About Acclime.

At Acclime, we help businesses navigate Asia’s diverse markets with practical, hands-on support. With a presence in 18+ markets and a growing team of 1,800+ professionals in the fields of accounting, tax, fund administration, corporate secretarial, payroll and advisory services – making it the fastest growing firm in the sector.

Joining Acclime means being part of a high-growth, collaborative environment where your work makes a real impact. Whether you are an experienced professional or just starting out, you will have the chance to grow, take on leadership roles, and thrive in a company that values agility and teamwork.

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team as CFO – Virtual CFO Services.

About the role.

The role holds primary day-to-day leadership of Acclime’s Virtual CFO client portfolio in Australia and is accountable for the quality, commerciality and profitability of CFO engagements across a portfolio of SME groups, family offices and high net worth family businesses, and for leading the onshore and offshore delivery teams that support them.

The role is the senior client-facing owner of delivery. It carries the relationship, technical and team leadership responsibilities of a Partner-level engagement lead, without carrying service line strategy, group representation or service line P&L; ownership, which remain with the Service Line Lead. It is a deliberate succession and capacity role: freeing service line leadership to focus on growth, integration and new market development, while ensuring existing clients experience no reduction in seniority or continuity.

What will you be doing?

Act as the primary relationship owner for a portfolio of Virtual CFO clients, including the group’s largest and most complex engagements

Hold the CFO seat for clients — attend board and management meetings, present financial performance, and provide commercial recommendations to owners, boards and management team

Own the annual engagement cycle for each client: scoping, budgeting, reporting calendar, board pack cadence and review points

Anticipate client needs and issues ahead of them arising, maintaining the proactive engagement standard the portfolio is built on

Manage escalations and sensitive client matters, engaging the Service Line Lead only where the matter warrants it

Oversee delivery of core CFO outputs: management reporting and board packs, three-way financial models, budgets, rolling forecasts, cash flow and working capital management, and KPI/performance reporting

Lead client financing and banking workstreams, including facility reviews, term sheet analysis, covenant monitoring and lender relationships

Provide commercial input on structuring, remuneration and incentive design, shareholder and governance arrangements, and succession planning, coordinating specialist input from Tax, Corporate Advisory and legal referral partners

Support transaction activity across the portfolio — due diligence, financial modelling, earn-out and completion mechanics — in conjunction with the Corporate Advisory service line

Maintain technical currency across Australian accounting, tax and corporate compliance matters relevant to privately held groups





Lead delivery of the full function finance team model across the portfolio — CFO, financial controller and treasury, data and analysis, payroll and bookkeeping

Direct the Pune-based delivery pods supporting the portfolio: allocation, capacity planning, quality control, escalation and career development, in partnership with the India operations leadership

Own the onshore/offshore work split for each engagement to protect both client outcomes and engagement margin

Drive adoption of the standard technology stack and workflow automation across the portfolio, and identify processes suited to automation or AI-enabled delivery

Maintain and improve standard templates, working papers and delivery procedures so that engagements are repeatable and transferable between team members

Accountable for revenue, margin and recoverability across the client portfolio

Set and negotiate fees, prepare engagement letters and scope variations, and manage scope creep and out-of-scope work

Monitor and manage WIP, lock-up, billing and debtor outcomes for the portfolio

Manage team utilisation and resourcing to meet portfolio commitments

Contribute to service line budgeting and forecasting, and provide the portfolio-level input the Service Line Lead requires for planning

People Leadership & Capability BuildingLead, mentor and develop Senior Managers, Managers, Controllers and Analysts across onshore and offshore teams

Own workflow allocation, review standards and turnaround expectations across the delivery team

Build depth beneath the role so that client relationships are held by more than one person, and support progression aligned with Acclime job levelling and career pathways

Support performance reviews, remuneration discussions and talent decisions in collaboration with the Service Line Lead and People & CultureFoster a high performance, inclusive and values driven culture across a distributed team

Ensure engagements comply with professional standards, independence requirements, regulatory obligations and internal policies

Provide final technical review on client deliverables issued from the portfolio, including advice provided verbally in board and management settings

Apply appropriate scope, reliance and disclaimer positions on valuation, forecast and advisory outputs

Monitor legislative and compliance change affecting portfolio clients and ensure the team responds proactively

Act as first escalation point for high risk or sensitive client matters, referring to the Service Line Lead where the matter carries firm-level risk

Originate new Virtual CFO engagements, building and owning a client book alongside the portfolio held on behalf of the service line

Develop and maintain referral relationships

Convert opportunity within the existing portfolio through additional services and scope, including introductions to Acclime Tax, Corporate Services, Corporate Advisory,



Funds and R&DCapture; and convert inbound referrals from other Acclime business units

Lead scoping, pricing, proposals and pitches for self-originated opportunities, and support those led by the Service Line LeadRepresent the practice at client forums, industry events and professional networks

Contribute to service line initiatives across Australia and New Zealand, including integration, offshoring and automation projects

What are we looking for?

- 3 -5 years in-house CFO or Financial Controller experience alongside a professional services background (essential)

- 12+ years’ experience across business advisory, virtual/outsourced CFO, or senior commercial finance roles (essential)

- Demonstrated experience at senior leadership level or a Senior Manager ready to step up with evidence of holding client relationships independently (essential)

- Proven ability to hold the CFO relationship with business owners, boards and family groups, and to present and defend a commercial position in the room (essential)

- Strong financial modelling capability, including three-way models, scenario analysis and forecasting (essential)

- Commercial acumen with demonstrated responsibility for engagement or portfolio revenue, margin and recoverability (essential)

- Proven ability to lead, develop and retain high performing teams (essential)

- Established referral relationships within the professional and financial services market (desirable)

- Demonstrated ability to originate new work — converting personal networks and referral relationships into fee-paying engagements (desirable)

- Experience leading or working with offshore delivery teams (desirable)

- Experience with SME groups, family offices and high net worth family businesses, including intergenerational and succession dynamics (desirable)

- Exposure to complex structuring, transactions, debt and equity raising, and business sale readiness (desirable)

- Strong systems capability across cloud accounting, financial modelling and reporting platforms, and an appetite for automation and AI-enabled workflow (desirable)

- Tertiary qualification in Accounting, Commerce, Business or a related discipline

- CA ANZ or CPA Australia membership (preferred)

- Commitment to ongoing professional development

What do we offer?

- Be part of a global and expanding company with ample growth opportunities, career development and the chance to build a meaningful network

- Flexible work arrangements that empower you to perform at your best

- Work on a portfolio of clients spanning across various industries and growth stages

- Play a key role in shaping and expanding the Virtual CFO offering, mentoring team members and contributing to business growth

- Work alongside an established onshore and Pune-based delivery team, allowing you to focus on the CFO relationship and high-value advisory work

- A competitive base salary, with additional reward for originating new clients

- Access to a modern cloud technology stack and ongoing investment in automation and AI-enabled delivery

- Exposure to transactions, capital raising, structuring and succession matters, supported by Acclime’s Tax, Corporate Advisory, R&D; and Funds specialists

📌 CFO – Virtual CFO Services (Melbourne)
🏢 Acclime
📍 Melbourne