The short answer
There is no fixed line between a finance director and a CFO. We have not found a UK professional body definition that separates the two titles. Some people use CFO for more strategic, investor-facing work; others use the two titles for the same job. Choose by the work you need done, not the title.
How the titles compare
| Finance director | CFO | |
|---|---|---|
| What the title means | Head of finance | Head of finance |
| Legal position | Either title is a job title. The person only has a company director's legal responsibilities if they are appointed as a director of the company1 | |
| Work the title is sometimes used for | Monthly figures, budgets, cash, lenders, the finance team and controls | The same, sometimes with more weight on fundraising, investors, buying or selling a business and long-term plans |
| Part-time versions | Part-time or fractional FD | Part-time or fractional CFO |
Some firms use the two titles for exactly the same service. Others use CFO for more senior or more strategic work. The title alone does not tell you what is included, so ask.
Which may fit
Look for a finance director if you want someone to take charge of the monthly figures, cash, budgets, the bank relationship and the finance processes.
Look for someone who calls themselves a CFO if your main need is raising money from investors, preparing for a sale or buying another business, and you want someone who has done that before.
You may need neither yet if what you are missing is regular figures. Better reporting from your accountant, or a management accountant, may be enough. See Accountant or management accountant?
When you may need both
A smaller business is unlikely to need two senior finance people at once. Where a business does have both titles, the CFO may lead on strategy and investors while a finance director or financial controller runs the day-to-day finance. For a smaller business, one experienced person, part-time, may be able to cover both kinds of work.
Questions to ask
- Whatever the title: what exactly will you do for us each month?
- Have you done this for a business of our size and in our sector? Can you give an example?
- Have you helped a business raise money, or sell, before? What was your part in it?
- Will you join the board as a director, or work as an adviser?
- How will you work with our accountant?
For the part-time option, see Part-time finance director.
Sources
- Companies House, "Being a company director" (GOV.UK guidance). gov.uk. Checked 12 October 2026.