A Finance Function Fit for Growth
Situation
A UK-based business with subsidiaries in the US and Far East lost its part-time Finance Director and a key team member within a very short space of time. The whole group was left reliant on the small remaining UK finance team for reporting and all financial processing. With cashflow being tight at the time, stability and clarity were urgently needed.
Role
Howard was asked to assess the capability of the finance function. He carried out a full review across four areas:
- Effectiveness and efficiency of core finance processes
- Quality, insight and reliability of management information
- Capability and aspirations of the remaining finance staff
- Team structure and skillsets required for the future
Challenge
The immediate priority was to prevent disruption from the changes in the finance team. A temporary revenue accountant was recruited to keep work flowing.
The review showed a mixed picture. Some processes worked well, but others were fragmented and relied on multiple sources of data. Producing basic insight, particularly customer and project profitability, was manual and slow. As a result, the business had no reliable view of its performance.
Approach
Howard recommended introducing an integrated project accounting system. It would bring together timesheets, third-party costs and expenses, and project budgets, giving faster and more reliable visibility of project and client performance.
He also redesigned the monthly management pack to reduce manual effort and improve accuracy. The new pack aligned more closely with the monthly business reviews held with regional management and the leadership team, bringing actual and forecast performance together in one place.
On the organisational side, Howard designed two potential finance team structures and reviewed them with the senior leadership team. Together, they agreed to recruit a full-time Financial Controller, supported by an accounts assistant. Part-time specialist input from the existing finance manager was retained.
Howard supported the recruitment end to end. He shortlisted from over 300 applications, assessed technical capability and took part in interviews to secure the right appointment.
Results
The new structure delivered:
- Greater senior financial capability
- Capacity to improve systems
- Continuity through change
- No increase on the previous cost base
With a new Financial Controller in place, a clearer reporting framework and a future-proof finance structure, Howard was able to step back. The business was left with a stable, capable and more effective finance operation, giving management real confidence.
FD4 Insight
When a finance team loses key people, the first job is to understand what still works and what doesn't. Acting quickly to stabilise day-to-day operations, then taking time to design the right long-term structure, meant this business came out with a stronger finance function at no extra cost.