Financial leadership
for your next move.
Turn ambition into a clearer plan for growth, funding and exit.
Fractional CFO support, financial modelling, independent valuations and corporate finance for ambitious UK businesses. Sector agnostic, with a clear understanding of technology, AI and data-driven business models.
Why it matters who you work with
Qualified expertise.
Professional accountability.
Clear credentials. Direct access. Financial advice you can put to work.
ICAEW Chartered Accountant
Kishen Patel, BFP ACA, holds an ICAEW practising certificate. Verify his membership and firm relationship in the official ICAEW directory.
Verify ICAEW credentials
Business Advice Service
An accessible starting point for business advice. Speak directly with Kishen about your priorities, the financial questions involved and the support that fits.
Start a conversationBig Four background
Over 12 years across Big Four audit, investment banking and corporate advisory, applied to your business with partner-led attention and a defined scope.
Meet KishenBusinesses advised
Funding success rate
ICAEW Chartered Accountant
Work directly with Kishen
A clearer view of your business
Connect the numbers.
See the next move.
Revenue, costs, cash and business value are connected. We help you see how a decision in one area changes the others.
- 01 Know what is driving performance.
- 02 Understand the cash behind the plan.
- 03 Make the next decision with clearer evidence.
From the operating model
to the boardroom.
Our expertise
Senior financial thinking.
Where it matters.
Ongoing financial leadership or a defined project.
The right support for the decision in front of you.
Fractional CFO
& financial leadership
Turn the finance function into a better source of decisions. Reporting, cash visibility, commercial insight and board support.
Financial modelling
& cash forecasting
Connect the customer model, cost base and cash requirement. Test your assumptions before committing to the plan.
Independent business
& share valuations
A reasoned view of value for the purpose that matters. Clear assumptions, relevant evidence and an explained conclusion.
Funding, acquisitions
& exit preparation
Prepare the financial evidence behind the transaction. Understand funding needs, investigate risks and support the next conversation.
Across sectors. Around your business.
Sector agnostic.
Commercially grounded.
From AI and data businesses to professional services, commerce and established SMEs, the starting point is the same: how does the business create value, earn revenue and use cash?
We start with how your business actually makes money, delivers value and uses cash.
Tell us what you’re building01AI, data & automation
＋
Make the relationship between pricing, adoption and delivery costs visible. Model compute costs, implementation work and cash requirements as the business scales.
Usage economics · Gross margin · Funding scenarios02Software & digital platforms
＋
Connect recurring revenue, retention and acquisition spending to recognised revenue and cash. Build a reporting pack that explains the quality of growth.
ARR bridges · Retention cohorts · CAC payback03Services, commerce & established SMEs
＋
Understand customer concentration, service delivery, inventory and working capital. Connect profitable trading to the cash needed to fund it, and make growth, succession or acquisition plans with clearer evidence.
Revenue drivers · Delivery capacity · Working capital04Hardware, manufacturing & deep tech
＋
Connect development milestones, commercial rollout, inventory and capital commitments. For established businesses, bring the same discipline to profitability, investment and succession decisions.
Milestone planning · Capital needs · Business valuationHow we work
From a complicated question
to a clear next step.
Direct conversations. Defined responsibilities.
Financial work built around a real decision.
Understand the decision
Start with your objective, current information, constraints and timetable.
Agree the work
Define the scope, deliverables, information required and fee before starting.
Build the evidence
Reconcile the inputs, test assumptions and explain the findings clearly.
Support the next move
Review the outputs together and agree the actions or ongoing support needed.
Meet the founder
Most of our clients come to us when the stakes are high - a fundraising round, a sale, or a period of growth their current finance function simply cannot handle. My job is to make sure that when that moment comes, the numbers are not what lets them down.
About Kish
Kish has spent over 12 years working at the intersection of finance, strategy and transactions, from Big Four audit to investment banking and corporate advisory. He has advised founders, management teams and investors across the full lifecycle of a business: raising capital, navigating growth, preparing for sale and closing deals.
He founded Consult EFC to give ambitious UK businesses access to senior financial thinking with practical, personal support. As an ICAEW Chartered Accountant (ACA), he brings professional standards of accuracy, ethics and client care to the work, alongside a clear understanding of the decisions facing founders.
