Interim CFO — Carve-Out Liquidity and Financial Separation

Make the separated business financially operable

This interim CFO mandate concerns the cash and control requirements of an industrial business separating from shared arrangements. The appointee must establish what the standalone operation will need and ensure transaction assumptions translate into workable finance processes.

Validate the separation baseline

Reconstruct cash requirements, working capital and costs previously absorbed through shared functions. Identify intercompany balances, transitional services and obligations that may not be visible in historic management accounts. Distinguish recurring standalone costs from one-time separation expenditure.

Test what happens if a transitional service ends later than expected or cannot be replaced on the assumed terms. Examine whether opening working capital and available funding cover the actual operating cycle. A favourable transaction model does not establish that the separated business can manage its first months of cash and reporting.

Deliver an independent finance operation

Lead treasury readiness, reporting, payment processes and finance ownership through the transition. Coordinate with operations, systems teams and advisers so that customers can be billed, suppliers paid and cash monitored without a break in accountability. Make unresolved dependencies visible to the transaction and operating decision-makers.

The business should have reliable cash forecasts, owned balances, a functioning close process and a clear account of remaining transitional dependencies. Require the permanent team to demonstrate operation of critical processes before external support is withdrawn.

The CFO should explain the consequences of unresolved items in terms that support decisions about funding and timing. Legal, tax and transaction interpretations require appropriate specialist input; the interim executive remains accountable for translating those conclusions into an operationally credible finance plan.