Interim Controller

Your controller just left. The close cannot wait.

When the controller seat is empty, the problems compound quickly: the close slips, reconciliations pile up, the lender package goes out late, and the team does not know who to ask. A rushed permanent hire often makes it worse.

Metric & Margin steps in quickly with a senior, hands-on interim controller who keeps the function running, fixes what is broken, and hands off a stronger department to your permanent hire.

When interim controller support fits

• Your controller resigned, retired, or was let go, and a search will take months.

• Month-end close has stretched and financial statements arrive late.

• An audit, lender review, or sponsor reporting deadline is approaching.

• Rapid growth, a new plant, or an acquisition has outpaced the accounting team.

• An ERP conversion has left balances, inventory, or costing unreliable.

• Leadership has lost confidence in the numbers.

What we take over

Month-end close. Own the close calendar, journal entries, accruals, and review so statements go out on schedule.

Reconciliations and balance-sheet cleanup. Clear the backlog and put a monthly reconciliation routine in place.

Inventory and costing. Cutoff, physical counts, inventory valuation, and variance analysis that operations and finance agree on.

Reporting. Monthly financials, management and sponsor packages, and lender and covenant reporting.

Audit and tax readiness. Schedules, support, and auditor coordination.

Team and controls. Day-to-day leadership of AP, AR, payroll, and staff accountants, with approvals and segregation of duties tightened along the way.

How it works

1. Week 1: Take ownership of the close and the immediate deadlines. Identify what is behind and what is at risk.

2. Weeks 2 to 6: Catch up reconciliations, stabilize reporting, and document the close process.

3. Ongoing: Run the function, fix the root causes, and prepare the role for a permanent hire.

4. Handoff: Help define the permanent role, support interviews if you want, and transition a documented process to your new controller.

Coverage is full time, part time, or on site and remote, depending on what the situation requires. Pricing is customized after a confidential discovery conversation.

Track record

We have led the controller function at PE-owned and privately held companies. At a €200M shipbuilder we cut the monthly close from 35 days to 5, and at a PE-backed rental company from 30 days to 15, while keeping statements accurate and audit-ready. Read the full close case study

Common questions

How quickly can you start? Within days for urgent coverage. A planned start is usually within two weeks of signing.

Will you just keep the lights on, or improve things? Both. The first priority is a reliable close. Once that is stable, we fix the causes so your permanent controller inherits a better process.

Can you work with our CFO, owner, or PE operating partner? Yes. We report to whoever owns finance today and keep them informed on progress and risks.

What if we need more than a controller? If the business also needs forecasting, cash leadership, or sponsor-level reporting, fractional CFO support can be added to the same engagement.

Need coverage now?

Start with a complimentary, confidential 20-minute Finance Health Check, and we will tell you exactly how we would cover the gap.