Installing a part-time FD is the key for SMEs to establish an Effective Finance Function

Installing a Part-Time FD is a pre-requisite for an SME to Establish an Effective Finance Function

At www.secantor.co.uk we believe that a first stage in the process for SME's (for this purpose companies with a turnover of between £2m and £25m is to install a part-time FD. What does this mean? Well one of my roles in leading Secantor is to establish the required terms of reference in terms of how much time an SME might require to make a transformational step in its finance function.

Often this is the leap from an organisation  simply producing information to remain compliant to producing relevant KPIs that support the rest of the management team so that the SME can enjoy "controlled" growth and maximise the use of scarce resources (often funding, but not always).

Too often, I hear people talk about technology solutions. Clearly systems are important in providing timely and cost effective MI but our belief is that each SME needs individual attention to ensure that what is produced is relevant to the company's needs. The key to all of this is getting the high powered FD working at the right sort of level and infill for lower levels to ensure that each role is cost effective and supplemented by accounting software and systems that are capable of being tailored to the needs of the company.

For further information contact Nigel Bacon CEO at Secantor.www.secantor.co.uk 07887 826824.

Secantor Goes Regional www.secantor.co.uk

At Secantor we have always believed in the power of being embedded in the regional banking and finance community.

www.secantor.co.uk is pleased to represent Secantor in the Midlands and Wales.

Nigel Bacon
CEO Secantor
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigel-bacon-3b6865b/
www.secantor.co.uk

Please view our client testimonials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkJKDi-49PA

Watch the video of the benefits of EFF

Watch the video and hear the benefits of creating an Effective Finance Function.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkdGsZEDCL8

www.secantor.co.uk

Building Your Finance Function Part 2

your finance function is not a one size fits all exercise. There are a wide range of choices:

1) There is the people mix, in terms of matching the differing levels of seniority. Why go to a recruiter as the first stage? Prior to this you need to understand the apprtopriate staff mix for the finance function and this is where Secantor can help you; with the decisions about whether you should appoint at the bookeeper level, the mangement accountant level, the financial controller level or a part-time finance director. All of this will mean that you have the appropriate input of expertise and skills at the appropriate level. In this way you will end up saving costs on your finance function by ensuring the right amount of input, at the right level. Many businesses from £2m t/o upwards should have a finance director but you do not usually need a full time finance director until your turnover is in excess of £30m. At this level, it is not so much about time as it is about skills, and experience.

2) Growing businesses need to start to integrate their finance function as an information centre. This then delivers real value by helping management run the business, and to enable effective delegation that is required for growth.To achieve effective delegation mangament need regular information for planning and control purposes. Ensuring that the finance function is delivering value to management is the domain of the FD.

3) At Secantor www.secantor.co.uk we have many years of experience of developing finance functions for SMEs. We can help guide you through the maze of what at first sight only appears to be a cost. We can paint a picture for you of how your business might look in the future and the building blocks to get there. An effective finance function should be coupled with stakeholder management, through your part-time FD so that you can focus on growing the business knowing that your investors and bankers are being kept informed. This means that there are no "shocks or surprises" building confidence that mangment are capable of running a larger business.

4) Systems and processes are critical in the development of the finance function and its linkages with other parts of the organisation. Secantor harnesses the talent of all its people to ensure the right solution for you.

5) Outsourcing. We have many clients that simply ask us to run their finance functions with agreed outputs this can not ony be cost effective but scalable to avoid those step changes you might experience through employing extra people.

For a free consultation call us on 07887 826824

www.secantor.co.uk

Building Your Finance Function Part 1

 he best way to build your finance function is with the advice and expertise of an experienced finance director as provided by secantor www.secantor.co.uk . This could simply be a piece of consultancy work or it could lead to an ongoing role. This role does not need to be full time in businesses up to £50m turnover.

The advantage of using a Secantor FD rather than your external accountants, or other consultants, is that the Secantor FD has practical hands on knowledge of using systems and the sort of people that are required to carry out the various functions. This ensures that the information being produced by the finance function is not only compliant with statutory and other requirements but also suits the needs of the business to help managment teams drive the business forward. The old adage is "what gets measured gets done". The Secantor FD "thinks outside the box" and all are commercially experienced as well as financially qualified. This enables them to look at a whole host of indicators that might be useful for a mangement dashboard not just those of a financial nature.

In building or re-shaping a finance function they are alive to the needs of owners/managers and build it in a bespoke way. This can be from total outsourcing, to parachuting in experienced bookeepers, financial controllers or mangement accountants. This also can be done in a flexible way where Secantor might employ them and deploy them on more than one client all under the wing of their experienced FDs.

The thing that really sets secantor apart is its team based approach and reputation for quality that is recognised by the professional and banking communities and clients where we operate.

Why not book a finance healthcheck  and find out the benefits of improving your finance function function. Ring Secantor on 07887 826824.

www.secantor.co.uk