Built for the next round

Product-market fit and growing revenue had put the company on a credible path to a Series A process. It also had a finance gap that grew more visible with every new hire and customer contract.

The founders had worked closely with the numbers to get the business this far. But finance was still running through a mixture of founder review, external accounting support, and spreadsheets built for immediate needs. The company could produce accounts, but not a reliable monthly view of performance, cash, and the assumptions driving the plan. The board could see the activity but not the financial model driving the growth.

The SME CFO established the minimum finance function required for the company’s next stage, without importing the cost or complexity of a large corporate finance team.

• The work began with a diagnostic of the existing records, systems, reporting, cash process, and responsibilities.
• From there, we established the finance operating rhythm: a chart of accounts that reflected the business model, a monthly close timetable, clear reconciliations and approval controls, management accounts, a cash flow forecast, and a reporting pack for the founders and board.
• We then connected the reporting to the funding plan: a forecast that linked revenue, gross margin, headcount, operating costs, cash requirements, and the milestones the company intended to achieve before its next round.

By the end, the company had a finance function that could produce timely, decision-ready reporting, and a financial plan that linked its numbers to the operating milestones ahead.