Sharif George

This book is targeted at those senior executives within the leadership team who have responsibility for finance and risk, in companies with revenues under £25 million.
Although the actual job title for such an executive varies, for the purposes of this book we are using the title “Finance Director”.

As a company grows beyond the start-up phase it requires access to a wide range of business & technical resources.

However, in comparison to a company with a turnover of £250m it is unlikely that they will need, or will be able to afford, these resources on a full-time basis.

Outsourcing such skills is the usual route. However, what is often ignored is the necessity of managing these resources.

Solicitors, insurance brokers, surveyors, pension providers, banks, specialised lenders, private equity providers, venture capitalists, suppliers, loss adjusters, accountants and tax advisers to name but a few will provide these resources. Ensuring they all work together needs proactive management which falls to the Finance Director.

It is likely that the “Finance Director” holding these responsibilities is a member of the original founding team, an accountant, a lawyer or a chartered secretary. They will therefore tend to be very knowledgeable on one or possibly two resource areas.

The purpose of this book is to help Finance Directors identify what areas fall within the remit of finance and risk.