Find the best Chief Financial Officers in Berlin matched in minutes from 15,000 CVs with the power of AI.
Need help with cash flow planning, fundraising support, reporting, or a finance transformation? Get a CFO who can step into board discussions, improve control, and guide the business through change. Fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.
About the role
What they do
A freelance Chief Financial Officer takes ownership of the finance function when a company needs senior judgment without a permanent hire. They shape planning, reporting, treasury, funding strategy, and decision support for the founder team or board.
- Build and review budgets, forecasts, and cash flow plans
- Improve monthly reporting, management dashboards, and board packs
- Support fundraising, lender discussions, and investor updates
- Strengthen controls, processes, and finance team structure
- Guide pricing, margins, working capital, and scenario planning
Core skills
Strong CFOs combine commercial thinking with clean financial control. They know how to turn raw numbers into decisions, explain risk clearly, and keep leadership aligned on the facts.
- Financial planning and analysis
- Controlling, accounting oversight, and close management
- Liquidity management and treasury basics
- Investor, bank, and board communication
- ERP and reporting tools such as SAP, DATEV, NetSuite, or Microsoft Dynamics
When to bring one in
Companies hire a CFO on a freelance basis during growth, restructuring, fundraising, acquisition work, or a finance team gap. It also makes sense when the current setup is too informal and the business needs stronger discipline fast.
Berlin companies often look for support when they are scaling in tech, ecommerce, media, mobility, or industrial services. A freelance CFO can work on-site when board meetings or sensitive changes need it, and remotely for reporting, analysis, and planning.
What sets them apart
A strong Chief Financial Officer is not just a senior accountant. They connect numbers with strategy, challenge assumptions, and know when to simplify instead of overbuild.
- Clear communication with founders, investors, banks, and department leads
- Practical approach to systems, controls, and process design
- Confidence in restructuring, fundraising, M&A, and post-deal integration
- Ability to stay calm when cash, margins, or deadlines are under pressure
Adjacent titles
Searches for this role often include CFO, finance director, and interim CFO. In some companies, head of finance or VP Finance covers a similar scope, especially when the person owns planning, reporting, and leadership of the finance function.
For freelancers, the best assignments are the ones where the mandate is clear. Typical work includes setting up a monthly close, preparing board reporting, supporting an audit, or stepping in as interim finance lead until a permanent hire is in place.
Good fit signals
You likely need this role if finance reports are late, cash visibility is weak, or the leadership team cannot agree on the numbers. It is also a strong fit if investors expect tighter governance or if a growth plan needs more structure.
A good freelance CFO should leave behind better decisions, clearer reporting, and a finance function that the business can keep using after the engagement ends.
Meet FRATCH Chief Financial Officers
Philipp Einsele
Finance Manager
Last position:
Finance Manager at Gesellschaft im Wandel gGmbH
- Preparation of monthly and annual financial statements (HGB)
- Forecasting, budgeting and liquidity planning
- Supervision of the use of funds
- Cooperation with funding agencies, auditors, and tax advisors
Massimo Garau
Finance Director
Last position:
Chief Financial Officer at Veganz Group AG
Financial restructuring of the company: extension of the bond after negotiating with creditors, crowdfunding financing, factoring, sale and leaseback, goods purchase financing, a convertible bond, two capital increases and an equity line, sale of a subsidiary
Achieved: increased the equity ratio by 12 percentage points and reached the first positive EBITDA
Prepared financial plans, presented them to investors, negotiated terms and handled the technical implementation
Reduced fixed costs by about 35% to lower the break-even point by identifying cost-saving opportunities, optimizing processes and implementing with the team
Fabian Walther
Fractional CFO & Accounting: Strategic leadership and operational implementation
Last position:
Chief Financial Officer & Investor at Experimental Game AG
- Organization of financial accounting, controlling, HR, administration, and legal
- Investor reporting and annual financial statement coordination
- Legal form change from GmbH to AG
- Organization and execution of multiple financing rounds
- Development of business models
Friedemann Jaeger
Freelance Interim CFO
Last position:
Freelance Interim CFO at Fairsenden GmbH
- Forecasting, controlling and business planning of entire business.
