Fractional CFO: financial management for a business using crypto-assets
Published 17/12/2024 · Updated 08/09/2026 · Houssen Issouf Aly, French chartered accountant
Crypto-assets · Companies · Directors
Practical guidance for companies and directors. Revised on 7 September 2026.
Start with the decisions the business needs to make
Your company receives stablecoins, holds assets on several platforms or is preparing a significant investment. A bank balance alone may not answer the director’s questions: what can we commit, which payments are approaching, and who approves expenditure? Fractional finance leadership can organise these answers without requiring a full-time hire.
Start with observable needs: outdated forecasts, late closes, incomplete records, unclear margins or dependence on one person. Fundraising is neither a prerequisite nor the only reason to organise the finance function.
Agree how the CFO and accountant work together
Strategy is not reserved for the CFO, and an accountant’s role is not limited to filing returns. The French professional accountancy body also describes advisory, reporting and cash-planning work. The division of responsibilities depends on the agreed engagement and the people involved.
Identify who prepares the records, checks consistency, models scenarios and makes decisions. Accounting, financial planning, payroll and legal advice should work together without duplication or unassigned tasks. Directors retain their decisions; any authority delegated to someone else must be clear.
- Accounting: supporting records, reconciliation and period-end work within the engagement.
- Planning: budgets, forecasts, variance analysis and decision papers.
- Execution: spending, payments and account access under explicit authority.
- Specialist input: legal, tax or technical questions referred to the appropriate adviser.
Ask for deliverables the team can use
A useful engagement produces records that people can understand and maintain. The following is a framework to adapt, not a standard package for every company.
A working cash forecast
A thirteen-week horizon can connect expected receipts with payroll, suppliers, taxes and planned investments. Each assumption needs a date, source and owner. An expected customer payment is not cash already received.
A focused management report
Choose indicators linked to actual decisions: margin, overdue invoices, committed expenditure, available cash and budget differences. For crypto-assets, distinguish legal ownership, provider and availability. Market value is not necessarily the amount immediately available to spend.
A decision record
After each review, record actions, owners and deadlines: chase an invoice, obtain an export, revise a budget or seek advice on a contract. Reporting is useful when the resulting decisions are followed through.
Example: distinguish liquidity from market value
Fictional case: a company has €90,000 in the bank and crypto-assets valued at €40,000. Over the next thirteen weeks it expects €75,000 of committed payments and €20,000 of customer receipts that have not yet arrived.
The projected bank balance is €35,000: €90,000 + €20,000 − €75,000. If the customers pay after the forecast horizon, it falls to €15,000. The €40,000 crypto value is not automatically added to available cash. Review availability, conversion terms, charges, execution price and the consequences of conversion first.
This is not an allocation recommendation. It demonstrates dependence on customer payment timing even when total assets appear comfortable.
Implement and review the engagement
- Scope: objectives, deliverables, contacts, access and meeting frequency.
- Reconcile: accounts, missing evidence and balances.
- Model: the central scenario, delayed receipts and new commitments.
- Organise: reporting dates, approvals and exception handling.
- Review: usefulness, workload and changing team needs.
What should we prepare?
Start with a recent trial balance, bank statements, outstanding invoices, a budget, major contracts and the platform inventory. Read-only crypto records can support accounting work; private keys are not required.
How are fees agreed?
Ask for a priced scope and named deliverables. Frequency, data quality, transaction volumes and the number of entities matter more than a job title.
How can HODL help?
Explore our financial management support and company wallet guide, then discuss your circumstances with the firm.