Finance Health Check
What it is
The Finance Health Check is a fast, structured diagnostic of your company's finances as a whole — not just the finance function. We look at the underlying financial health of the business (profitability, cash, working capital), at how you plan, track and report your numbers, and at how well finance is connected to the rest of the business: sales, pricing, operations, procurement. Think of it as an executive check-up for your company's finances: light on your team's time, heavy on insight. In a matter of days, you get an independent, experienced view of what is working well, where the risks are hiding, and what to fix first.
It is the natural starting point for working with us. Many clients begin here before moving on to deeper support with designing insightful dashboards, strategy development or raising capital.
PROCESS - 3 STEPS
How it works
We keep the process deliberately simple - no lengthy onboarding, no prep required on your side.
01
Two calls with your leaders
We speak with the founder, CEO or owners (and the finance lead, if there is one) to understand the business model, how decisions are made today, where the numbers feel unclear or unreliable, and where finance and the rest of the business don't quite speak the same language.
1-2 PHONE CALLS
02
A light-touch document review
We look at whatever you already have — management reports, budgets, cash flow statements, KPIs. No special preparation is needed; the state of your existing materials is itself part of the diagnosis.
NO PREP REQUIED
03
Independent analysis
We assess three things: the financial health of the business itself — profit drivers, cash generation, working capital; the strength of your finance function — visibility, reporting quality, planning and controls; and how well finance supports decisions across the business — from pricing and sales terms to inventory, hiring and investment.
3-POINT ASSESMENT
-THE DELIVERABLE
What you receive
A concise written report you can act on immediately — walked through with you on a call.
A scorecard
Covering both the business's financial health — profitability, cash, working capital — and how you manage it: reporting quality, planning, controls, and the link between finance and operations.
Gaps & risks, in plain language
The most significant gaps and risks, explained in plain business language, not accounting jargon
A prioritized action plan
What to address now, what can wait, and what you can safely ignore
We walk you through the findings in a wrap-up call, so you leave with clarity on your next steps — whether you take them with us or on your own.
We're growing, but cash always feels tight. The P&L shows a profit, yet there's never money on the account. The Health Check pinpoints where the cash is going — often into stock, receivables or payment terms agreed far from the finance desk — and why.
You're preparing to raise capital or borrow. Investors and banks will scrutinize your numbers. The Health Check tells you whether your finances will stand up — and what to fix before they look.
You don't fully trust your own reports. Numbers arrive late, change after the fact, or contradict each other — and sales, operations and finance each tell a different story. We identify why, and what a reliable, shared view of the business would take.
The business has reached a new stage. You're entering new markets, launching new products, stepping back from day-to-day operations, or wondering whether it's time for a CFO — fractional or full-time. The Health Check shows what your finances need to support the next chapter.
You're considering buying or selling a business. A quick, independent read on financial health before you commit to a deeper process.
-THE DELIVERABLE
A concise written report you can act on immediately — walked through with you on a call.
Optimising Finance Engine
What it is
Most growing businesses don't suffer from a lack of numbers — they suffer from too many numbers that don't add up to a picture. Reports pile up in spreadsheets, every department counts things its own way, and the questions that actually matter ("Are we making money on this product? Can we afford to buy a new product line? What happens if sales drop 20%?") still get answered by gut feel.
Making Sense of Your Numbers is where we build the financial toolkit your business runs on. We turn raw accounting data and scattered spreadsheets into a clear, connected system: dashboards that show at a glance how the business is doing, KPIs that focus everyone on what matters, models that let you test decisions before you make them, and a planning rhythm that keeps the whole company looking at the same picture.
This is hands-on design and build work, not a report on a shelf. We work with your existing data and tools wherever possible — most of this can be done in Excel before any expensive software is needed. And everything we build is designed to be run by your team after we leave, with finance speaking the same language as sales, operations and management.
Many clients arrive here after a Finance Health Check has shown what is missing; this is where we build it.
What we can build for you
Management dashboards. A concise, visual view of the business — revenue, margins, cash, and the operational drivers behind them — updated with the rhythm of your business. One screen the owner and management team actually look at. We design the layout, define the data sources, and set up the refresh process so it stays alive after handover.
