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The main options to consider engaging a Senior Commercial Finance person to help you achieve better results in 2025 are:
• As a Part-time senior financial support, or
• As a Full-time senior financial support, or
• To provide Project-based assistance
Option 1: Part-time senior financial support
Till now you might have had a company accountant in the business for a long time and have managed without a senior finance person with occasional support from your local tax advisor or chartered accountancy firm. There comes a time for many businesses, especially as they grow in size (and complexity), that they increasingly need senior finance support and advice that is more cost effective than using an external CA. Conversely, it may not be cost effective for the business to employ a relatively expensive permanent full-time resource, as they may only need that support for a limited amount of time each month – maybe for example, 25% of a month on average.
That resource could be available for a fixed retainer based on an estimate of their normal time commitment required on the business. Some months may be busier, other months not so much, but a normal monthly average will soon become apparent.
Some examples of things they might be able to support the business with are:
• Improving the financial reporting for the entity so that business decisions can be made on the latest and most pertinent finance data.
• Ensuring systems are robust and protect the businesses’ assets. The incidence of cyber fraud has increased exponentially over the last decade, increasing financial risk to the business. A recent email phishing fraud cost a client business more than $50k before it was detected – internal systems have since been improved to reduce the risk.
• Updating or putting into place new financial systems to better service the business at its current juncture.
• Negotiating new banking and lending covenants.
• Involvement with property leases and negotiating the issue of security. Another client has successfully transitioned from the need to provide personal guarantees on its property leases.
• Assisting with developing a business exit strategy for the existing owner(s).
• Supporting the introduction of new business shareholders.
• Providing financial overview where none previously existed. Another client business had a dual signatory arrangement for bank payments, yet the owner gave his pin to the company accountant when he wasn’t on site or available. Needless to say, this didn’t end well!
• Creating meaningful forward-looking forecasts and budgets for business performance monitoring and bank funding requirements.
This support arrangement can be very successful if properly set up at the start, with key deliverables and objectives clarified. Our business model ensures there is never complete dependency on one individual with appropriate backup for your business should anything unexpected happen to that person.
Option 2: Full-time senior financial support.
Usually this is for a fixed or limited period of time to cover an expected absence from the business of a key senior finance resource.
Or perhaps for extended sickness or maternity leave; a lengthy sabbatical or something taking that person away from the business for more than a few months.
The senior commercial financial contractor that comes into such a role will be experienced and able to get up to speed very quickly. Likewise for the part-time senior financial support, this person is backed by others who will know the business and can step up should there be the need. In other words, the business is not reliant on a sole contractor.
Option 3: Project based assistance.
Where you have a major project about to start that needs senior financial skills but you either don’t have these in your company or your financial resource is stretched already and doesn’t have the capacity to commit fully to the project.
The common mistake is to add the project to existing resource and hope for the best – sometimes referred to as the “rubber band” approach (which sometimes breaks and at the very least can give rise to delays and extra cost).
Some examples of projects we have worked on:
• Setting up a Joint Venture or a Limited Partnership, structure for a new operation.
• Company structure reorganisation where a new company is created to be the repository of existing operations (or a part thereof) and associated staff.
• A merger or acquisition of a new company.
• A major financial or business system implementation.
• Financial modelling.
Where there is already a seasoned senior finance person in the organization, that person can be taken out of their existing role and placed on the project, and their normal role backfilled for the duration of the project.
Summary
Are your financial systems strong enough to protect against cyber or internal fraud? Are you paying suppliers correctly and managing cashflow effectively? Are your financials telling you what you need to know and when you need to know it? Do you have a robust forecast for the future? What is your long-term exit/succession strategy?
There is a lot that the right senior commercial financial contractor can do for your business. This can be tightly focused on particular deliverables or set up with a broader mandate, to deliver a cost-effective solution for your business to contribute to its success. We would be happy to discuss what we can offer you and how best we can add value to your business. Give Management Response a call for a free no obligation discussion.
