Why Hiring Fractional Workers Is a Game Changer!

Imagine accessing board-level talent only when you truly need it no bloated overhead, no inventing tasks to fill a calendar. 

That’s the promise of fractional leadership, and it’s reshaping how ambitious companies scale. We sit down with Kevin Steele, founder of Clarendon Financial and Strategy, to unpack how a fractional CFO links finance to strategy and builds the financial engine that powers growth.

TLDR / At A Glance:

• What a fractional executive is and is not
• Why growing firms choose fractional over full-time
• Cost, flexibility, and scaling engagement up or down
• CFO focus on linking finance to strategy
• Clean data as the non-negotiable foundation
• The 30-60-90 plan and engagement stages
• When and how to hand over to a full-time hire
• How to vet credibility, sector fit, and references
• Managing fractionals for outcomes, not hours
• The future of fractional work and the credibility gap

Kevin lays out a clear operating model: start with discovery, fix the data, then install budgets, forecasts, and non-financial KPIs that tie your commercial story to cash. He explains why clean data is non-negotiable garbage in, garbage out and how a focused 30-60-90 plan drives measurable results fast. 

We dig into the moments when fractional support creates the most leverage, from due diligence and acquisitions to board reporting and scenario planning, and how engagements flex up or down based on need.

The conversation also gets practical about selection and trust. Not all “fractionals” are equal. We outline a simple due diligence checklist: proven C-suite experience, sector specialism aligned to your model, and live client references. 

Kevin shares why he specialises in B2B services and why, at scale, a fractional CFO should help you graduate to a part-time or full-time hire with clean systems that a new leader can run with. 

Along the way, we talk about the credibility gap in a world where anyone can claim expertise, and why the real value often looks like “another adult at the table” a steady, independent voice that challenges assumptions and keeps strategy honest.

If you’re weighing full-time versus fractional, or wondering how to get real ROI from rented expertise, this conversation gives you the playbook to decide with confidence. 

Subscribe for more deep dives on leadership, finance, AI, and the operating systems that help founders grow. If this helped clarify your next move, share it with a colleague and leave a review what role would you rent first?

Need a fractional executive in your business? Then let's chat - https://calendly.com/kierangilmurray/next-steps-fractional

Chapters

• 0:03 Fractional Leaders Defined
• 1:28 Linking Finance To Strategy
• 3:17 Cost, Flexibility And Scale
• 7:18 Handover And Long-Term Value
• 8:22 Why Go Fractional As A Career
• 10:46 How To Choose The Right Fractional
• 15:05 Managing Fractionals For Results
• 17:11 The Future And Credibility Gap
• 18:19 Where To Find Kevin And Final Thoughts

Transcript

Kieran Gilmurray: 0:03

Have you ever imagined a world where you can afford an expert at a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive, someone who speaks your language, deeply understands your industry, and helps you deliver real business value to your customers? Well, this isn't make-believe. It's happening today, powered by the rise of fractional workers. Welcome to AI Unscripted, where I talk to the Creme de la Creme of the world's best business and technology companies. Today I have Kevin Steele, founder of Clarendon Financial and Strategy, with me to talk about the growing phenomenon of fractional executive marketplace leaders. Welcome, Kevin. Kevin, for those who don't know you, would you mind giving a brief introduction to you, sir?

Kevin Steele: 0:45

Yeah, sure. Thanks for the thanks for the intro, Kieran. You tied you teed that up really well with kind of the rise of fractional CFOs, what we'll what we'll speak about more a bit here. My background is um qualified chartered accountant, and I trained in accounting firms and worked in the uh the finance function of bigger firms. Then um I built and sold an accounting firm and uh then transitioned to working as a fractional CFO, which stands for Chief Financial Officer. And that is the shortest intro I've ever done because they're usually about half an hour long.

Kieran Gilmurray: 1:17

Well, let's waste no time and delve right back into this. So fractional executive expertise, Gebok, what is a fractional remote or is it in-person worker? And what are the trends driving that adoption of that industry in business and in sectors today?

