Financial Transformation · UK & Europe

Rebuild your finance function in 90 days — without replacing your team.

ICAEW-led financial transformation for UK SMEs and PE-backed businesses (£2m–£50m revenue). We reset management reporting, KPIs, board packs, budgeting and finance systems so the numbers run the business — not the other way around.

5d
Target month-end close
90d
Core transformation
ACA
ICAEW Chartered, Big Four trained
ICAEW Regulated Big Four Corporate Finance PE & VC-Backed Clients Xero · NetSuite · Sage Intacct · D365 Lender & Investor Ready
Symptoms you can't ignore

Your finance function is the bottleneck, not the business.

If three or more of these sound familiar, a structured financial transformation will pay for itself inside 6 months.

01

Month-end takes 15+ working days — and the numbers still get challenged

By the time the board sees the P&L, it's already historic. Decisions are made on gut feel because finance can't keep up. Sound familiar? You need a controlled close, not more spreadsheets.

02

Board packs no one reads

40 pages, 12 tabs, zero insight.

03

Cash is a mystery

No rolling 13-week forecast. Surprise overdraft calls.

04

KPIs exist on paper but not in the business

Every team measures different numbers. ARR, gross margin and CAC each have three definitions. No one trusts the dashboard.

05

PE/lender reporting is a panic every quarter

The covenant pack, the budget reforecast, the investor update — all built from scratch every cycle by the FD at 11pm on a Sunday.

06

You've outgrown Xero workflows but you're terrified of NetSuite

Excel sprawl is suffocating the team. You know you need better systems but every quote is six figures, every implementation horror story sounds worse than the next. You need an independent guide — not a software reseller.

Six workstreams

What we actually rebuild.

Each workstream runs in parallel during the 90-day core programme. You can scope all six, or pick the two that hurt most today.

01

Management Reporting Overhaul

A single source of truth. One number, one definition, one place. Close in 5 days, not 15.

  • Chart of accounts redesign
  • Standardised revenue & cost allocation
  • 5-day month-end close calendar
  • Variance commentary template
02

KPI Framework & Board Pack

The KPI tree that connects strategy to the P&L. One-page CEO dashboard, 12-slide board pack reviewable in 45 minutes.

  • Defined KPI hierarchy (north star → ops)
  • CEO 1-pager & full board pack
  • Owner accountability map
  • Quarterly QBR template
03

Budgeting & Reforecasting

Driver-based budgets the business actually buys into. Rolling reforecast cadence instead of an annual fantasy spreadsheet.

  • Three-way driver-based model
  • Annual budget + quarterly reforecast
  • Scenario planning (base / upside / stress)
  • Department-owned templates
04

Cash Flow & Working Capital

A rolling 13-week direct cash flow with <5% variance. Working capital release programme to fund growth without raising debt.

  • 13-week direct cash forecast
  • DSO/DPO/inventory optimisation
  • Cash-conscious culture rollout
  • Covenant tracking & lender pack
05

Finance Systems & Automation

Independent system selection. We don't resell software, so the answer is what's right for you — not what pays the biggest commission.

  • System fit assessment (Xero / Intacct / NetSuite / D365)
  • Integration & automation roadmap
  • Spreadsheet retirement plan
  • Implementation oversight
06

Team Restructure & Capability

Restructure roles around the new operating model. Coach existing talent, recruit only where there is a true gap.

  • Target operating model design
  • Role redesign & RACI
  • Hands-on coaching & shadowing
  • FC / FP&A Manager recruitment
The 90-day roadmap

Diagnose. Foundation. Execute. Embed.

A proven four-phase methodology with fixed milestones and visible ROI by week six.

1
Weeks 1–2

Diagnostic

Interviews with CEO, FD and board. Review of reporting, systems, team and chart of accounts. Output: gap analysis & costed plan.

2
Weeks 3–6

Foundation

Rebuild chart of accounts, KPI tree and reporting calendar. Replace spreadsheet chaos with controlled, source-of-truth models.

3
Weeks 7–11

Execution

Launch new board pack, KPI dashboard and 13-week cash flow. Implement budgeting cadence. Coach the team into new roles.

4
Week 12+

Embed

Handover to permanent FD/CFO or run as fractional CFO. Quarterly health-checks and ongoing optimisation.

