Markets In Everything: Renting Chief Financial Officers by the Hour

From the WSJ (Hat Tip Jason Oberle):

Some small-business owners in need of accounting help to balance their books and guide them out of a financial black hole are renting CFOs rather than hiring them. The strategy comes at a time when the deep recession has forced small companies to look for money-saving alternatives that can yield good returns yet avoid substantial overhead costs.

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The average annual salary for a full-time CFO in a small- to medium-size businesses ranges from $94,250 to $175,750, according to a 2009 Salary Guide by Robert Half International Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif., staffing services firm that serves the accounting and finance fields. Renting one can be significantly cheaper.

B2B CFO Partners LLC, a Phoenix, Ariz., firm that has over 100 CFOs-for-rent, charges at least $300 to $400 per month for the service. The company has doubled the number of small- to mid-size business clients to 650 since 2007, says Jerry L. Mills, founder and chief executive.