Relevant operating experience
Discuss work at a biotech company like yours, the actual responsibilities held, and the outcomes they personally owned. Company names are a starting point for verification.
Biotech · Fractional leadership
Hire a fractional biotech CFO
A fractional CFO for your biotech company will own financial planning, cash visibility, management reporting, and the financial decisions needed to support the operating plan.
Shape the engagement around your business, team, and next stage.
Relevant experience
Meet CFO talent with biotech experience
- Kirstie ASenior finance leader | Controller & Revenue Accounting | ASC 606, technical accounting, financial reporting, ERP & finance systems (Ramp, BlackLine, Workday, Oracle) | Modernizing finance workflows with AIThermo Fisher Scientific, Robert Half Technology, PwC
Fractional Controller & ASC 606 expert with 15+ years in revenue accounting, ERP, AI finance systems, and global reporting.
Hire Kirstie - Lisa CStrategic Finance Leader | US CPA | FP&A, Finance Transformation & Growth Strategy | Commercial Finance, Fundraising & Executive ReportingA.P. Moller - Maersk, PwC, CBIZ
Fractional CFO & US CPA with 15+ years in FP&A, finance transformation, SaaS, fintech, and health tech. Available US/EMEA.
Hire Lisa - Mathew MFractional CFO | Scaling financial operations | Financial leadership and advisory that spurs business growth | Stabilizing cashflow | Guiding companies through ownership changes | Creating cultures where talent thrivesMENARINI Group, ImmunoScape, Woodward Partners
Fractional CFO for startups & mid-market firms—funding, cashflow, ownership transitions, and finance strategy. Deloitte-trained leader.
Hire Mathew
Public profiles listing this role and experience at companies in this industry. This does not establish that they held this exact title at every company or are currently available.
The role
What a fractional biotech CFO does
A fractional biotech CFO serves therapeutics, diagnostics, medical device, and life sciences companies where capital is finite and clinical timelines are fixed. The role centers on keeping the operating plan honest against burn, milestone schedules, and investor expectations, often without predictable revenue to cushion decisions.
Clinical trial budget oversight
Build, monitor, and adjust clinical trial budgets. Track spend, milestone payments, and ensure alignment with regulatory and operational timelines.
Runway and dilution scenario modeling
Model cash runway across multiple trial phases and funding scenarios. Evaluate dilution impact of new capital raises and partnership deals.
Regulatory milestone finance planning
Align financial plans with key regulatory events like IND, NDA, and FDA submissions. Map spend and resourcing to each critical milestone.
Grant and non-dilutive funding strategy
Identify, budget, and track grants and non-dilutive funding sources. Ensure compliance and reporting for NIH, SBIR, and similar programs.
When to bring in leadership
When a biotech company needs a fractional CFO
Consider fractional leadership when these biotech priorities need an accountable owner, but the scope does not yet justify a full-time executive.
Navigating regulatory complexity
Leaders must manage FDA submissions, IND filings, and compliance requirements while advancing products through clinical milestones.
Securing and extending runway
Managing cash burn, planning financing rounds, and building investor confidence are critical to sustaining lengthy R&D cycles.
Aligning science and strategy
Balancing scientific priorities with commercial strategy requires leaders who can bridge technical teams, investors, and business goals.
What to look for
What to look for in a biotech CFO
Ask for examples of cash forecasting, management reporting, and financial controls for a comparable revenue model and company size.
The right scope for your team
Match the hands-on workload, internal team capacity, weekly commitment, and decision authority to your current company size.
A clear first 90 days
Review reporting quality and cash commitments, build a decision-ready forecast, and establish a consistent financial review cadence.
Pricing
What a fractional biotech CFO costs
Every Go Fractional engagement is structured for senior leadership without full-time overhead. Start fractional, scale up, or convert to full-time when you’re ready.
Most Popular
Fractional CFO
- Senior leadership on a part-time schedule
- Monthly retainer, no recruiting fees
- Scale hours up or down as needs change
$5,000/month
Starting at · about 28 hrs/month at the $176/hr average
Contract-to-Hire
Trial a Fractional CFO on a fractional engagement before converting them to a full-time hire.
- Keep the expert's learnings or convert to full-time
- Try the fit before you commit, no hiring risk
- Faster speed to market, conserving time and resources
Interim CFO
Full-time coverage for a defined stretch: a leadership gap, a transition, or a critical project.
$20,000/month
Starting at · full-time hours
Fractional CFO rates average $176/hr across our live benchmarks. Pricing scales with hours and scope.
CFO Hourly RatesSources and methodology
Activity window · 2025-11-11 to 2026-11-11 · refreshed hourly. Public and platform job postings and aggregated talent profiles are evaluated as separate sources. Talent aggregates include public and non-public profiles; individual profile cards only show public profiles. Rate benchmarks always use jobs published and profiles active in the last 90 days.
Industry and company size come from accepted company tags linked to matched Crustdata identities. 1,765 of 2,560 period job records have a qualifying industry classification. Unclassified records remain unknown. Industry and role groups overlap; their totals must not be added together.
Demand counts require at least 10 jobs across 5 companies. Talent counts require 10 distinct professionals active in the selected activity window. Roles are ranked separately by jobs and professionals with industry experience. Hire links can also appear with 3 relevant public profiles and authored hiring guidance. Each rate source requires at least 10 observed samples; employer-side prices also require 5 companies and no employer contributing more than 40% of samples. Percentile ranges require 20 samples. Estimated job prices are excluded. Averages are a weighted blend of our live benchmarks and are only published when an employer offer or talent asking rate independently qualifies.
Company-size comparisons use current tags for activity in the period, not historical size or funding stage. Profile rates describe professionals with industry experience, not rates charged to specific past employers. These platform observations are not a census of the fractional market.
Read the report methodologyView the latest published report. Live numbers may differ from its dated PDF.
From need to engagement
How to hire a fractional CFO for biotech companies
01
Define the business problem
Describe your biotech company, current team, and the decisions or deliverables that need an owner.
02
Evaluate relevant experience
Ask for examples of cash forecasting, management reporting, and financial controls for a comparable revenue model and company size.
03
Agree on scope and cadence
Set weekly commitment, decision rights, deliverables, and a review point before starting the engagement.
Before you hire
Frequently asked questions
How much does a fractional biotech CFO cost?
Fractional CFO engagements through Go Fractional start at $5,000 per month, which covers about 28 hours per month at the role's average rate. Interim CFOs working full-time hours start at $20,000 per month. Fractional CFO rates average $176/hr across our live benchmarks; your scope and weekly hours determine the final cost.
What does a fractional CFO do for biotech companies?
A fractional CFO leads financial planning, cash management, and reporting tailored to biotech’s unique clinical and regulatory landscape. They guide funding strategy, trial budgeting, and support investor and board communications.
How do you evaluate a biotech fractional CFO?
Look for experience with clinical trial finance, regulatory milestone planning, and capital raise modeling. Ask for examples managing trial budgets, grants, and investor reporting in early to growth-stage biotech settings.
What should a fractional biotech CFO cover in the first 90 days?
Review reporting quality and cash commitments, build a decision-ready forecast, and establish a consistent financial review cadence.
How does company size change a biotech CFO engagement?
Smaller teams may need direct execution alongside leadership. Larger teams may need coordination and specialist decisions. Agree on the specific scope, time commitment, and internal ownership rather than relying on headcount alone.
Build your next chapter
Find the right CFO for your biotech company.
Start with your priorities. Define the scope together.