Specialist Services

Outsourced Finance Director

Many businesses would like the opportunity to have an experienced financial director on their team, but do not require a full time person, nor can they afford to employ one. We offer an ‘outsourced finance director’ service that provides the expertise and experience you would expect from a finance director, but in a package tailored to fit the time requirements and budget of your business.

This frees up your time and allows the business to concentrate its resources on the things it does best and our involvement brings added value to the management team. We work in partnership with you, to understand your business and are available at all times to help you make those key decisions, as well as holding regular meetings and reviewing key management reports, that we can help produce if there is no expertise in house.

Our advice covers such diverse areas as:

• Business and ownership structure
• Strategic planning and system controls
• Tax planning
• Setting up and managing PAYE and VAT schemes
• Bookkeeping and management accounts preparation
• Choice of computerised accounting software
• Budgeting and cashflow planning
• Production of management accounts and KPI’s (Key Production Indicators)
• Staffing issues, both in HR and financial packages
• Business planning
• Fund raising
• Running board meetings

Credit Analysis

We have a specialist team, overseen by the partners, that acts on behalf of businesses to help them measure the credit worthiness of their members or customers/clients.

We can actively manage the whole process, including the administrative role, or restrict ourselves to a review based on information provided.

This service is most valuable where businesses are giving credit to their customers and want a professional and knowledgeable assessment. This can be done in-house, but the costs may outweigh the benefits and so outsourcing this resource makes commercial sense.

Valuation Services

Many factors may influence the end result: business activities, economic climate, location, goodwill, management structure, tax considerations and even the purpose of the valuation.

We are experienced in all methods used in valuing a business, from a wide variety of industry sectors. We track transactions and maintain an internal database of the various profit, turnover and asset ratios used in deals, at various points in time. This allows us to provide the best advice to both buyers and sellers on the value of their own or targeted businesses.

We recognise that providing a valuation is usually meeting only part of a client’s needs, so our valuation expertise is often linked with other services including corporate finance, forensic accounting or tax.

Examples of when a valuation can be helpful:

• Business acquisitions, mergers or joint ventures
• Business sales or grooming a business for future sale
• Litigation
• Existing or new shareholders, minority interests
• Employee incentivisation via shares or options
• Grant Advisory

Grant Funding

We recognise the particular challenges facing businesses today in terms of accessing finance to fund their future plans, whether traditional bank funding or from providers of equity. One source that is often overlooked is the availability of grant funding. Grant funding, from a variety of providers, will often provide the missing link in terms of a company achieving its future plans.

Our specialist grants team has many years’ experience of advising on numerous successful grant applications in a variety of sectors. The team has worked on a wide range of grant applications across the whole business spectrum from start-ups, to local companies seeking to expand, to subsidiaries of multi-national businesses either creating or safeguarding employment but facing competition from other companies within the group. Members of the team also sit on various grant appraisal panels, so therefore have a complete understanding of many grant schemes.

Our role is to work with businesses such as yours to develop the business plan and supporting information to ensure your grant application meets the grant scheme’s parameters, and to advise and support you throughout the grant application process.

In summary; we

• Aim to maximise your chances of a successful grant application
• Manage your expectations by addressing the key issues at the start
• Assist with all aspects of the application process
• Provide hands on help and advice

Our team has secured grant offers ranging from £50,000 to in excess of £4million.

Forensic Accounting

Our specialist forensic accounting team have acted successfully for businesses, solicitors, insurers, loss adjusters and assessors in disputes when a resolution has been required quickly, efficiently and professionally.

Thanks to specialist local knowledge, experienced partners and courtroom skills, we have an unparalleled record of success in matters including fraud investigations, personal injury and medical claims, business interruption, insurance claims, business sale disputes, partnership disputes, construction disputes, divorce valuations, security for costs and professional negligence.

We have experience of attending county and high court arbitrations, mediations and tribunals. We are frequently the agreed independent choice of both parties as a single joint expert.