Kevin Steele: 1:37

Yeah, sure. So a fractional executive is generally somebody who's at that kind of more senior level. So somebody that's kind of um operated at that C-suite level. So they're beaver be either being, for example, a chief financial officer, chief marketing officer, chief um technology officer. And what they do is instead of kind of working for just one company, they they have their skills and expertise they've built up over the last 10, 15, 20 years, and they work for a number of different companies at once. So, for example, um my role as a fractional chief financial officer is I work with companies in that kind of 1 million to 20 million revenue turnover space, and I work with multiple different clients at once. And my real focus as a fractional chief financial officer is all about one thing, and that one thing is it's linking finance to strategy. So I'm not there to be the client's accountant, I'm not there to be the client's bookkeeper, I'm there to look at that real kind of 10,000-foot view of the business, specifically focusing on the financial element and helping companies link their financial objectives to their strategic objectives and getting them to where they want to be in the short, medium, and long term.

Kieran Gilmurray: 2:57

Well, why wouldn't a company just hire their full-time CFO, CTO, CAIO, CMO? That's part of the job, surely, anyway, to link the business to the strategy. Otherwise, what the heck are they doing being employed by a business?

Kevin Steele: 3:13

Exactly. Very good question. Um, couple of points. Um, point number one is um I mentioned before, I operate in a specific space, which is kind of 1 million to 20 million. And let's just pick a random number and say, let's say a 5 million pound company. So they might not need a full-time chief financial officer who can cost a lot of money. Because linking back to what I mentioned um in the previous intro, fractional execs are highly skilled executives who have worked at managementslash board level. So even to even to kind of um hire a full-time or even a part-time, so somebody that works 20 hours a week, fractional chief financial officer, that would be a huge cost to the company because these people don't come cheap. And also, um, we're if you look specifically at the UK, there's a tax called employer's national insurance, which means if you hire somebody on the payroll, you've got to pay an extra 15.8% on top of the salary just to hire that person every time they get paid every month. That's an extra 15.8%, and then you have to pay pension contributions on top. But with a fractional executive, they have their own company and they work for multiple different clients at once. So, what that means is immediately the cost saving for the client there could be between 17-18%, taking into account all the pension contributions, all the employer's national insurance. They don't need to be sick pay, they don't need to pay holiday pay, etc., etc., etc. And they can get that high-level experience in a time frame that they want. So, for example, I may only work one day a week with a client as opposed to working kind of 20 hours a week, a few days a week, kind of thing. And a client can pick and choose and flex up and down depending on how much they need me, kind of thing. So they have that high level expertise for when they need it. So let's say I'm working with a 10 million company and they want to buy a smaller company, they may they might need more of my time because we might need to go through due diligence, acquisition, putting together the deal, etc. So it can scale up and down. So it's a really flexible model for working with clients. And uh, what I've generally find, not just for myself but with other fractionals as well, is it's all about building a long-term engagement with that client on their journey to growth. And also when I get uh, the reason I mentioned that kind of one to 20 million, once a company gets to about that 20 million mark, they probably do need somebody that's a little bit more in the business kind of thing. They might need to hire somebody part-time that part-time at that point, but when they're at 20 million, they have the budget to hire that person for a part-time basis, not a fractional kind of thing. So my job as a fractional CFO specifically is to help clients any point from 1 million up to 15, get them to that 20 million mark, get their financial infrastructure all looking good, their budgets, their forecasts, their long-range plot, all strategically linked, so they can get to the stage where they can go, okay, cool, we're now ready to hire somebody full-time. We've got the budget. And because the fractional executive has done such a good job, hopefully getting the company up to that stage, the person coming in to take over that role and more of a kind of hard-time/slash full-time role is coming in to nice clean data. Because as we will know, um, any fractional executive who works a high level, especially in technology, clean data is everything.

