Fractional COO Structural Audit

An independent audit of your fractional COO operating model

Fractional COOs are brought in to stabilise execution, align teams, and make the organisation work. Yet many fractional COO roles quietly fail, not because of capability, but because authority, remit, and accountability were never structurally governed.

The Fractional COO Structural Audit is an independent, evidence-based audit of how your fractional COO practice is actually structured and operated. It determines whether your operating model is structurally sound, incomplete, or misaligned when assessed against the Fractional Practice Operating Standard (FPOS).

This audit evaluates structure only. Not experience. Not effort. Not intent.

Why this audit exists

Operational roles fail differently from finance roles. They fail through overload. As a fractional COO, you are often:

  • expected to fix execution without formal authority

  • pulled into every operational problem “because it’s not working”

  • held accountable for outcomes you cannot fully control

  • relied on as glue between functions rather than a governed operator

Scope expands. Decision rights blur. Availability replaces authority.

Over time, the role drifts toward de-facto employment, without the protection, clarity, or leverage of a governed practice.

This audit exists to answer a difficult but essential question:

Are you operating as a governed fractional COO or are you personally absorbing operational risk for the organisation?

What this audit determines

The audit determines whether your fractional COO operating model can:

  • Hold real operational authority across functions

  • Enforce scope and execution boundaries without constant renegotiation

  • Maintain accountability without becoming the default problem-solver

  • Operate across multiple clients without dilution or burnout

  • Withstand execution pressure from founders, teams, and boards

Without relying on personal availability, informal influence, or constant intervention.

For COOs who want to clarify whether a Structural Audit is appropriate...This conversation is exploratory only and does not constitute an audit or assessment.

What is evaluated

The Fractional COO Structural Audit evaluates your operated practice against the minimum structural conditions required for legitimate fractional practice under FPOS, including:

  • Defined operational authority and decision rights

  • Clear remit across execution, delivery, and operations

  • Governed work packages, not open-ended operational support

  • Structural protection against scope creep and role absorption

  • Commercial independence from any single organisation

  • Capacity for concurrent multi-client operation

  • Outcome accountability under live operating conditions

Assessment is grounded in evidence from real engagements, not role descriptions or intent.

Why governance matters for COOs

Operational leadership is where ambiguity is most expensive. When authority is informal, teams escalate everything, priorities multiply, execution slows, and accountability diffuses across the organisation.

The COO becomes the point of absorption rather than the point of control. When authority is governed, decisions move, scope holds, outcomes are owned, and the organisation stabilises. The difference is not effort or experience. It is structure.

If you are holding operational responsibility inside a client organisation, governance is not optional. It is the condition that makes your role legitimate, enforceable, and professionally sustainable.

This audit exists so you can demonstrate that your fractional COO practice is structurally sound, not personally heroic.

Request an Exploratory Conversation

To determine whether a Fractional CFO Structural Audit is appropriate

Audit outcomes

Each audit results in one of three determinations:

  • Structurally sound

  • Structurally incomplete

  • Structurally misaligned

These determinations relate to structure only. They do not constitute certification, endorsement, or recognition under FPOS.

After the audit

Following the audit:

  • You will be informed which structural controls are missing or impaired

  • You will be shown how those controls align to FPOS requirements

No remediation, coaching, or implementation is delivered during the audit. This is a determination, not a development program.

Before requesting an audit

If you are unsure whether a Fractional COO Structural Audit is appropriate, an exploratory Brainstorm Session is available. This conversation is non-assessive and exists solely to determine whether an audit is appropriate for your operating model.

It does not constitute an audit or assessment.

Address: PO Box 4370, Springfield, QLD 4300, Australia

Email: Jag (at) team.fractionalpractice.com

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