At some point, basic bookkeeping is no longer enough. The numbers add up, but they don’t answer the questions raised by the board of directors: Do we have enough liquidity for the next phase of expansion? What does this growth actually cost us? What information do we need to present to the bank?
These issues require a CFO. But a full-time CFO is rarely needed.
CFO as a Service means you get experienced financial management tailored to your company’s actual needs—from one day a month to two days a week.
The triggers are the same in almost all cases:
The last two points are related, and together they represent the most common scenario.
Many fiduciary mandates are structured on a lagging basis: The books are finalized after the end of the year, and the financial statements are issued in the spring or summer. Anyone discussing the 2025 financial statements in June 2026 is making decisions based on figures whose oldest entries date back a year and a half. That’s sufficient for tax returns. But it’s worthless when it comes to determining whether liquidity will last until the fall.
This is not a criticism of the fiduciary—he is doing what he was hired to do. It’s just that this does not serve as a management tool.
Budgets, forecasts, and scenarios that guide decisions rather than simply documenting them after the fact.
A rolling 13-week view. Anyone who uses it can spot a cash crunch weeks before it shows up on their bank statement—and still has room to maneuver.
Reports that show what needs to be decided—not just what has happened.
Preparation, execution, and follow-up negotiations: loan renewals, growth financing, investment rounds. From the equity story to the term sheet.
Preparation for a full or limited audit, management of the audit firm, and prompt finalization of findings.
What risks the company actually faces, who is responsible for them, and what measures take effect in an emergency—all documented in a way that stands up to scrutiny.
Acquisitions, Sales, Succession: Valuation, Due Diligence, Integration.
A digital financial solution that grows with your business—accounting, payroll, tools, automation.
A partner for management, owners, and the board of directors—before bank negotiations, before making an investment, before presenting a plan. Someone who knows the numbers and has no stake in the outcome of the decision.
Robert Half’s 2026 Salary Survey lists base salaries for Swiss CFOs ranging from CHF 199,750 to 368,000. Including employer contributions and bonuses, the total annual cost of hiring an in-house CFO is around CHF 250,000 to 300,000. A company with revenue between two and fifty million generally does not need this level of capacity. It needs the right 10 to 20 percent of that.
10 to 20 percent
CHF 25,000 to 60,000 per year
one to four days a month
the remaining 80 percent
CHF 250,000 to 300,000 per year
Base salary plus employer contributions and bonus
Source: Robert Half Salary Overview Switzerland 2026 (CHF 199,750–368,000 base salary), plus employer contributions.
Ongoing engagements are arranged as a monthly flat fee covering one to four days. You pay only for the days you use. No recruitment risk, no notice period, and no months-long search.
There is usually a one- to two-week period between the initial consultation and the start of treatment.
Twenty-eight years in financial management, most of that time as CFO—in Frankfurt, London, and Zurich; based in Switzerland since 2007. Responsible for balance sheets totaling up to one billion Swiss francs, audit committees, and financing negotiations on both sides of the table.
In addition, risk management and governance in regulated environments: For the Swiss division of a major international bank, I established a comprehensive risk management framework—spanning all subsidiaries and organizational units. A system that meets this standard will also withstand scrutiny by auditors or investors. Learn more about me and the firm
And something that’s rare in this line of work: technical expertise. Cloud accounting, automation, AI-powered analytics. The accounting platform is chosen based on your business’s needs, not my convenience—I work with several, including Run My Accounts.
These three are often confused. They solve different problems.
keeps the books, prepares the financial statements, and ensures that legal obligations are met. He looks back—accurately and reliably.
Fills a temporary full-time vacancy, such as after a sudden departure. He comes, bridges the gap, and leaves.
provides ongoing oversight, but only to the extent that is actually necessary. The fiduciary's figures serve as the basis for planning, pricing, financing, and decision-making.
Fiduciarys and CFO-as-a-Service are not substitutes for one another. They complement each other—and this is precisely the model TF Financial Services operates under. Anyone searching for the term “fractional CFO” is referring to the same service.
In practice, this applies to companies with revenue of around two million Swiss francs or more. However, the decisive factor is not so much the size of the company as whether there are decisions to be made for which current figures are insufficient. Financing, an audit, or succession planning—these issues can also affect smaller companies.
Assessment and liquidity overview. Next up is the 90-day plan. This means results will be available as early as the first week, not just at the end of the quarter.
Yes. Preparing for an audit, a meeting with a bank, or developing a liquidity plan—these are common starting points. You decide afterward whether this will lead to an ongoing engagement.
Generally speaking, yes. The fiduciary handles the bookkeeping; the mandate relies on this. A change is not a requirement.
Smaller than most people fear. A system migration takes place as of a specific date, usually the start of a fiscal year or quarter. The opening balance sheet, chart of accounts, outstanding accounts receivable and accounts payable, bank integration, and payroll master data are transferred.
You decide how much historical data to include. The opening balances from the previous year are typically entered so that reporting has a comparative figure starting from the first month. All the finer details—individual journal entries, older years—are a matter of practicality, not obligation: The archive remains part of the existing system, and the retention requirement is met as long as it remains accessible. What holds back a transition is rarely the technology. It’s the notion that everything absolutely must be included.
At the beginning, it takes half a day to a full day to gather documents and set up access. After that, the effort involved is minimal: a monthly meeting and a clean data feed are usually sufficient.
Then the transition is ready—planning, reporting, and processes are in place, and the requirements profile has been refined. Several projects have turned out exactly this way. This is not a failure—it is the goal.
TF Financial Services supports Swiss SMEs and startups based in Binz (ZH). If your company is facing any of the questions listed above, we’ll address them during an initial consultation—free of charge and with no obligation.
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