Case Study: Financial Clarity

The situation:

A rapidly growing multi-site operator had a lack of financial visibility across the business, and fractured systems were affecting their ability to make data backed growth decisions. There was also a need for some senior level commercial partnering to ensure numbers could be translated into strategy.

What we did:

Katie came in to build proper financial infrastructure along with our finance support function. This meant completing a full lease accounting restatement (moving from cash to straight-line accounting, properly recognising lease incentives and landlord contributions), solving a VAT deposit issue that had been flagged but never resolved, and restructuring how the business tracked and optimised cash flow. She built an integrated cash flow model that incorporated their 5-year plan, identified key financial levers, and gave the founder a clear decision-making framework.

Katie also added value to the monthly financial reporting by considering performance KPIs, site-level analysis, risks/opportunities and recommendations alongside the externally-produced management accounts.

The outcome:

The operator had clarity on which services and locations drive profitability, and someone by their side to ensure all the numbers were understood. Cash flow was clear and the financials told a coherent story instead of requiring hours of "presentational cleanup." Most importantly, they were able to make growth decisions on proper, trustworthy data rather than solely instinct.