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V O L . X X X N O. X X V I I D E C E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 4 12 B A N K I N G / F I N A N C E / I N S U R A N C E into the future, the freelancer helped the company come up with a credible budget and save money by moving cash from a checking account to a higher-paying vehicle. "Just that change actually paid for her services for the whole year," Rahill says. In a state where nearly 150,000 small businesses make up over 99% of the total, flexible-schedule hires offer an afford- able alternative to full-time executives. Outsourcing also offers perks for larger, established firms struggling to hire amid industry-wide staffing shortages. As documented in a 2023 survey of more than 300 CFOs in the United States and United Kingdom by Alvara, a provider of tax compliance automation, some 84% reported being short-staffed in their accounting and finance departments. Enter the growing cadre of part-time CFOs-for-hire, often starting with a single project that leads to others and in some cases a longer-term arrangement. Incentives to outsource While businesses around the globe have long outsourced bookkeeping and accounting jobs, filling the C-suite with temps is a more recent develop- ment that one expert chalks up to two main factors: Technology and the abil- ity to work remotely. "Years ago, you'd be really reluctant to hire a CFO who wasn't in the office," says Chris Geczy, a finance professor at We don't need a full- time hire to manage the finances, so this is a way to get really skilled financial advice at a reasonable price. — Brian Rahill CourseStorm A CFO is not a bean counter. You're hiring a star player. — Chris Geczy Wharton School S O U R C E : Russell Reynolds Associates' analysis of the S&P 500 TRENDING CFO TURNOVER: Q1–Q3, 2019–2024 NUMBER OF DEPARTING CFOS PER NEW ROLE: Q1–Q3 2024 F I L E P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R F O C U S At CourseStorm in Orono, CEO Brian Rahill says the education-focused startup finds value in working with a fractional CFO. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F W H A R T O N Wharton finance professor Chris Geczy O ut of 20 people on staff at CourseStorm, an Orono-based provider of class registration and marketing software, there's no chief financial officer. at's a role the startup has cho- sen to contract out, paying a part-time or "fractional" executive in Bangor on retainer for services from budgeting to board reports. "We don't need a full-time hire to manage the finances, so this is a way to get really skilled financial advice at a rea- sonable price," says CEO Brian Rahill. Besides helping develop a model to make financial projections five years 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Retired/Board CFO President/CEO COO Other C-Suite 10% 10 5% 5 0% 0 15% 15 20 20% 25 24 11 10 4 5 11% 12.2% 15.6% 13.8% 13.2% 14.4%