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Financial management and planning for SMEs
An experienced Senior Finance Professional- Simon Finbery ACA has worked in both a listed company environment and smaller organisations in Director of Finance roles and other leadership positions. In addition, to strategic and operational responsibilities, he has extensive experience in change management, restructuring and business planning. As a Chartered Accountant and highly experienced finance professional he can apply his experience and analytical skills to a wide range of business situations and sectors. Management experience includes both Finance and wider business functions.
Simon qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the United Kingdom and after completing five years in practice, worked in a number of senior finance and Director of Finance roles within the financial services industry. More recently Simon has worked in Professional services and the higher education sector. He is especially experienced in developing strong financial and business controls and processes, business partnering, cash flow forecasting, business plans, risk policies and procedures, whilst developing team members to take on more responsibility and grow their skills. Simon has experience both in a large corporate environment and in a smaller business setting.
Simon is a strong relationship builder both internally and externally. Simon is also adaptable, working well either alone or as an effective team player. He is a highly conscientious and personable individual with a can-do attitude and an ability to always see the big picture, whilst also having a strong grasp for detail. Simon has a natural interest and enthusiasm to see a job through to a successful conclusion
Over the course of his career, he has:
Business Planning – developed business plans to decide on whether and when to sell business segments and assets, and to determine the best strategic and tactical approach to business Operations. This helped maximise returns to stakeholders
Cash-flow – developed short and medium term cash-flow projections to enable business to understand in detail cash flow requirements. This determined policy for returning capital to stakeholders and wider treasury policy
Stakeholder Management – Provided insightful Management Information, Business Forecasts and ad hoc analyses explanations to key stakeholders, ensuring their continued support to the overall business plan
Due-Diligence – supported sale of medium sized businesses and business segments from a group of companies ensuring full financial and risk analysis. Also has experience of pricing business and asset acquisitions, together with purchaser due diligence
Finance Transformation – Designed finance and administrative functions to align with evolving strategic requirements including structural reorganisations. Ensured the right people were recruited and retained by providing effective leadership. Develop meaningful and timely Management Information and KPIs. Assessment of capabilities and efficiency of a Finance team, identifying skills gaps and developing solutions to move forward
Tax and VAT Management – Managed relationship with HMRC including commercial discussions and successful resolution of some high value bespoke matter
“"I wholeheartedly recommend Simon Finbery. He has been pivotal in enhancing the financial health of our organisation and driving its sustainability. Our evaluation and facilitation business is relatively niche, and Simon made sure he developed an insider knowledge and understanding of our services and the market that we serve. Simon has become a valued member of our team. His financial and business advice has been spot-on. Simon has a calm and reassuring manner and a deep insight across all areas of financial and business planning and strategy. Simon keeps in regular contact, highlighting areas of focus, and goes above and beyond in supporting our business and its growth. I know our organisation is in very safe hands with Simon as our Financial Advisor."”
Dr Maria Kordowicz- Director at ResPeo
The well established, multi-site business operates early-years nursery care in the Midlands, with a small Finance team that had performed well under the leadership of an experienced FD. However, when that FD decided to move on, the company needed to take responsible measures to ensure its Finance function would continue to benefit from an experienced FD until a permanent replacement could be found. For this, they turned to EFM Associate Simon Finbery, whose extensive background in both financial services and SME accountancy proved an excellent fit for the role. The position involved not only managing the Finance affairs of the business itself but bringing in-house the financial management of a charitable organisation that the business supported, using the business’s own systems and processes. To this end, Simon oversaw substantial rework and realignment of the charity’s existing accounting procedures and data, working closely with its management team, in addition to his “day job” of performing the business’s FD role.
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