Part-time CFO · Alpes-Maritimes & remote
Senior financial leadership, at your pace.
From small businesses to mid-caps, Asteria Management gives companies across the Alpes-Maritimes the expertise of a seasoned CFO, without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
New engagements: by appointment
- years in corporate finance
- 20+
- on site across the Alpes-Maritimes
- Riviera
- bilingual engagements
- FR · EN
Why a part-time CFO
The right level of expertise, exactly when you need it.
Between your accountant, who secures compliance, and a full-time CFO, often premature, there is a more agile way.
Senior expertise, now
An experienced CFO, up and running within days, with no months-long recruitment process.
Controlled cost
You only pay for the time you actually need: a fraction of the fully loaded cost of a salaried CFO, with no long commitment.
Full flexibility
The workload adapts to what is happening: year-end close, fundraising, rapid growth or a transition period.
Outside perspective
An independent view to challenge your numbers, inform your decisions and reassure your financial partners.
Signs it is time to get support
Whatever the size of your company, these situations call for a CFO’s eye.
- You only discover your profit in the annual accounts, months after year-end.
- Your bank is asking for a forecast or a cash-flow plan.
- Cash gets tight at the end of every season or every large project.
- You are preparing a funding round, an acquisition, a sale or a handover.
- Your accountant or CFO is leaving, or your tools no longer keep up with growth.
- You spend your evenings on the numbers instead of growing the business.
Expertise
The whole finance function, from strategy to execution.
FP&A & reporting
Reliable metrics to make fast, sound decisions.
- Dashboards and KPIs
- Budget and reforecasts
- Board and shareholder reporting
Cash & financing
Anticipate cash needs and secure funding.
- Rolling cash-flow forecast
- Banks and Bpifrance relations
- Working capital optimisation
Fundraising
Prepare and support your funding round.
- Business plan and financial model
- Data room and due diligence
- Investor relations
Management control
Understand where value is created, and where it leaks.
- Margins and unit costs
- Profitability by business line or customer
- Variance analysis
Structuring & internal control
Robust processes that keep up with growth.
- Reliable monthly closes
- Procedures and approval rules
- Tool selection and rollout
Mergers & acquisitions
Secure your external growth deals.
- Financial due diligence
- Valuation and negotiation
- Post-merger integration
Engagement models
Three ways to work together.
- Most requested
Part-time CFO
A recurring presence, from a few days a month to several days a week, to hold the CFO role over time.
- Adjustable monthly volume
- On site and remote
- Single point of contact for the CEO
Project assignment
A defined project with a clear deliverable: fundraising, business plan, new reporting, system change.
- Agreed scope and timeline
- Fixed fee on quotation
- Knowledge transfer included
Interim management
Immediate cover after a departure, during an absence or a growth spurt, while you recruit and onboard your future CFO.
- Fast start
- Business continuity
- Help hiring your successor
Who it is for
From small businesses to mid-caps, a CFO sized for your company.
Five employees and five hundred do not need the same thing: the engagement is sized to your structure, your projects and your budget.
Fewer than 10 employees
Small and growing businesses
You handle the numbers alone, with an accountant focused on the annual accounts. A light engagement is enough to build a forecast, track cash and take a solid case to your bank.
10 to 250 employees
SMEs
Sharper margin steering, safer cash, a stronger accounting team or a business handover, before you are ready to hire a full-time CFO.
Seed to Series B
Startups & scale-ups
Structure finance, prepare funding rounds, make the most of the research tax credit and innovation grants, report to investors.
More than 250 employees
Mid-caps and subsidiaries of international groups
Project support, interim management, group reporting and English-speaking liaison with headquarters for subsidiaries based on the French Riviera.
Alpes-Maritimes
Local financial leadership, in the heart of the Riviera.
Based in the Alpes-Maritimes, I come to your offices, from the coast to the hinterland, and work remotely the rest of the time. Each local sector has its own financial challenges, and they are part of the diagnostic from day one.
On site, including
- Nice
- Sophia Antipolis
- Cannes
- Antibes
- Grasse
- Cagnes-sur-Mer
- Carros
- Menton
- Monaco
Tech & innovation
Around Sophia Antipolis and Nice: financial model, burn tracking, funding rounds, research tax credit and investor reporting.
Tourism, hotels & restaurants
A highly seasonal business: smooth cash over the year, fund off-season works, track margins by venue.
Industry, construction & trades
Unit costs, margin by project or job, working capital and banking relationships.
Retail, services & international
Trading, luxury, yachting, business services: inventory, margins, foreign customers, currencies and English-speaking support.
Funding to tap into
Banks, Bpifrance, Région Sud grants, honour loans from support networks, research or innovation tax credits: find the schemes that fit your project and put together solid applications.
Approach
A clear process, fast results.
Discovery call
30 minutes, no strings attached, to understand your context, challenges and priorities.
Quick diagnostic
An assessment of your finance function: numbers, processes, tools and team.
Roadmap
Prioritised actions, a timeline and an engagement model that fits your budget.
Delivery & handover
Execution, regular check-ins with leadership and upskilling of your team.
About
Célia Marchi, founder of Asteria Management
With more than twenty years of experience in corporate finance, I have held finance leadership roles in SMEs, startups and technology scale-ups, leading projects such as building the finance function, cash management, fundraising, management control and external growth deals.
I founded Asteria Management in 2020 on a simple belief: every business leader deserves a top-level financial partner, even before the company is ready for a full-time CFO.
Based in the Alpes-Maritimes, I work on site across the department and in Monaco, and remotely across France, in French or English.
Rigour
Reliable numbers, commitments kept.
Clarity
Finance that the whole leadership team can read.
Confidentiality
Complete discretion about your data and projects.
Pragmatism
Solutions sized for your company.
FAQ
What business leaders ask me most often.
What is a part-time CFO?
An experienced chief financial officer who works with several companies, a few days a month each. You get the same expertise as with a salaried CFO, sized to your actual needs. It is also called a fractional, outsourced or freelance CFO.
Is my company too small for a CFO?
Rarely. A small business does not need a CFO every week, but at certain moments it needs someone to build the forecast, anticipate cash and prepare the meeting with the bank. A project assignment or a light recurring presence covers that.
How much time should we plan for?
It depends on your size and projects: from two days a month for routine steering to two or three days a week during a fundraising or reorganisation. The pace is reviewed with you regularly.
How much does it cost?
Work is billed per day or as a fixed fee, on quotation. For the same scope, it costs far less than a full-time salaried CFO once payroll charges and recruitment are included.
How is this different from my accountant?
Your accountant secures bookkeeping and statutory obligations. A part-time CFO works alongside them but looks ahead: planning, forecasting, financing and decision support.
Do you travel across the Alpes-Maritimes?
Yes, from Menton to Cannes and from the coast to the hinterland, as well as Monaco. I combine on-site presence with remote work depending on your preferences and the topics at hand; remotely, I work across France.
Can you help us secure funding?
Yes. I prepare with you the forecast, cash-flow plan and file that banks, Bpifrance or investors expect, and support you in the discussions. The decision remains the funder’s.
How is confidentiality ensured?
A non-disclosure agreement can be signed from the very first conversation. Your data stays in your own tools and is never shared with third parties.
Do we need a long-term commitment?
No. Recurring engagements are monthly and adjustable; project assignments end when the deliverables are handed over.
Contact
Let’s talk about your financial challenges.
Tell me about your context in a few lines. I will reply personally and in confidence.
New engagements: by appointment
Prefer to write directly?