One crucial aspect of creating a highly effective finance team is structuring it to align with your business strategy. 

This involves multiple components, including organisational structure, personnel, processes, technology, and their interactions with other business functions.

 

The Challenges of Scaling Finance Teams?

Scaling a finance team in a fast-growing company comes with several challenges:

 

  • Rapid changes: Fast growth often brings rapid changes in business processes, requiring finance teams to be adaptable and agile.
  • Complex compliance: As companies expand, compliance requirements become more complicated, requiring the need for specialised knowledge.
  • Resource constraints: Hiring permanent staff can be time-consuming and costly, especially when immediate expertise is needed.

 

Forbes suggests that a CFO should focus on "curating" their finance team rather than just "structuring" it. This curated team should have a diverse set of skills that extend beyond traditional finance technicalities, including leadership, relationship management, problem-solving, and soft skills.

 

If these skills are lacking within the team, they can be cultivated through training and mentoring. However, this is time-consuming. Going for a mixture of permanent employees and interim managers can provide the perfect solution for skills gaps in your team.

 

What's the benefit of using interim managers?

 

Immediate expertise: Interim managers bring specialised knowledge and experience from previous roles and projects, allowing them to make an immediate impact from day one.

Flexibility: They can be deployed quickly and are available for short-term assignments, aligning with the dynamic needs of growing companies.

Cost-effectiveness: Interim managers help avoid the long-term costs associated with permanent hires and the work they do ensures a more cost-effective operational strategy, saving on every day running costs.

 

Building your finance team with interim managers

Here are key steps to effectively integrate interim managers into your finance team:

 

1. Identify key roles and needs: Start by identifying your finance team's critical roles and specific needs. 

  • Financial planning and analysis: Interim managers can provide insights and strategies for budgeting, forecasting, and financial modelling.
  • Compliance and governance: Ensure your team has expertise in regulatory requirements and internal controls. This is VITAL and something you should absolutely aim to get right the first time.
  • Business transformation: Interim managers can lead initiatives for process improvement, system implementations, and organisational changes.

 

2. Leverage Specialist Expertise: Interim managers bring specialised skills that are often not available in-house.

According to a survey by the Interim Management Association, 75% of businesses reported that interim managers provided skills not currently present in their existing teams. 

 

Consider specialists in areas such as:

  • Mergers and acquisitions (M&A): Expertise in due diligence, valuation, and integration.
  • Audits: Strengthening internal controls and compliance.
  • Shared service centres: Creating and enhancing centralised finance functions.

 

3. Ensure knowledge transfer: One of the key benefits of interim management is the transfer of knowledge to your permanent team. 

Implement a structured handover process to ensure continuity and capture the expertise of interim managers while using interim managers to train and mentor your existing staff, enhancing their skills and capabilities.

 

4. Monitor and evaluate performance: Regularly monitor and evaluate the performance of interim managers to ensure they are meeting your business needs. 

 

Key performance indicators (KPIs) to track include:

  • Project milestones: Progress against project timelines and goals.
  • Cost savings: Financial impact and cost-effectiveness of interim management.
  • Team feedback: Feedback from your permanent team on the interim manager's contributions and integration.

 

What does this look like in real life?

Case study: Urgent interim support saves the day for a large retail business facing delays to year-end submissions.

 

A leading retail company approached Oakwood following a personnel change in their finance team which had resulted in significant delays to their year-end submissions. At the risk of being penalised and with stakeholder confidence wavering, the company needed urgent support. 

 

We responded quickly, deploying a team of interim managers to address these needs and future-proof the business. The interim team worked closely with the existing finance team to conduct an audit, implement new processes and provide training to enhance their skills.

 

The interim team successfully cleared the backlog, ensuring that the delayed year-end submissions were submitted and new processes reduced the risk of future delays and improved overall financial management within the business. 

 

As a result, the company regained both stakeholder and board confidence whilst also avoiding legal penalties.

 

Conclusion

Building your finance team should be a priority whether your business is experiencing slow or fast growth. If you're lucky enough not to have any immediate needs, a plan for the future will make all the difference.

Talk to us about what you need from your team.

info@oakwoodresources.co.uk

0203 0069603 | 01908 030200