Our Integrator is currently holding both the Integrator seat and the Head of Finance seat on our Accountability Chart as we prepare for our exit. She is drop-kicking her operational oversight because she is bogged down in pre-exit financial audits. How do we solve this capacity issue without hiring an expensive full-time CFO?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

An Integrator holding two major leadership seats is a recipe for operational disaster, especially during pre-exit preparation. The Integrator seat requires full-time focus on driving execution, while the Finance seat requires deep analytical focus for M&A due diligence. No one can do both effectively at scale.

To solve this without a massive payroll hit, look at your Accountability Chart and split the roles.

You do not necessarily need a full-time, expensive CFO. Instead, keep the Head of Finance seat on your chart but redefine its roles to focus purely on high-level strategic oversight and exit preparation.

Then, look for a fractional CFO or an external accounting firm to execute the day-to-day transaction prep and audit work. This external resource will report directly to the Head of Finance seat.

By using a fractional resource, you keep your overhead low while freeing up your Integrator to focus entirely on running the business.

Once the fractional partner is in place, your Integrator can transition out of the daily finance work and maintain only strategic oversight, keeping her capacity aligned with her core seat.