Kieran Gilmurray: 6:53

So if if the CFO then comes in, does the fractional disappear or do they still provide additional services?

Kevin Steele: 6:59

Yeah, so there will generally be a handover period. So, for example, um the the new CFO will come in, and generally the handover period might be kind of like three to four months' time. Um, just while I hand over all the processes, the systems, help getting them onboarded, etc. And um, this is a good thing because any fractional executive, their job is to help their clients achieve their kind of overall strategic goals. And my goal is to get them to that level where a new CFO comes in who can who's working in the business on a day-to-day basis. So, yes, so it would be a smart like a kind of few month kind of transition handover, but that's a great thing, even though I'm losing a client, I've helped them get to that stage, you know.

Kieran Gilmurray: 7:46

But that that's the interesting part, isn't it? Because it's not only the saving, you you have to fight every day to evidence the fact that you're you should be paid. And then again, the remit is not to come in and relax, which let's be honest, folks, many, many people do. Yes, it's come in and run at 100 miles an hour for that particular day or days or whatever else. So, again, I'm struggling to see why businesses wouldn't want it, you know, uh on tap expertise when I want it on my terms, and the individual is working as hard as they they might, uh, nine to five or whatever variation of the time. So, what made you want to become fractional, Kevin, and not an FTE? And what has attracted others to this same industry?

Kevin Steele: 8:30

Yeah, sure. So, um, in terms of uh what made me want to become fractional was um like I used to run an accounting firm. I built that up over a few years, then sold it. And um the answer to your question would link directly to the reason why I sold it. So the reason why I sold it was because um doing the accounting work was more compliance-based, so like doing tax returns, running payroll, giving clients tax advice, that kind of thing, which is fine, you know. Um, but I decided I actually wanted to kind of start working with multiple business, solving tough problems and really making a big, big difference to the company, as opposed to providing somebody a set of accounts and tax returns kind of thing. So that's what really kind of attracted me to working more in that kind of fractional CFO space. And you get great exposure to different management teams, different boards. As a fractional executive, of course, you will sit on the board and act as a non-exec director in an unofficial capacity for the company. So you attend the board meetings, you're kind of the fractional face of your space. So in my case, I'm the fractional CFO, I handle CFO things, but I will stay for the whole board meeting and give like strategic input on different functions in a non-exec capacity. So that exposure to working with multiple different companies, seeing their challenges, what they're working towards, it's just a really, really interesting experience. And I and you and you kind of um you're working with all these different sectors, these industries, and you're just for your own personal knowledge, you learn so much working at high level in multiple different industries, not just within the same one company. So it's a really kind of enjoyable, um, enjoyable experience, and it's a very, very kind of high learning curve experience. So it's it's it's great. I love being a fractional uh CFO, it's fantastic.

Kieran Gilmurray: 10:26

And you can just imagine there for the businesses themselves, you know, if you if you bake the same cake as everyone else in your industry, it's it's going to taste the same. Whereas if you bring in someone who brings in ingredients from every particular business as an exposure to different methods and models and leadership styles, that in itself uh is quite a heady mix. So yeah, I've maybe teased it up a little bit, and it was very unintentional, but what should businesses look for when it comes to hiring a fractional executive who is going to fit in and who is going to challenge, cheerlead, and grow the business, as opposed to someone you bring in just simply to pet to give you the same view as you've always had. So, what are what are the skills, the wills, the attributes that I need to be looking for?

