FRACTIONAL CFO
Or in other words, a part-time Finance Director.
Owner-run SMEs often have someone who's brilliant at the operational side of the business but lacks the time, inclination, or expertise to think as rigorously as they should about the financial side. Figured can pick up everything your existing accountant does (bookkeeping, annual accounts, confirmation statements, GST and tax returns), but also be your trusted strategic advisor on the numbers.
The level of support will be tailored to your business requirements and budget so you get the benefit of years of accounting and financial leadership experience across a wide range of businesses and industries but at a cost that will be offset by the improved financial performance you can expect from improved operational efficiencies and better financial management. You will gain a much deeper understanding of how your business is performing and more importantly, what challenges you might face in the future so that you’re well prepared to face them.
We offer a truly personal approach and want to be involved in your business and see it grow. We’ll be quizzing you on your plans and pipelines, partly so we can ensure that our forecasts accurately reflect everything they should, but also so we can structure our work and meetings to fit with your aspirations.
We will come to you for meetings – wherever your business is based in the island! If you want us to attend a Board meeting then great, but if you’re a sole business owner than we’ll meet at your convenience. This allows us to ensure you understand the figures and answer any questions you may have.
The scope and cost are tailored to your business, but most include some combination of the following:
MANAGEMENT REPORTING
Management accounts are not just reports they are a strategic tool that enable you to identify trends, anticipate challenges, and make better informed decisions. We can move you from "just enough to file taxes" bookkeeping to real management accounts, including budgets, forecasts, and simple dashboards so that you can see at a glance how your business is performing and what you need to give your attention to.
Budgets should be live documents. Through regular reviews and reforecasts, we can create forward-looking budgets and forecasts that evolve as your business does.
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PROFITABILITY & PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
We can identify which of your products / services / clients are actually profitable; many SME owners can be surprised that it’s not what they thought! This helps you turn busy growth into profitable growth.
Many SMEs under-price for years without realising it. We can carry out pricing reviews to see whether your prices are out of step with where they should be.
We can also carry out cost and margin reviews to resolve hidden leaks in margin through better cost control and / or operational efficiency improvements.
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CASHFLOW MANAGEMENT
Cash is king!
So many business owners can’t understand why the profits they believe they are making aren’t showing in their bank account. We can help you avoid the classic "profitable on paper but cash poor" trap.
Good cash management is crucial and it goes beyond just watching the bank balance. we can work with you to provide cash forecasts with scenario modelling that anticipate rather than just report to help ensure that you have the confidence to invest, borrow, or adapt as conditions change.
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STRATEGIC SOUNDING BOARD
We can act as a thinking partner for major decisions, such as hiring, expansion, large purchases.
We can also advise on the best way to finance investments; whether to take on debt vs. reinvest profit.
By bringing a fresh pair of eyes, and an outside perspective the owner doesn't get day-to-day, we usually find that we are used a sounding board for more general business decisions too, particularly if the business just has one owner who simply needs someone to bounce ideas off.
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SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
We love making it easier for business owners to run their businesses.
A big part of that means ensuring the right systems are in place to make it as simple as possible for your team to raise accurate quotes and invoices, process supplier invoices and, when required, record their time.
We can look at your existing systems and processes and see what can be done to make them simpler and more efficient, leaving your team (and you!) to get on with the jobs that technology can’t replace.