Fractional Finance Director (FD), Portfolio FD, FD On Demand, Part Time Finance Director (FD) – or switch out the FD for CFO (Chief Financial Officer) – I have heard multiple terms to describe or request what I do.
A fractional Finance Director provides companies who do not need, nor can necessarily afford a full-time finance director near on-tap access to skills, knowledge, experience, and tools that companies need to drive performance, mitigate risks, and keep investors happy.
There is no significant commitment of time required, three to five days per month is typically enough for startups with scaling ambitions, but this is of course dependent on your business size, finance department team size, CEO’s (Chief Executive Officer) requirements, expectations, as well as your business strategy and objectives.
Benefits of a Part Time FD
CEO’s love us because we take a large weight of workload and responsibility off of their hands. We become responsible for:
- The Numbers
- Finance related Decision Making
- The complexities and technicalities
- The department and management of people, processes and technology
- And answering questions from Investors, Non-Executive Directors and the Board, meaning the pressure is off.
Perhaps most importantly – as is the case with nearly all employees – we take work-load off of the CEO and COO. The time we save the CEO allows them to focus on their own skillset and achieve the objectives that the investors invested in.
Investors love us too because we provide them with an independent, experienced, and accurate update on the performance of the business at regular intervals, or as often as they wish to ask. If they have technical questions, we can provide them with accurate answers on the spot.
But what does a Finance Director do all day … I hear you ask.
In my experience, the fundamental role of the Finance Director to Startup or Scaleup SaaS Businesses (typically with Investors), is:
- Manage the Finance Function
- Ensure the accuracy of the Financial Accounts
- Produce or oversee the production of monthly Management Accounts and any Information the senior management like to review
- Uncovering insightful information to drive growth and improve decision making
- Attend Board Meetings
- Present the Management Pack to the Board of Directors
- Produce reports for and liaise with Investors
- Assist with Business Planning and Strategy
- Produce and support the CEO with Forecasts (Business Outlook) and Budgets (Operational Plans)
- Cashflow Forecasting and Planning
- Be the direct contact with HMRC, Accountants, Customers, Suppliers, and Lenders
In addition to the above, we also have good experience with:
- Supporting the CEO and Board with Investment
- Investment Appraisals. Equity versus Loans, for example.
- Producing Financial Pitch Decks for potential investors
- Investment Administration
- Implementing Employee Share Schemes
- Statutory (Year End) Accounts submissions
- R&D Production and Submission
- Corporate Taxes including Corporation Tax, People and Payroll, VAT
A fractional Finance Director (or FD On-Demand as I prefer to be called) will ensure the finance function operates like a well-oiled machine; or these days more like a robotic factory with the multiple and awesome automation apps available.
Portfolio CFOs can also serve as sounding boards to the CEO and COO or mentors for members of your existing financial teams.
Wrap up
It is recommended you find a Part Time Finance Director with some experience of your industry. One of the reasons we specialise within the SaaS, Tech, Crypto and Digital industry – other than the fact it’s a lot cooler than many others – is simply because it allows us to focus on market trends and hit the ground running when we commence working with new companies.
The successful applicant for a part time finance director position should have a strong background in accountancy (CIMA, ACA, or equivalent), experience in developing teams in accountancy, and a record of providing strong financial strategies.
By Christopher Grubb. You can find out more about me here.
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I hope the above has helped.
The role of the Finance Director does not need to be a full-time overhead for someone to be committed and make a difference to your business. My aim is to simplify the financial performance, planning and strategic positioning for SaaS and Tech businesses who just want their world to be uncomplicated and thrive.
Please feel free to message me with any comments or questions. Or find me on LinkedIn here.