Kevin Steele: 11:14

Exactly. Very good question, because um this links to one thing I've seen specifically um in the in the fractional CFO market. So fractional CFO is kind of it's kind of a new term. Um, I guess fractional is in general, which has kind of risen over the last kind of two to three years and come into kind of prominence. But the thing is, anybody can call themselves a fractional CFO. Anybody can call themselves a fractional CMO, anybody can call themselves a fractional CTO. So you really need to kind of be careful and do your due diligence here from the client side if you're looking to hire. One thing is um, if you're hiring a fractional CFO, they better have CFO experience. That's that's that's kind of the number one thing. So losing the title, I suppose. Exactly, losing the title. So if you check somebody's LinkedIn, for example, and they don't have any, in my case, CFO experience, for example, that might be a red flag because you want somebody who has had that board level experience because um it's not a protected term, anybody can call themselves that. Number two, you want ideally a sector specialist. So, in my so uh how I work is I work in professional services, B2B companies, so IT, marketing, recruitment, sales, that kind of thing, anybody that delivers a service to somebody as opposed to a product. And the reason I do that is that's where I've got real kind of depth and experience. So if we take a construction company, for example, I don't have the first clue about construction companies, how to manage them, in-depth um knowledge of the finances. If a client came to me and said, Oh, I want you to be my fractional CFO, I'm a 10 billion pound construction company, I would immediately say, I am not the right fit for you because I do not have direct sector experience. However, I can refer you to another fractional CFO who only works with construction companies. So, number one would be credibility. Have they worked at that level before? Number two would be sector experience. And for any client that is hiring a fractional executive, ideally they would want to also get a referral from one of that existing fractional executives client base. So if a client comes to me and says, Hey, can you um can I maybe speak to one of your current clients, just um have a have a quick chat kind of thing? Sure, I'll send them a list of five, any one of them. I will just say, look, there's five people. You obviously ask the client first if they're okay to be contacted, but but it's like, hey, here's a list of five people, take your pick, kind of thing. Because um, if you are a good fractional executive, your clients should be happy to kind of champion your cause and speak about you and kind of speak to a new potential client and say, Hey, Kevin's great, hey, Kieran's great, hey, it's all good kind of thing. So, yeah, that would be the three things sector experience, credibility, and um, and clients willing to speak about you doing a good job on behalf of them.

Kieran Gilmurray: 14:20

Yeah, I think that's vital because you start to see that at the moment in mind, you know, digital transformation, data analytics, AI leadership. I see a lot of people who have retired from consulting and maybe they shouldn't have been in there. You know, I I fancy now being a fractional, you know, it really does a disservice to the client. And it's almost a pity there isn't a guild or some element of qualification. So your own eyes on board and your following up really makes a difference. So let's assume we we've picked the right fractional CDO, C AIO, CFO, CMO. How do business go about successfully managing fractional people to get real value from them?

Kevin Steele: 14:58

Yep. So this, in my opinion, this should actually be driven by the fractional person themselves, as opposed to the business. So, for example, um, after the initial kind of discovery call, that kind of thing, the fractional executive um they should be always giving initially 30, 60, 90 days, what they're gonna do in their first 30 days, what they're gonna do in their next 30 days, what they're gonna do in their next 30 days. And that will be kind of the initial implementation plan for fractional executives. Um especially CFOs, engagements all of always follow three stages. Number one, discovery, number two, implementation. Number three, business as usual. So discovery is when you first meet the client, you find out the bit the best fit, all that kind of good stuff. And then implementation might take one to three months because you're coming in as that fractional executive, you might have a lot of things to fix, kind of thing. In my case, if I'm coming into a company and they've not really had that kind of high-level CFO experience before, we might have we might be spending the entire first month cleaning up data. Because with finance, as many out as with many other sectors, it's garbage in, garbage out. I can do all the fancy analysis, all the fancy forecasts, budgets, pretty pictures and charts, all that kind of good stuff. But unless the data is clean, the output is is just going to be fantasy. So first month is always kind of a cleanup, then you would move on to month two, which we'd be getting a little bit further in the implementation, bringing in these budgets, bringing in these forecasts, bringing in these non-financial KPIs. And then month three, once we've got the clean data, once we've got our initial baseline, then we would start linking finance to strategy and working on our short, medium, long-term plans. And then at the business as usual stage, the fractional exec should be said, okay, look, we have finished implementation. This is what the journey looks like going forward. It's not up to the business to drive the engagement, it's up to the fractional CFO to drive the engagement.