What success looks like

Measurable outcomes by month four.

5d
Month-end close down from 15+ days. Finance team gets its evenings back.
<5%
Variance on the rolling 13-week cash forecast. No more surprise calls to the bank.
1 pg
CEO dashboard the leadership team actually opens daily — not the 40-page pack no one reads.
45 min
Board meeting reviewing the numbers — leaving 90 minutes for strategy, not arithmetic.
70%
Finance team time on insight and partnering — not data entry and reconciliation.
+1.5×
Typical EBITDA multiple uplift at exit when investors see institutional-grade reporting.
How we engage

Retainer + success fee. Aligned to your outcome.

Transparent two-part fee structure. No hourly billing, no scope creep, no surprise invoices.

Phase 1 · Retainer
Fixed monthly fee — diagnostic + execution

Covers the 90-day diagnostic, foundation and execution phases. Fixed scope, fixed price, no overruns. Pricing scales with revenue band and complexity (single vs multi-entity). Exact figure confirmed after the free scoping call.

Phase 2 · Success Fee
Outcome-based — only paid on result

Tied to measurable outcomes you choose: close days reduced, working capital released, successful funding round, or completed sale at target multiple. We only win when you do.

Free 30-minute scoping call

Tell us where finance is hurting. We'll tell you honestly if transformation is the answer.

No sales pitch. No PowerPoint. A working CFO conversation — ICAEW Chartered, Big Four trained, 20+ years rebuilding finance functions for UK SMEs and PE portfolio companies.

  • You'll leave with a clear view of your biggest 3 finance risks
  • Indicative timeline and budget for your situation
  • Whether transformation, fractional CFO, or a smaller fix is right
  • Zero obligation — most calls don't lead to engagement, and that's fine
FAQ

Financial transformation, answered.

A structured reset of a finance function so it produces accurate, timely and decision-useful information. Trigger points: revenue has outgrown the reporting (£2m–£50m), post-funding, pre-sale/refinancing, or when a new CEO or PE investor demands board-grade reporting the current team can't deliver.
90 days for the core reset, plus 3–6 months to embed. Complex multi-entity or PE-backed businesses may extend to 9 months. Each phase has fixed milestones — ROI visible by week six.
Rarely. Most teams have strong operational capability but lack frameworks, systems and leadership. We upskill, restructure roles and recruit only where there is a genuine gap — typically a Financial Controller or FP&A Manager.
A Fractional CFO is an ongoing leadership role. Financial transformation is a time-boxed project that rebuilds the underlying machine — reporting, KPIs, processes and systems — so any CFO can run the business effectively afterwards. Many clients combine both.
Two-part fee: fixed monthly retainer covering diagnostic and execution, plus an optional success fee tied to measurable outcomes — close days reduced, working capital released, or successful funding/exit. Exact pricing depends on scope and complexity.
System-agnostic: Xero, QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Workday Adaptive. We help select, implement or optimise — but we never resell, so the recommendation is independent.
Yes — lender-ready and investor-ready reporting is one of the highest-ROI use cases. We build the data room, KPI pack, three-way model and cohort analysis investors expect, often increasing valuation multiples by removing perceived finance-function risk.
Yes. Consult EFC is led by Kishen Patel ACA, an ICAEW Chartered Accountant with Big Four corporate finance experience. All work is delivered under ICAEW professional conduct and PII cover.
Yes — a large proportion of our work is for PE portfolio companies and VC-backed scale-ups where investor reporting standards have outpaced the in-house finance team.
Month-end close in 5 working days, a one-page KPI dashboard the CEO actually uses, a rolling 13-week cash flow with <5% variance, a board pack reviewed in 45 minutes, and a finance team that spends 70% of its time on insight not data entry.
London-based but deliver UK-wide and across Europe. Most work is hybrid — 2–4 onsite days per month plus continuous remote delivery.
Book a free 30-minute scoping call. We'll assess whether transformation is the right intervention, give you an honest view of timeline and cost, and only proceed if there is a clear ROI case.
Related services

Explore the wider Consult EFC offer.

Fractional CFO Services → FP&A Services → Financial Modelling → 13-Week Cash Flow → Debt Advisory → Exit Planning → Due Diligence Prep → Business Valuation → EBITDA Multiples Report 2026 →