Fractional CFO / Controller (20–30 Hours/Week)
Family-Owned Restaurant & Food Distribution Group
Location: Preference for candidates located in Florida; open to strong talent across the Southeastern U.S.
Schedule: Fractional (20–30 hours per week) with potential to convert into full-time as the business continues to scale
Industry: Multi-Unit Restaurants, Retail Food Service, Ready-Made Meal Distribution, Meal-Prep Subscription Services
Reporting To: Ownership Group / CEO
Overview
Our client, a rapidly growing family-owned restaurant and food distribution group, is seeking a Fractional CFO / Controller to provide hands-on financial leadership during a period of expansion and operational modernization. The company operates both retail restaurant brands and a multi-state food distribution business that supplies ready-made meals and meal-prep boxes to consumers and commercial partners.
As the organization scales locations, expands distribution channels, and evaluates future growth opportunities, the finance function requires a seasoned leader who can bring structure, accuracy, discipline, and strategic insight. This role is fractional to start (20–30 hours per week), with strong potential to transition into a full-time leadership role as the business continues to grow.
Position Summary
The Fractional CFO / Controller will oversee financial operations across all business units—restaurant, retail, production, and distribution. This individual will serve as a strategic partner to ownership while also being highly execution-oriented: establishing strong financial controls, improving reporting cadence, optimizing cash flow, and building scalable processes capable of supporting a growing multi-entity organization.
This is an ideal opportunity for an entrepreneurial finance leader who thrives in family-owned, hands-on environments and understands the financial complexities of both restaurants and food distribution.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Leadership & Advisory
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the ownership team on financial strategy, performance trends, profitability, and growth opportunities.
- Build a transparent, organized finance function with reliable reporting, budgeting, and forecasting disciplines.
- Develop financial models to evaluate new restaurant openings, distribution expansions, and potential new service lines.
Financial Operations & Controls
- Oversee month-end close, general ledger integrity, reconciliations, and financial statement preparation across all entities.
- Implement and standardize accounting processes across restaurant units and distribution operations.
- Improve inventory costing, COGS tracking, margin analysis, and unit-level profitability reporting.
- Build controls around cash management, purchasing, vendor payments, and revenue recognition.
Budgeting, Forecasting & Performance Management
- Create an annual budgeting process that aligns with operational realities across retail, production, and distribution.
- Produce weekly and monthly dashboards highlighting KPIs such as labor costs, food costs, margin trends, production throughput, delivery efficiency, and subscription metrics.
- Implement forecasting tools to anticipate working-capital needs and support expansion planning.
Cash Flow & Working Capital Management
- Manage cash flow forecasting and scenario planning as the business scales.
- Improve AP/AR processes, optimize vendor terms, and reduce cash-flow volatility.
- Support capital planning, including equipment purchases, new location budgeting, and distribution capacity expansions.
Systems, Reporting & Technology
- Evaluate current accounting, POS, and inventory systems; recommend upgrades or integrations as needed for scalability.
- Ensure data accuracy between restaurant POS platforms, production systems, and financial reporting.
- Build consolidated reporting across multiple legal entities and business lines.
Strategic Initiatives
- Support pricing strategy, cost-optimization initiatives, and menu analysis to drive profitability.
- Assist with supply-chain cost tracking and operational efficiencies across ordering, prep, and distribution.
- Build financial infrastructure capable of supporting a future full-time CFO/Controller role as the company expands.
Qualifications
- 7+ years of progressive accounting & finance experience; experience as a Controller, Director of Finance, or CFO preferred.
- Strong background in restaurant, retail food service, food manufacturing, or food distribution required.
- Experience working with multi-unit organizations, franchise systems, or multi-entity structures.
- Hands-on operator who enjoys building processes and wearing multiple hats.
- Proficiency with restaurant POS systems, inventory platforms, and accounting software (QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage, etc.).
- Strong analytical skills and ability to turn data into actionable insights.
- Excellent communication, organization, and ability to work directly with ownership teams.
- Based in Florida or Southeastern U.S. with ability to travel periodically to headquarters.
Why This Opportunity
- Join a family-owned organization with strong values and a clear vision for growth.
- Shape the finance function from the ground up and build the long-term model.
- Work across dynamic business lines—restaurants, retail, distribution, meal prep—and influence strategic decision-making.
- Opportunity for the role to evolve into a full-time executive position as expansion continues.