Book a free strategy callClient case studies
What working with Consult EFC
actually looks like.
Where we came in, what we did
and what it meant for the business.
From inconsistent reporting
to a completed Series A.
to the planned timetable.
Two investors re-engaged once the financials were ready for review.
A B2B SaaS founder approached Consult EFC 12 weeks before a planned raise, with inconsistent MRR reporting and no integrated financial model.
See the engagement ＋
The situation
The finance function was spreadsheet-based. Two VCs had requested financial information, then gone quiet.
What we did
- Rebuilt the financial model with ARR, MRR, churn, LTV:CAC and a three-year scenario forecast.
- Standardised management accounts so the presentation could be traced to source records.
- Supported investor meetings, financial questions and the lead investor’s diligence requests.
A clearer earnings picture.
A better prepared sale.
Price defended with evidence.
The financial work supported responses to attempts to reduce the agreed price.
A professional services founder wanted to exit within 18 months. Three potential acquirers had already walked away.
See the engagement ＋
The situation
Owner costs were blended into the accounts, earnings needed explanation and there was no information memorandum for buyers.
What we did
- Reviewed three years of accounts and explained owner remuneration, exceptional costs and maintainable earnings adjustments.
- Prepared the information memorandum, financial pack and vendor diligence file.
- Managed the buyer’s financial questions and supported responses to three proposed price reductions.
Growing revenue.
A business running out of cash.
within six weeks.
The business continued to grow, with the founder able to see its cash requirements.
An e-commerce business was profitable on paper, with revenue up 60% year on year, but growth was increasing the pressure on cash.
See the engagement ＋
The situation
A 45-day supplier payment cycle and 90-day stock holding period created a working capital gap as the business scaled.
What we did
- Diagnosed the working capital pressure in the first week.
- Built a 13-week rolling cash flow model to make near-term funding needs visible.
- Prepared the bank’s financial pack and structured a revolving credit facility to fund the gap.
Consult EFC Journal
Financial thinking.
For your next decision.
Physical AI founders need to prove what each new customer costs
A physical AI business can sign another annual contract and become harder to scale. The customer brings recurring revenue, but also a different robot, new calibration requirements and…
Subscription Revenue Forecasting: A Practical UK Guide
How to forecast subscription revenue bottom-up: the MRR waterfall, cohort churn, deferred revenue under UK rules, and what investors test in diligence.
Series A SaaS Metrics: ARR Isn’t Enough Without Cohort Proof
Learn how Series A investors assess SaaS ARR, cohort retention, CAC payback and burn multiple, then prepare runway forecasts and evidence for diligence.
UK Independent Business Valuation: 3 Approaches to a Defensible Report
See how a UK independent business valuation uses documented scope, IVS aligned methods and evidence to create a report buyers, investors and HMRC can assess.
UK Covenant Testing Examples: Worked Ratios to Avoid a Breach
See worked UK covenant testing examples for ICR and net debt to EBITDA, then calculate headroom and follow a quarterly workflow and documentation checklist.
Founders: 5 Point Checklist to Defend EBITDA vs Revenue Multiples
Decide whether EBITDA or revenue multiples suit your business. Translate a multiple into implied growth, margin and discount assumptions and follow a 5…
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A few useful answers
Before we
start talking.
Which sectors do you work with?＋
We are sector agnostic. We support technology, AI and data businesses alongside established UK SMEs across different industries. The starting point is your business model, available information and the decision you need to make.
Can we engage you for a single project?＋
Yes. An engagement can focus on a valuation, financial model, funding preparation or due diligence project. Ongoing fractional CFO support is also available, with scope and responsibilities agreed upfront.
Can you work with our accountant or finance team?＋
Yes. We can agree how advisory, planning and reporting work fits alongside your existing accountant or finance team, with clear ownership of the inputs, outputs and decisions.
How are fees and timescales agreed?＋
We discuss the purpose, complexity, information available and required outputs before confirming the scope, fee and timetable. Delivery dates depend on the work and the information required.
Your next move starts here
Tell us where you’re heading.
Let’s make the numbers work.
Growing, raising funding, acquiring, valuing or preparing to sell? Share the decision in front of you and the support you need.
Thank you for getting in touch.
Your enquiry has been received. If you would like to choose a time now, book an introductory call with Kishen.
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