This page is a single reference for interim and fractional day rates across the UK finance function in 2026 — every role in one table, with links to the detailed guide for each. It is deliberately an index rather than a deep dive: if you want the full picture for a specific seat, including what drives the rate up or down and how the engagements are structured, follow the guide link on that row.
On the figures. These are Accountancy Capital’s market observations from live assignments, rates offered and accepted, and candidate conversations across the qualified finance market at £50,000 and above. They are not survey results. Rates move with urgency, scarcity and duration — short-notice cover commands a premium, a comfortable six-month assignment a modest discount — so treat the ranges as a starting point for a conversation.
The rate card
| Role | London / South East | Regional UK | Detailed guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management Accountant | £250–£375 | £225–£325 | Guide |
| Financial Accountant | £275–£400 | £250–£350 | Guide |
| Finance Manager | £300–£450 | £275–£400 | Guide |
| Finance Business Partner | £350–£550 | £300–£450 | Guide |
| FP&A Manager | £400–£600 | £350–£500 | Guide |
| Financial Controller | £400–£600 | £350–£500 | Guide |
| Group Financial Controller | £500–£750 | £450–£625 | Guide |
| Head of Finance | £500–£750 | £450–£650 | Guide |
| Finance Director | £700–£1,200 | £600–£1,000 | Guide |
| CFO | £1,000–£1,400 | £850–£1,150 | Guide |
| Corporate Tax Manager | £450–£700 | £400–£600 | Guide |
| VAT Manager | £450–£700 | £400–£600 | Guide |
| CASS / Regulatory Reporting | £500–£800 | £450–£675 | Guide |
What moves a rate
Five factors explain most of the variation within a band, and knowing which apply to your assignment is the difference between a realistic rate and a stalled search.
Urgency. A start required this week prices above one required next month, and the premium is real rather than notional — the available pool at short notice is smaller.
Scarcity of the specific experience. Sector or technical requirements narrow the pool sharply. Consolidation, CASS oversight, regulatory reporting, a specific ERP or a first audit each price above the general band.
Duration. Longer assignments attract a modest discount; short assignments and part-week arrangements price higher per day, because the interim carries the gap between engagements.
Regulated environments. FCA-authorised firms typically pay 10–15% above the equivalent commercial rate, reflecting scarcity and the personal accountability the roles carry.
Location and on-site expectation. Fully on-site roles outside major centres price above hybrid equivalents, because they restrict who can take them.
Interim, fractional or permanent?
The rate card covers both interim and fractional engagements, and the distinction determines how the cost actually lands.
Interim is full-time and finite — a defined assignment with an end you can name: covering a departure, leading a transaction, building a function. The day rate applies across a full week.
Fractional is part-time and ongoing — one or two days a week indefinitely. Similar day rates, consumed at a fraction of a full week, which is why the annual cost sits well below a permanent equivalent. Our fractional practice covers the model.
Permanent is the comparison both should be measured against, and the arithmetic is the part employers most often get wrong. Compare a day rate to the fully loaded cost of employment rather than to a salary: a £75,000 Financial Controller costs an employer closer to £90,000 once National Insurance, pension and benefits are added — roughly £390 a day equivalent before any recruitment cost, holiday or notice period. Read that way, the interim premium is smaller than it appears and buys speed, flexibility and a clean ending. Our comparison of interim versus fractional finance works through the choice, and temporary, fixed-term and interim arrangements covers the contractual differences.
IR35 and engagement
Interim and fractional finance professionals are normally engaged through their own limited company or an umbrella arrangement rather than employed. For medium and large businesses the responsibility for determining status sits with the engager, and the determination must reflect the actual working arrangement rather than the contract label.
Two practical points. Blanket determinations are costly — they narrow the candidate pool and push up the rate the remaining contractors require, so they rarely save what they appear to. And the assessment should be done before advertising, not after offer, because status materially affects the net position and candidates will ask. HMRC’s off-payroll guidance is the primary source, and our guide to IR35 and employment tax covers the framework.
Getting value from an interim assignment
Three things separate assignments that deliver from those that merely fill a seat, and none of them is about the rate. Define the objective, not just the cover — “hold the fort” produces a caretaker; “get us through the audit, rebuild the reporting pack and leave a documented month-end process” produces a result. Give real authority from day one, because six months is too short to earn it the hard way. And plan the handover from the start: documentation, templates and a successor briefing should be deliverables rather than an afterthought, as our interim handover guide sets out.
The businesses that get most from interim finance treat it as a designed intervention with a defined output. Those that treat it as a gap being plugged pay the same rate for considerably less.
A Note from Our Founder — Adrian Lawrence FCA
The conversation I have most often about day rates is the one where a business compares an interim rate to a salary and concludes interim is expensive. It usually is not. Add employer’s National Insurance, pension, holiday, sick pay, the recruitment cost and the notice period, and a permanent hire costs far more per working day than the headline suggests — and carries a commitment you may not want for a need that ends. Where the requirement is genuinely time-bounded, the interim rate is buying speed and a clean exit, and both have real value. Where it is not time-bounded, hire permanently and stop paying for flexibility you are not using. The honest test is whether you can say when the engagement finishes.
Adrian Lawrence FCA
Founder, Accountancy Capital — Fellow of the ICAEW. Verify via ICAEW.
Related Recruitment & Guides
Accountancy Capital places finance professionals on interim, fractional and permanent assignments across the UK, with interim shortlists in 48–72 hours. Every search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA.
Practice Area
Interim Finance
Day-rate specialists for defined assignments.
→ Interim Accountancy Recruitment
→ Interim Financial Controller
Practice Area
Fractional Finance
Part-week senior capability, ongoing.
→ Fractional Financial Controller
Salary Data
Permanent Benchmarks
The salary comparison behind every day rate.
→ In-House Tax Manager Salary Guide
Employer Resources
Making It Work
Briefing, managing and handing over.
→ Tell Us About Your Requirement
Every search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder of Accountancy Capital and Fellow of the ICAEW. Call 0204 553 8893 or tell us about your requirement.
Need an interim or fractional finance professional?
Same-day response on every brief. Interim shortlists in 48–72 hours.