- Support strategic development of business and pricing model.
- Support daily accounting and contract workstreams.
Volker Asmus
Interim CFO
Last position:
Interim CFO at Medical Modules GmbH (Part of MK Kliniken AG)
- Company focus: Manufacturing of modular emergency hospital containers
- Administration, finance and controlling
- Build up all processes, procedures, systems and structures in Germany as headquarters
- Post-acquisition integration of a manufacturing plant in Spain
- Setting up a greenfield plant in Serbia
- Reporting line: CEO
Frederike Beha
Empowering Impact Driven Teams | Quattra One | Interim COO & CFO
Last position:
Founding Partner at Quattra One
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Chief Financial Officers statistics
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
22 years
Position duration
3.3 years
Positions per freelancer
10
Top business areas
Finance, Strategy, Accounting
Top industries
Professional Services, Manufacturing, Automotive
Certification focus areas
Quality Assurance, Human Resources, Operations
Bachelor's degree or higher
100%
Master's degree or higher
100%
Doctorate
40%
Certifications per freelancer
1
Most common languages
German, English, Spanish
Speak two or more languages
100%
Daily Rate Distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Average rates for Chief Financial Officers & Seniority distribution
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Frequently Asked Questions
Curious about FRATCH? Find the answers you need
A Chief Financial Officer handles the senior finance agenda, not just bookkeeping or monthly close. That usually means forecasting, cash control, board reporting, funding support, and advising leadership on margins, growth, and risk. In a freelance setup, the scope is often sharper and tied to a specific business problem.
A CFO freelancer is often the better choice when you need senior finance leadership now, but the role is not yet stable enough for a full-time hire. This is common during fundraising, restructuring, rapid growth, or a gap after a departure. It also helps when you want an experienced interim leader before you define the long-term structure.
A strong Chief Financial Officer needs more than technical accounting knowledge. Look for financial planning, cash management, board communication, systems thinking, and the ability to turn uncertain data into clear decisions. The best candidates can work with founders, investors, lenders, and operational teams without losing the thread.
A Chief Financial Officer owns the finance strategy and leadership layer, while a controller is usually more focused on accounting quality, close, and compliance. A finance manager may run reporting and parts of planning, but not always the full commercial and strategic remit. If the company needs someone to shape decisions at leadership level, CFO is the right title.
If you are hiring an interim CFO in Berlin, ask what type of companies they have supported, which reporting systems they know, and how they work with founders and boards. It also helps to clarify whether you need them on-site for leadership meetings or mainly remote for analysis and reporting. In Berlin, many companies want someone who can move easily between international communication and local execution.
A finance director or CFO can often do a lot remotely, especially forecasting, reporting, and preparation for board meetings. On-site time becomes more important when the work involves team leadership, sensitive change, stakeholder alignment, or investor sessions. Many engagements use a hybrid setup so the company gets both focus and presence.
A strong CFO can explain what they improved, not just what they managed. Look for clear examples of better visibility, tighter cash control, cleaner reporting, or stronger decision support. Good candidates also ask smart questions about ownership, deadlines, systems, and who will use the numbers.
A Chief Financial Officer freelancer often joins for funding rounds, cash planning, restructuring, audit preparation, systems improvement, or a management reporting reset. They may also act as a temporary finance lead while you search for a permanent hire. The best projects have a defined outcome and a clear handover plan.
The average hourly rate for Chief Financial Officers in Berlin is 158 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 1,267 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers working as Chief Financial Officers in Berlin, 100% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 100% hold at least a Master's degree, and 40% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers working as Chief Financial Officers in Berlin have 22 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 3.3 years.
The most common languages among freelancers working as Chief Financial Officers in Berlin are German (100%), English (100%), and Spanish (50%).
The most common industries among freelancers working as Chief Financial Officers in Berlin are Professional Services (100%), Manufacturing (83%), and Automotive (50%).
The most common business areas among freelancers working as Chief Financial Officers in Berlin are Finance (100%), Strategy (100%), and Accounting (83%).
FRATCH Chief Financial Officers main locations
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
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