Advisory & corporate finance
The CV was strong and the board was reassured. Six months later there is more process but not more progress. This is one of the most common scaling challenges founders face, and one of the least discussed.
Revenue is up and cash is tight. The growth cash trap is not bad accounting; it is the gap between what your P&L reports and what your cash position reflects.
In short Six things HMRC will look for in a first application Apply the risk to capital ‘gateway’ test Apply the independence test Check for excluded trades and borderline activities Check the employment test No blanket applications for speculative filings Check the share class and use of funds qualify EIS is a valuable venture tax … Continue reading Avoid first time EIS pitfalls
We caught up with Marina and Adrian to discuss how founders can deal with difficult relationships in the board room with investors. Marina Traversari is a Board Advisor, Link Stone Advisory who has founded, scaled and exited business as senior executive, Chair and Board Advisor and draws from experience at Spherics, Gapsquare, Sage, Oracle and … Continue reading Managing difficult investors in the Board Room
Raising equity is no longer just about the “Hockey Stick” growth chart. It is about transparency. Investors—whether VCs or Angels—are demanding a level of data integrity and ESG compliance that most Series A companies simply don’t have. Richard Spilsbury discusses this shift with Marina Traversari. Having moved from scaling Spherics (a carbon accounting platform) to … Continue reading The “Glass Box” Business: Why Transparency (and ESG) is Your New Valuation Multiplier
In short Finance says ‘no’ rather than telling you how More accounting staff than salespeople Management accounts take three weeks or longer Forecasts cannot be updated to support a decision Margin by product or project is unknown Cash flow still surprises you If your financial setup is frustrating you, then you could notice the following … Continue reading Six Warning Signs About Your Finance Set Up
Financial models are powerful tools used for a variety of purposes to assess forward looking financial information to overcome limitations of relying only historic information Some of the best uses for financial models are: We support clients build financial models for a range of business requirements, from simple forecasts to developed models to support decision-making. … Continue reading How financial modelling can help improve business decision-making
In short The wrong business model, lifted from earlier work Complexity nobody else can follow Assumptions with no reliable data behind them Inconsistent formatting and colour coding Broken links between sheets and files No error checks and no validation Six common mistakes people often make when performing financial modelling: We support clients build financial models … Continue reading Six common mistakes in financial modelling
In short Use consistent formatting and colour coding Document every assumption you make Build in error checks and test them Validate against benchmarks and history Design for flexibility, not for rebuilds Review and test on a schedule If you’ve planned your financial model and started to build it We support clients build financial models for … Continue reading Six tips to help you create strong financial models
Build and buy strategies are where a business acquires other businesses, very often to help increase value ahead of an exit. They are not uncommon for private equity or companies trading on a public exchange and can also work for smaller businesses but are less common. Build and buy strategies can be an attractive way … Continue reading Thinking about Build and Buy?