Finance organizations can’t afford to lose momentum when leadership changes, acquisitions close, or transformation is required. Plus, hiring permanent executives often takes months, time that organizations undergoing change cannot afford to lose. Interim Management has evolved from a temporary staffing solution into a strategic lever that helps companies maintain momentum, fill gaps across the Office of the CFO, and accelerate enterprise value creation during periods of change.

On a recent episode of the FP&A Unlocked podcast, I was thrilled to be joined by co-host Paul Barnhurst and our guest, Tim Stallkamp, Senior Managing Director of Interim Management at Riveron, to discuss why Interim Management has become an increasingly important strategy for organizations navigating finance transformations, leadership transitions, and accelerated growth.

When considering engaging new or interim leaders at an organization, it’s important to level-set on what Interim Management is and how it differs from bringing in a fractional professional.

What is Interim Management—and how is it different from fractional roles?

Interim management involves temporarily placing experienced finance and other experienced professionals into organizations to provide executive leadership during periods of transformation, transition, or operational complexity. Rather than replacing existing leaders, interim professionals often supplement leadership teams to accelerate value creation, improve processes, and guide decision-making. The goal is to leave companies stronger and enable the office of the CFO to modernize, drive faster decision making, and better position the company for long-term success once the engagement concludes.

When people learn I’m part of Riveron’s Interim Management team, they often confuse Interim Management with Fractional Management.  Here’s a quick comparison of the two:

Interim Management	Fractional Management
One client at a time	Many clients at a time
Engagements typically less than 1 year	Engagements often for multiple years
Acts as a full-time employee of the company	Part-time employee, hours will vary based on needs
Structured transition at the end of the engagement for smooth hand-off	Indefinite timeframe often leads to inconsistent transition and hasty decisions
Objective is to strengthen the organization and create measurable value	Objective is to keep the lights on and maintain finance operational standards

The growth of Interim Management over the last decade

On the podcast, Tim correctly points to the dramatic growth in Interim Management over the past decade, primarily driven by private equity’s expanding presence in the middle market. Private equity firms recognize that bringing specialized expertise into organizations on a temporary basis often generates faster results than lengthy internal hiring processes or continuing with talent gaps. 

Beyond private equity, companies across sectors now understand that external expertise for critical initiatives—ERP implementations, acquisitions, carve-outs, CFO transitions, restructurings, and IPO readiness—can’t pause while leadership vacancies are filled. Bringing in seasoned finance executives creates immediate value, making the higher cost of interim professionals justifiable through tangible outcomes rather than viewing interim roles simply as gap-fillers.

Many years ago, when a senior leader left the firm (either voluntarily or involuntarily), the stop-gap approach was to temporarily promote an internal employee to keep the consistency of the function and team. More recently, companies are seeing the value of an external leader who brings new ideas and upscales the department while a permanent executive search is underway.

Adding value: What makes a strong interim professional?

Breadth of experience trumps long, consistent work in one company or industry. The most successful interim professionals are what Paul referred to as “finance athletes”—those who have worked across multiple industries, varied company sizes, and disparate business models.  A CFO who has worked in several different industries can bring more problem-solving tools than someone with 20 years of deep experience in a single industry. 

This variety enables interim professionals to:

• Draw on diverse solutions from different business contexts
• Quickly understand complex situations and ask the right questions
• Learn new systems, data structure, and organizational complexities
• Challenge assumptions and introduce best practices from other organizations
• Create value from day one

Interestingly, this differs from permanent hiring, where companies often prioritize deep industry expertise over adaptability. Interim leaders succeed because they bring an outside perspective that accelerates decision-making and helps organizations avoid repeating familiar challenges.

Success drivers for Interim engagements

Successful engagements require clear communication protocols and defined expectations upfront. About one-third of Riveron’s opportunities are “rebound” clients who initially sought permanent hires elsewhere, then returned after realizing interim management better addressed their immediate business needs.

How the interim management engagement ends is equally important. A successful role concludes when that leader provides the documentation, institutional knowledge, and roadmap necessary for long-term success, coordinated with the incoming permanent professional. Too often, consulting projects focus on execution, but with Interim Management, a strong handoff is critical to success.

The future of Interim Management

The runway for Interim Management growth is substantial. As transaction activity picks up — including IPOs and M&A events— pressure on organizations increases, driving demand for experienced leaders who can navigate change quickly.  Emerging asset classes like private credit will also create additional opportunities.

Tim points out that technology advances should excite finance professionals, not threaten them. AI and increased data access will drive faster, more informed decision-making, requiring skilled professionals to interpret insights and guide strategy. The most effective interim professionals will blend:

• Deep financial and FP&A expertise
• Technology and systems fluency
• Change management capability
• Industry and cross-functional perspective

Interim Management has become far more than a temporary solution for leadership vacancies and has emerged as a strategic capability that enables organizations to strengthen the Office of the CFO, sustain momentum during periods of change, and accelerate enterprise value creation. For companies, it’s a pragmatic solution to fill critical gaps without the constraints of traditional hiring. As businesses face increasing complexity and pressure to move faster, both professionals and organizations benefit from interim management’s experienced leadership, objective perspective, and measurable results that leave finance organizations stronger than when the engagement began. 

Related insights

• Career Perspectives: Applying Experience in Finance Leadership and Interim Roles
• Navigating Complexity in the Office of the CFO: Insights from Interim Leadership in 4 Private Equity Cases
• 5 Common Misconceptions About CFOs in Growing and PE-Backed Businesses

Listen to the full podcast episode here.

The more experiences an individual has across industries and roles, the more effective they are in interim management. Breadth of expertise is key." – Tim Stallkamp