Kieran Gilmurray: 17:08

Okay, makes sense. Uh right. What is the future, though, of fractional work? We've had the gig economy for decades. You and I are the oldest gig economy people that I've seen in a while. So, what is the future? What are what are businesses or we expect to see?

Kevin Steele: 17:24

Yeah, I would say um fractional CFO is not going anywhere. It's only going to get more and more prevalent, in my opinion. Um, the barriers to starting as a fractional executive are only getting lower and lower, especially with the kind of advance of AI, etc. kind of thing. Um, so I think fractional execs are going to just kind of get more and more prevalent, but with that comes an issue, and that issue links back to what we mentioned previously credibility. Anybody can call themselves a fractional exec. So I think we're going to see a lot more, but are we going to see a lot more good ones? I don't know.

Kieran Gilmurray: 18:05

Yeah, and that is the problem. Are they a fractional exec uh uh exec with chat GPT in their pocket? Exactly. Or are they very, very good? Again, goes back to the thing we said a moment ago, you know, your due diligence is key. No shortcuts in this world at all. So, Kevin, how might uh people learn a little bit more about you?

Kevin Steele: 18:22

Yeah, so um to learn a little bit more about me, people can um look me up on LinkedIn, um Kevin Steele, uh, or I think my LinkedIn's uh Kevin Steele84, I believe. You can search it that way. Uh, I also set up a little YouTube channel recently, uh, which is at Steele S T W L C F O, where um I do live Ask Me Anything webinars, and I also do kind of deep dive discovery sessions on on how I actually run client engagements. I show my full process. I'm quite happy to share information with other fractionals. I believe if I if I help people, the world will do me a favor in the future. Maybe what maybe somebody I've helped might refer a client to me. If not, I'm building my network even more and more. So, yeah, best places would be uh LinkedIn and uh my little new YouTube channel, which has two or three videos now, and I hope to grow in the future.

Kieran Gilmurray: 19:17

It's down to consistency, it's consistency, consistency. Look, having worked with Kevin for the last numbers of years, you know, I I can't help but recommend him. Him and I share the same values as fractional, you know, all boats rise on a floating tide. But Kevin brings, like myself, brings businesses the expertise that just isn't available, you know, somewhere else. We're not talking about PL or posting help, that you can do yourself. It really is about strategy, business analysis, you know, and business analysis is the financial and non-financial, you know, visualized, made easy to understand, getting that high-level finance expertise to join your monthly board meeting to explain the data, provide an unbiased expert opinion to help push and challenge you, where maybe your internal staff cannot on key decisions, business business problems, you know, your budget, your forecast, whatever your future is going to be, you need someone who comes in who has real expertise, who's been there and done that, who is getting that constant exposure to other businesses and other sectors, because the more ingredients you put in, the less boring the cake becomes over time.

Kevin Steele: 20:21

Exactly. I would I would totally agree with that. And and one uh one quick thing to end on as well is um just to link to what you said there. One of the key things that businesses want and really value from a fractional executive is simply another adult at the table.

Kieran Gilmurray: 20:38

Yeah, and then and in fairness to the internal business, it's not the people don't want to be the adult, it's the fact that their job is entirely dependent on it. They're they're 20 days a week, end of month, payroll, and as we said, slightly more expensive when it when it's there. So you get why the the that might they may not get the adult. That's down to leadership as well. But look, folks, Kevin inspired me to become a fractional CTO, C A I O. And whilst this career won't suit everyone, and for lots of you, you shouldn't pursue it even if you want it, if you don't have the expertise to give to your client, it is an area that we're employers will increasingly look to. I wish you every success. If you want to follow, follow online. I'll put all the links to everything we're doing in the body of the message that you can find out more about Kevin, more about myself, and more about Fractional. Thanks very much for joining AI Unscripted this week.

Kevin Steele: 21:29

Thanks, guys.