What support does my business need?
Accountant or part-time finance director?
Your accountant usually does your accounts and tax, and may also give advice and monthly figures. A part-time finance director works inside the business for a set number of days a month on plans, budgets, funding and finance decisions.
The short answer
If you need accounts and tax done, an accountant is where to start. A part-time finance director is an extra layer some businesses add when they are borrowing, raising money, growing quickly or planning a sale. Before adding one, ask whether your accountant can give you more, such as monthly figures and a cash flow forecast. That may be enough.
How they compare
| Accountant | Part-time finance director | |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Accounts and tax, often with advice, and sometimes monthly figures and forecasts | Plans, budgets, funding, cash and finance decisions |
| Where they sit | Outside the business, as an adviser | Works with the owners as part of the management team, for agreed days |
| How often | From a few times a year to monthly, depending on what you agree | A set number of days or hours each month, as agreed |
| Examples of work | Annual accounts, Corporation Tax or Self Assessment, VAT, payroll, tax planning | Cash flow forecasts, budgets, lender and investor talks, pricing and hiring plans, finance processes |
| Cost | We have not found a reliable published source for either, so we give no figures. See How accountancy fees work. | |
These are differences in focus, not fixed rules. The ICAEW says its chartered accountants can help with cash flow management and can advise on budgets and on getting figures for profit and loss more often than once a year.1 Some accountancy firms also offer part-time finance director support.
Which may fit
Your accountant may be enough if you mainly need accounts and tax done well, and you can get any figures you need during the year from them.
Better reporting may be the next step if you want to see profit and cash each month but do not need someone to help run the finances. Ask your accountant for management accounts, or see Accountant or management accountant?
A part-time finance director may help if:
- a lender or investor wants forecasts and regular reporting, and you need someone to own them;
- you are deciding whether you can afford new staff, premises or equipment and want someone to test the numbers with you;
- you are planning to raise money, buy a business or sell;
- the business has outgrown yearly accounts alone but is not ready for a full-time finance director.
When you may need both
A part-time finance director need not replace your accountant. A business that uses one can keep its accountant for the yearly accounts and tax returns. If you use both, agree who keeps the books, who prepares the monthly figures, and who talks to HMRC, so nothing is done twice or missed.
Questions to ask
- Ask your accountant first: can you provide monthly figures and a cash flow forecast, and what would it cost?
- Ask a part-time finance director: how many days a month do you think we need, and why?
- What will we have after three months that we do not have now?
- How will you work with our current accountant?
- Do you hold a professional accountancy qualification, and with which body?
More detail on the role: Part-time finance director.
Sources
- ICAEW, "Managing your business" (Find a Chartered Accountant, help with your business). icaew.com. Checked 12 October 2026.