Corporate KPIs and bonus systems. We define the handful of indicators that truly drive your business — by company, department and role — and link them to a motivation system that rewards the right behavior. Done well, this aligns sales, operations and management around shareholder’s value, not just revenue or volume. Done badly, it pays people to do the wrong things; we help you avoid the classic traps.
Financial modelling. A working model of your business you can actually use: how revenue, costs, margins and cash respond when assumptions change. Use it to test scenarios ("What if we open a second location? Raise prices 10%? Lose our biggest client?"), plan investments, or underpin a conversation with banks and investors with numbers that hold up to scrutiny. Another common use of financial models is determining fair value of your business.
Budgeting and rolling forecasts. A planning process that fits your size — not a corporate ritual. An annual budget the team actually owns, updated through the year with rolling forecasts, so plans reflect reality, and variances trigger conversations rather than blame. For more complex businesses consider introduction to Activity-Based budgeting for better precision.
Management reporting setup. The monthly rhythm behind everything else: which reports exist, who prepares them, when they land, and what gets discussed in the management meeting. We design the P&L, cash flow and balance sheet plus working-capital views in plain business language, and make sure the numbers arrive on time, from one source, telling one story.
Unit economics and pricing analysis. Profitability at the level where decisions are made: per product, per client, per channel, per project. We untangle true margins from allocated confusion, so you know what to push, what to fix, and what to stop selling — and can set prices and discounts based on facts.
Cash flow management tools. A short-term cash forecast and payment calendar that gives you the insights whether you could make the payroll or pay the bank or important supplier on time. Visibility over incoming and outgoing cash for the next weeks and months, early warning of gaps, and simple rules for receivables, payables and stock that keep cash on the account.
When this makes sense
"I only find out how the month went three weeks later — if at all." Decisions can't wait for the accountant's version of events. A management dashboard and reporting rhythm gives you a reliable view within days of month-end, not weeks.
"Every department has its own numbers, and they never match." Sales celebrates a record month; finance says margin is down; operations blames both. Shared KPIs and a single reporting source put everyone in the same conversation.
"We pay bonuses, but I'm not sure they change anything." Incentives tied to the wrong metrics — or to no metrics — are just extra payroll. A well-designed KPI and bonus system makes pay follow performance the business actually needs.
"We're about to make a big decision and we're guessing." New location, major hire, price change, big investment, taking on debt. A financial model turns "it should work out" into a tested scenario with a number attached.
"Revenue is growing, but I can't tell where we actually make money." Growth can hide unprofitable products, clients and channels for years. Unit economics analysis shows where profit really comes from — the answer is almost always surprising.
"Cash management means checking the bank account every morning." If payroll week is stressful, you don't have a profitability problem yet — you have a visibility problem. A cash forecast and payment calendar replaces anxiety with a plan.
How we work
We start from what you already have — your accounting system, your spreadsheets, your current reports — and design around your business, not a template. Each engagement is scoped as a defined project with a clear deliverable: a working dashboard, a signed-off KPI system, a live model. We build it with your team, not for them, so the tools keep working after we step back. And where it helps, we stay on in a light advisory role to keep the rhythm going.
Strategy and Execution
What it is
Getting your numbers right tells you where you stand. The harder question is what to do next — and whether you can pull it off. In most growing companies, the growth plan lives in the owner's head, funding conversations keep getting postponed because "we're not ready," and the biggest decisions in the company's life — raising money, buying a competitor, bringing in outside shareholders, stepping back from day-to-day — are made without the senior finance experience they deserve.
Strategy and Execution is where we work alongside you on those moves. We help you set a strategy that is grounded in numbers, fund it with the right mix of capital, put working governance around it — a board that actually helps — and stay involved as your corporate finance team while the plan becomes reality. Think of it as having an experienced CFO and corporate finance advisor in your corner for the moments when the company changes the most.
It is the natural continuation of our other work: a Finance Health Check shows where you stand, Making Sense of Your Numbers builds the toolkit — and Strategy and Execution puts both to work on the decisions that define your company's next chapter.
Finance Strategy and Execution
What we can do for you
Strategy development. We work with owners and the leadership team to turn ambition into a strategy you can actually run: where to compete, how to win, and what it means in numbers. The result is not a thick deck — it's a clear direction on a few pages, with a financial plan attached: targets, required investments, funding needs and the milestones that tell you whether it's working.
