Client Case Studies

Why we needed a part time CFO.
Our Finance Director had just left, and we needed someone experienced to help at short notice.‍

What kind of work did the Fractional CFO perform?
The Fractional CFO developed a sophisticated forecast model which was used to help us win £26 million in investment. They also generated our annual R&D tax credit submission and statutory accounts, managed our bookkeeper who processed all receipts and invoices and also worked with the CEO on cashflow management and inputted advice into weekly senior management team meetings, as well as presenting finance papers at the monthly Board meetings.‍

What were the main benefits of working with the CFO?
He had an outgoing and friendly personality and worked well with teams and under pressure. He generated very professional forecast models for investors as well as smoothly running our financial operations. He was a hard worked and was very popular with the management team and Board of Directors. He was a pleasure to work with.‍

Sector: Life Sciences

Why did you need the CFO’s services?
I had recently joined the business as Director of Finance and needed some extra support around completing the year end accounts and someone to act as a point of contact for the external auditor. As time went on and finance team members changed, the CFO was also involved in month end reporting to Group and also assisted with ad hoc requests that arose both locally within the business and from Group.‍

What were the main benefits gained from the contract?
The CFO was available at short notice and was able to work flexibly, both working on site and remotely. He was diligent and saw tasks though to completion to meet tight group reporting timeframes. He brought a calmness to sometimes stressful situations and offered both myself and my finance team an experienced opinion which was very useful.‍

What would you say are their key strength's?
He is an experienced finance professional who has worked across a lot of different sectors. He has an audit background from his early days at PwC and “knows what good looks like”. He integrated into the team very quickly, is a team player and enjoyed working with people across the business, not just in the finance function.‍

Sector: Logistics

Why did you have a need for a Portfolio FD?
As a growing company, we needed someone to lead the financial reporting and presentation to the Board for three of our group subsidiaries. As the companies were still being established at the time, we couldn’t justify having someone full time and needed a flexible arrangement.

What kind of work were they involved in?
The FD compiled the bimonthly Finance papers for the Board and presented them at meetings, reviewed budgets and forecasts and assisted with year-end activities to ensure the external audit went to plan and to budget. He also supported the Finance Manager who was responsible for the day-to-day finance tasks within the subsidiaries.

What were the main benefits of using a Portfolio FD?
As a growing organisation we needed a senior finance person overseeing our financial reporting but also the flexibility in terms of cost and level of resource.

Sector: Social Housing

Why did you have a need for a part-time FD?
Due to some significant changes in our sector and the impact of Covid-19, the Charity had gone through a period of restructuring. We needed someone to lead the Finance and HR teams during a stabilisation phase that followed. At the time, the Charity had staff vacancies across Finance and HR. The Portfolio FD joined us for a nine month period, to lead the two teams and put a new team structure in place.‍

What kind of work were they involved in?
The FD was part of the Executive Leadership Team, oversaw daily operations and provided weekly project updates. He managed financial reporting, presented to the Finance & Audit Committee, and recruited key roles, including Finance and HR Managers. Additionally, he handled banking relationships and external partnerships.‍

What were the main benefits of using a part-time FD?
The flexible working style. The FD was a good sounding board for a CEO/MD and brought calmness to challenging situations whenever they arose.

‍Sector: Charity