Inside a Fractional CFO Career: Flexibility, Reality, and Impact with Rachel Smith, CFO at RLS Finance

Episode notes

Fractional CFO roles are talked about more than ever, but what does the reality actually look like? In this episode of The Finance Sea t, Headstar Managing Director, James Roach, speaks with Rachel Smith , Fractional CFO at RLS Finance, about her journey from corporate finance into a portfolio career and what that shift really involves. They explore how fractional careers develop over time, the challenge of managing multiple clients and priorities, and why setting boundaries is essential if you want the model to work. Rachel also shares how she has shaped her work towards the areas she enjoys most, and why being comfortable with uncertainty is part of the role. If you are thinking about going fractional or working with a fractional CFO, this episode gives a clear and practical view of how it actually works in practice. Rachel Smith is a Fractional CFO at RLS Finance, working with a range of growing businesses to provide strategic finance support, from financial planning and business partnering through to supporting key decision making.