Strategy execution support. Most strategies don't fail on paper; they fail on Monday morning. We help break the strategy into concrete initiatives with owners, budgets and deadlines, tie them to the KPI and reporting systems the business already runs on, and set up a regular review rhythm where progress is measured and course corrections happen early — not at the year-end post-mortem.
Fractional CFO. Senior finance leadership for a few days a month, at a fraction of a full-time cost. We chair the monthly finance review, own the forecast, manage relationships with banks, auditors and investors, and mentor your finance team — so the owner and CEO have an experienced counterpart for every significant decision, without hiring a CFO before the business is ready for one.
Raising capital — from structuring to closing. We support the entire journey. It starts with structuring: how much you actually need, in what form (equity, debt, or a mix), on what timeline, and what it means for ownership and control. Then preparation of the materials investors expect: a financial model and valuation that hold up to scrutiny, teaser, pitch deck, information memorandum and an organized data room. Then the process itself: identifying and approaching the right investors, managing due diligence, and supporting you through term sheet and negotiations to closing — so you're never alone across the table from people who do deals for a living.
Debt and bank financing. Not every plan needs an investor — sometimes the right money is a loan. We help size and structure the facility, prepare the package banks want to see, negotiate terms and covenants you can live with, and refinance existing debt when conditions or the business have changed.
Building your board of directors or advisory board. As the company grows, the owner needs a room where the big questions get properly challenged. We help design the board that fits your stage — a formal board of directors or a lighter advisory board — define its mandate and the competencies it needs, help find and select the right members, set up the meeting rhythm and the board reporting pack, and facilitate the first cycles until it genuinely earns its place.
Serving on your board. We can also take a seat at the table ourselves. As a board member or advisory board member with deep financial expertise, we bring an independent, numbers-grounded voice to your biggest decisions — challenging plans and investments before the money is committed, keeping capital allocation and risk honest, and making sure the board's questions reach the finance team and come back answered. Like the fractional CFO role, this is an ongoing engagement matching the pace of your business.
M&A and exit support. Buying a business, selling one, or getting ready to. We provide an independent valuation, prepare the company for due diligence, help structure and negotiate the deal, and — for owners thinking further ahead — build exit readiness, so the business is worth the most and sells the smoothest precisely because you started preparing before you had to.
When this makes sense
"We have big plans — but no plan." The ambition is real, but it lives in conversations, not in a strategy with numbers, owners and milestones. Strategy development and execution support turn intent into a roadmap the whole team can run.
"We need money to grow, and we don't know where to start." Equity or debt? How much? At what valuation? Who do we even talk to? The capital raising process gives you structure, materials and support from the first question to the signed deal.
"Investors are interested — but we're not ready for their questions." Interest is easy; scrutiny is hard. Investor-ready materials, a defensible model and a clean data room mean due diligence confirms your story instead of unraveling it.
"Every big decision lands on my desk, and I have no one to think it through with." A well-built advisory board or board of directors — or a fractional CFO — gives the owner what employees can't: experienced, independent challenge with no agenda but the company's success.
"We're too big to run finance on intuition, too small for a full-time CFO." A fractional CFO closes exactly that gap: senior judgment on the days you need it, none of the overhead on the days you don't.
"Someone wants to buy us — or we want to buy someone." A deal is the worst moment to improvise. Valuation, due diligence preparation and negotiation support protect the value you spent years building.
How we work
Some of this work is ongoing by nature. As your fractional CFO, or as a board member with financial expertise on your board of directors or advisory board, we join your team on a monthly retainer — a clear scope, a fixed rhythm, and a senior person who knows your business showing up every month.
Everything else here is unique by design. A capital raise, a board setup, a strategy cycle, a transaction — no two are alike, so the approach, timeline and budget always follow the scope, which we agree together before any work begins. What never changes is how the engagement feels: true to our values, you will always know what is going to happen, when, and what it will cost — zero surprises — and you stay in control of the process at every step.
And because the big moves rest on the basics, we often start with a Finance Health Check to confirm the foundations, and use the models, reporting and KPIs from Making Sense of Your Numbers as investors, banks and boards will ask for.