Introduction
Finance Directors are well known senior members of a UK management team, but what is less common but nevertheless a growing area is the role of a Part-Time Finance Director. Working part time means the cost to a business is much more manageable and affordable than that of its full time equivalent, particularly if an FD works one or two days per week.
SME’s can really benefit from a part-time FD
Often Small to Medium Enterprises are the ones that can benefit most from the skills an FD can bring, and if their turnover is lower or the business is straightforward then one or two days per month is often all that they need.
Is the time commitment of a Part-Time FD Flexible?
A great benefit of this form of working is that normally an FD working on this basis will keep time in their diary free to allow for flexibility between clients. An FD who works for multiple clients in this way is known as a Portfolio FD. Four days per week is usually considered a full commitment as that allows for a day to be kept for client use or for business development activities.
So the answer is Yes it is really flexible and clients can agree more or less time as their business requirements scale up and down.
What sort of things can a Part-Time FD do?
Having a lot of experience means problems and issues that the existing team are finding a challenge can be resolved, these include areas such as VAT and the more complex accounting tasks such as consolidations.
Having a commercial mindset means an FD can dig into contract profitability and identify how profitability can be further improved or which contracts are profitable when all costs are considered.
SMEs often outgrow the skill sets of their finance team. Different skills sets are needed for a start-up, micro business, small business, medium.
A challenge is for the management to recognise that and upskill their finance team as the business grows and develops. Furthermore, the owners or senior managers are not always themselves familiar with what skills are needed and therefore problems and issues develop.
An experienced Finance Director will be familiar with small, medium and larger organisations and is therefore well place to advise, implement and manage teams suited to the difference stages of development a business finds itself in.
Giving advice to the owners of a business and preparing suitable models and financial statements for external use is another value adding area. Banks and external investors are particularly re-assured when they see experienced senior finance involvement, as they know from their own experience the value-added benefits of having a professional accountant on the management team.
What does a Part-Time FD cost?
Day rates varies according to location and experience, but a typical day rate is £500 outside of London and around £700 in London.
Can a Part-Time FD become Full time or vice versa?
Often a Portfolio FD will find it more interesting and challenging working with multiple clients at the same time and may not want to take on a full-time role, but it depends on what is on offer and where they are in their career development. Speak to your provider to understand what might be of interest.
Where to find an experienced Part-Time Finance Director
FD Capital are a London based specialist recruitment service that offer to recruit Finance Directors on a part-time, interim or full-time basis.
They have been trading since 2018 and have grown to become a well-known player in the UK market for Part-Time Finance Directors / Part-Time FDs
FD Capital work closely with Private Equity houses and the corporate finance teams of professional accountancy and legal firms.
Conclusion
Part-Time Finance Directors are a growing area and are a great way for a SME to gain professional skills on a fractional cost basis.
