For companies that need a senior role without a full-time hire
A fractional CFO, MLRO, compliance officer or CISO for your company
The short answer
A company that needs a senior role without a full-time hire fills it with a fractional appointment: an experienced person in the role for the hours it needs, accountable to the board and approved by the regulator where the role requires it. The roles: chief financial officer, money-laundering reporting officer, compliance officer, chief information security officer. We supply the role from our senior advisers, set its scope and reporting in writing, and say before the engagement starts what the regulator must approve.
Regulated and growing businesses reach the same point from different directions: a licence application that requires named officers before the business has revenue to pay them; a board that needs finance leadership between a bookkeeper and a full-time CFO; a security function the regulator or a customer now expects. A fractional appointment fills the role properly — the person, the authority, the accountability — at the fraction of time the work takes.
What makes it work is the writing, and the consulting service writes it before the appointment. The scope, the hours, the reporting line, the decisions the person may take and the ones they escalate, and the regulator's expectations of the role are set out before the appointment, so the board, the regulator and the person all know what the role is. A fractional officer is not a name on a form; the regulator will ask what they did.
At a glance
- Indicative cost
- The regulator's own fees are charged as they are; the VelaroZone service fee is monthly for the scoped hours, itemised in your engagement letter.
- Timing
- Scope and appointment in weeks; the regulator's approval of the person on its own clock; the role served on the agreed cycle.
- What's included
- The role scoped in writing: hours, authority, reporting
- The regulator's approval prepared where required
- Board reporting and a hand-over to a full-time hire
This is for you if
- You need a named compliance officer, MLRO or other officer for a licence application or an existing licence.
- You need finance leadership — planning, reporting, banking, investors — beyond what bookkeeping provides.
- A regulator, a bank or a customer expects a security or compliance function you do not yet have.
- You want the role filled by someone accountable, not a consultant on call.
This may not be the right route if
- You want a name for a form and no work behind it; regulators check, and so do we.
- You want the person to sign audit opinions or legal opinions; those come from a registered auditor or a licensed law firm.
- You expect the regulator's approval of the person to be promised.
At a glance
- Indicative cost
- The regulator's own fees are charged as they are; the VelaroZone service fee is monthly for the scoped hours, itemised in your engagement letter.
- Timing
- Scope and appointment in weeks; the regulator's approval of the person on its own clock; the role served on the agreed cycle.
- What's included
- The role scoped in writing: hours, authority, reporting
- The regulator's approval prepared where required
- Board reporting and a hand-over to a full-time hire
What this service includes
- The role scoped in writing: hours, authority, reporting line, escalation and the regulator's expectations.
- An experienced person from our senior advisers in the role, accountable to your board.
- The regulator's approval of the person prepared and lodged where the role requires it.
- Board reporting on the cycle the role needs; hand-over to a full-time hire when the business is ready.
- Coordination with the accountant, the auditor and any law firm the role's work touches.
What it does not include
- Audit opinions and legal opinions.
- Any assurance of the regulator's approval of the person.
- Acting as a shield: an officer reports what the rules require, including to the regulator.
Process
How the work is sequenced
Each stage has its own dependencies — activity approvals, document legalisation, authority processing, and bank review — and we report progress against them rather than against one overall date.
- 01
Scope
The role, its hours, authority and reporting set out and agreed with the board.
- 02
Appoint
The person named; the regulator's approval lodged where required.
- 03
Serve
The role performed and reported on the agreed cycle.
Framework or review due as well? The AML page covers the work the officer will own.
Prefer to start in writing? Send the details through the contact form.
Start with a structure assessment
In an initial consultation you receive a plain-language decision summary, a document-preparation list, and the next actions for your situation. Current figures are confirmed within your adviser-reviewed route comparison.
The roles
What each fractional role carries
The roles differ in what the regulator requires; the discipline of scoping them is the same.
Fractional roles, what each does and what the regulator typically requires of the person.
