Guide · Tierpoint Partners · September 2026

Most interim appointments are made under pressure. A resignation arrives, an audit deadline approaches, or a transaction moves faster than planned, and the finance team needs experienced support within weeks rather than months. The organisations that get the most from interim support recognise the trigger early and are clear about what the appointment must achieve.

In our experience, the case for an interim is strongest in three situations.

When a key role falls vacant

Resignations, parental leave, long-term absence and restructures can leave a finance team without a key member at short notice. Changes at the top of finance functions are now frequent: global CFO appointments reached a seven-year high in 2025, with 316 incoming CFOs across the major indices tracked by Russell Reynolds Associates [1].

The instinct is to fill the vacancy permanently as quickly as possible, and this is where costly mistakes are made. Senior finance professionals typically have notice periods measured in months, so rushing the search rarely gets someone in the seat sooner; it only narrows the field. An interim keeps reporting, controls and continuity in place while the permanent appointment is made with care.

That matters more from next year. The Employment Rights Act 2025 reduces the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from two years to six months and removes the cap on compensation [2], so getting a permanent appointment wrong will become more expensive.

When workload outgrows the team

Year-end, audit, reforecasts, backlogs and newly acquired entities can stretch a finance team beyond its capacity, and 2026 adds more than usual.

Amendments to FRS 102 bring most leases onto the balance sheet for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026 [3]. For companies with a 31 March year end, the first affected accounts will be for the year ending 31 March 2027 [4]. Listed companies are also preparing their first board declarations on the effectiveness of material controls under Provision 29, with the first reports due in 2027 [5].

Interim capacity lets the permanent team stay focused on its core responsibilities, without adding permanent headcount for a temporary peak. Employers have used this approach throughout the year: when confidence fell in the spring, businesses that needed more staff turned to flexible solutions rather than permanent hires [6].

When change calls for specialist experience

Some work needs experience that most finance teams do not hold internally, because it happens too rarely to justify a permanent hire. Examples include:

• ERP and systems change

• acquisitions and integration

• close improvement and automation

• cost and working capital programmes

• refinancing

Several of these are pressing now. SAP's mainstream maintenance for ERP 6.0 enhancement packages 6 to 8 runs only until the end of 2027 [7]. In the Midlands, bolt-on acquisitions made up 67% of private equity deals in the first half of the year, and each of them needs integrating [8].

The value of an interim here lies in having delivered the same kind of programme before. Providers report that clients increasingly favour candidates who can show immediate relevance to the specific challenge [9]. The average interim assignment now lasts ten months [9], which in our view reflects remits that go well beyond short-term cover.

When interim is not the right answer

Interim support is not always the best choice, and it is worth knowing when to look elsewhere:

• The role is enduring and the business can wait for the right person. A well-run permanent search is usually better value.

• The need is senior oversight for a few days a month rather than full-time ownership. A fractional arrangement may suit better.

• The problem has not yet been defined. An interim will struggle to deliver without a clear brief, so scope the work first.

Before you appoint

Four questions sharpen any interim brief:

1. What must be true at the end of the assignment?

2. Which decisions will the interim own, and to whom will they report?

3. Where has the individual delivered the same work before, and who can confirm it?

4. How will knowledge be handed back to the permanent team?

Clear answers shorten the search and make it much easier to judge whether the appointment has succeeded.

If you are considering interim support, we are happy to talk it through, including whether interim is the right answer for your situation.

References

1. Russell Reynolds Associates, Global CFO appointments hit seven-year high in 2025, 11 February 2026. https://www.russellreynolds.com/en/about/newsroom/global-cfo-appointments-hit-seven-year-high-in-2025

2. Slaughter and May, Implementing the Employment Rights Act 2025, 2026. https://www.slaughterandmay.com/horizon-scanning/2026/governance-and-sustainability/implementing-the-employment-rights-act-2025/

3. PwC Viewpoint, Amendments to FRS 102 on lease accounting. https://viewpoint.pwc.com/dt/uk/en/pwc/uk_in_depths/uk_in_depths_UK/amendments-to-frs-102.html

4. Cowgills, FRS 102 overhaul 2026, July 2026. https://www.cowgills.co.uk/news/frs-102-overhaul-2026-important-changes-for-businesses/

5. Financial Reporting Council, Provision 29 mythbuster. https://www.frc.org.uk/docs/9097/html/

6. KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs, June 2026. https://kpmg.com/uk/en/media/press-releases/2026/06/kpmg-and-rec-uk-report-on-jobs.html

7. LeverX, SAP ECC End of Support 2027 UK. https://leverx.com/en-gb/blog/sap-ecc-end-of-support-2027-uk

8. Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, UK private equity interest in the Midlands dips in the first half of 2026 (KPMG Private Equity Pulse), 7 August 2026. https://www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com/resource/uk-private-equity-interest-in-the-midlands-dips-in-the-first-half-of-2026-report.html

9. Institute of Interim Management, Interim Management Survey 2026, as summarised by Stanton House, 16 June 2026. https://www.stantonhouse.com/career-resources/interim-management-survey-2026-challenges-insights-and-what-comes-next