Client
An environmental consultancy with a turnover of circa £1 million with 25 staff
Requirements
The directors of the company were keen to continue to develop and grow the company but felt they needed advice on certain areas of finance and strategy, where they did not have sufficient experience or expertise. They initially wanted a review the status of financial management and reporting in the company and recommendations as to how these areas could be improved and then help with the implementation of those recommendations.
Actions
* Carried out detailed discussions with the Directors, Office Manager and other staff to gain an understanding of the business and the systems and processes in place
* Advised on restructured chart of accounts
* Put in place a profit and loss and balance sheet reporting format for the Directors with a summary to use to present information to other staff
* Set up a project profitability template for use by staff in setting prices for projects, including establishing internal cost rates for time to be charged to projects
* Identified improvements to the time recording system to give improved visibility to project margins
* Identified key performance indicators (KPIs) to be tracked and set up a template to report actuals versus targets on a monthly basis
* Set up a sales forecasting system to enable managers to track potential new business and give improved visibility to the order pipeline
* Set up a 12 month rolling cash flow forecast template
* Established a rolling forecast process to provide an updated 12 month forecast for the business on a quarterly basis
* Set up an annual bonus model for staff linking rewards to financial performance of the company
Results & Benefits
* A set of tools to enable Directors and Managers to forecast and price their incoming business stream
* A clear and accurate set of monthly management reports that enable the directors and staff to see how the business is performing and act and plan accordingly
* A budgeting and forecasting procedure that provides a quick, thorough and regular process, helping the business to plan for and react to changing circumstances
Client Testimonial
“Since working with us, our Virtual Finance Director Richard, has developed our financial understanding of the business to a completely new level. Through simple analysis and development of effective and clear systems and reporting frameworks, he has helped us get control of our position and have a new confidence in the figures and projections for the business. He has also added a new level of professional financial scrutiny to our projects and meetings. His knowledge and understanding have also helped us to develop and expand the knowledge and skills of our existing team, empowering and enabling them to take on greater responsibilities. Going forward we look forward to working closely with Richard as we develop the business further over the next few years.” John L – Chairman