Chief financial officer
- What it does
- Planning, reporting, treasury, banking and investor relations
- What the regulator typically requires
- Usually none; the board decides
Money-laundering reporting officer
- What it does
- Receives internal reports, decides on filing, liaises with the authority
- What the regulator typically requires
- Approval of the person; fitness and propriety; availability
Compliance officer
- What it does
- Owns the compliance framework, monitoring and regulatory reporting
- What the regulator typically requires
- Approval of the person; independence from the business line
Chief information security officer
- What it does
- Security governance, controls and incident response
- What the regulator typically requires
- Where a regime requires it, a named accountable person
Company secretary or governance lead
- What it does
- Board process, minutes, filings, registers
- What the regulator typically requires
- Jurisdiction-dependent
| Role | What it does | What the regulator typically requires |
|---|---|---|
| Chief financial officer | Planning, reporting, treasury, banking and investor relations | Usually none; the board decides |
| Money-laundering reporting officer | Receives internal reports, decides on filing, liaises with the authority | Approval of the person; fitness and propriety; availability |
| Compliance officer | Owns the compliance framework, monitoring and regulatory reporting | Approval of the person; independence from the business line |
| Chief information security officer | Security governance, controls and incident response | Where a regime requires it, a named accountable person |
| Company secretary or governance lead | Board process, minutes, filings, registers | Jurisdiction-dependent |
The service
Regulatory consulting and fractional roles
The service page sets out the fractional roles and the licensing and AML advisory around them.
See the consulting service
Every route is planned against how the business will actually operate in the UAE.
After the licence
What you may also need
The four services most founders in this situation ask about next, each on its own page.
Visas & PRO services
Residence visas for owners, staff and family, Emirates ID and medicals, and the PRO work that keeps a licence and its people in good standing. Eligibility and approval stay with the authority.
→UAE bank account setup
A bank-ready file and an introduction to the bank whose appetite matches your profile. Approval and timing stay with the bank.
→Accounting & bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping, VAT and corporate-tax filings, and year-end accounts, with statutory audit referred to a registered auditor.
→Legal services
Contracts, corporate documents, disputes and regulatory matters, advised by licensed law firms from our network.
→
Questions
Frequently asked
- Will the regulator accept a fractional officer?
- Many do, on conditions — the person's fitness and propriety, their availability, the number of firms they serve, the independence of the role. Those conditions are read before the appointment, and the application is prepared to meet them.
- How many hours does the role take?
- It depends on the business and the regime: a licence application's officer is busier before and after the application than between; a CFO's month peaks at the close and the board. The scope states the hours and the peaks.
- Who does the officer report to?
- The board, in writing, on the agreed cycle, and the regulator where the rules require it. The reporting line is part of the scope and is not changed informally.
- Can we convert to a full-time hire later?
- Yes, and the engagement is designed for it: the role's documentation, registers and reports are the hand-over pack, and the fractional officer briefs the hire.
- What does it cost?
- A monthly VelaroZone service fee for the scoped hours, itemised in your engagement letter, with the regulator's own fees charged as they are.
Sources
- Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)
- UAE AML/CFT framework guidance
- ADGM — Abu Dhabi Global Market
- DIFC — Dubai International Financial Centre
Regulations, fees, and eligibility can change. Every regulatory statement is re-checked before publication and dated above.
Legal notes and scope
Velarozone provides setup and operational-readiness coordination. This page is general information, not legal, tax, immigration, or banking advice.
This page is general information about UAE business setup, not legal, tax, immigration, or banking advice. Rules, fees, permitted activities, and bank policies can change. Final eligibility depends on your facts and the applicable rules at the time of application.
Regulated roles are subject to the regulator's approval of the person and its rules on the role; nothing here asserts an approval, a category or a timeline the regulator has not published or decided. Audit and legal opinions come from a registered auditor or a licensed law firm.