The term "fractional CFO" is everywhere on LinkedIn right now — and most of the people using it have never actually sat in the CFO seat. In Episode 12 of Call to the Bullpen, Clint Overton and Ted Stann pull no punches on what a fractional CFO actually is, why the marketplace has become so muddy, and how business owners can tell the difference between contenders and pretenders.

You'll hear the clear line between a controller (looking backward) and a CFO (marrying strategic vision to forward-looking financials), why industry experience matters for the last critical 10% of the work, and the five real-world scenarios where bringing in a fractional CFO makes sense — whether you've never had one before or your full-time CFO just walked out the door.

Topics covered:

• Why "fractional CFO" has become one of the most abused titles in business
• The Boardroom Bullpen definition (and the bar every CFO has to clear to make the roster)
• CFO vs. controller: where the real value line sits
• The 5 scenarios where a fractional CFO is the right call: intentional growth, exit/investor readiness, interim coverage, the CFO + controller model, and the CFO-in-waiting coach
• Why under-professionalized finance leadership almost always means a discount at exit
• The biggest signal you need a CFO yesterday (hint: it has to do with cash)