Finance, data & AI

A finance function that shapes decisions.

A finance function that shapes decisions, not just reports them. We build the data, systems, automation and forecasting that give your finance team the time and the numbers to partner the business.

The aim is simple: move finance from Record-keeper and Gatekeeper to Strategic Partner, so the business can grow without the numbers falling behind.

Take the Finance Partner Check Book a call
The maturity path

Record-keeper → Gatekeeper → Advisor → Strategic Partner.

Every stage has value. The goal is for finance to spend less of its time on the early stages, so it has more for the later ones.

  1. STAGE 1

    Record-keeper

    Finance spends its time on
    Processing, reconciling, closing the month and compliance.
    The business gets
    An accurate record of what happened, and a monthly pack.
    Typical signs
    Most of the month goes on getting the numbers out. Questions get "I'll come back to you".
  2. STAGE 2

    Gatekeeper

    Finance spends its time on
    Controls, approvals, budgets and checking spend.
    The business gets
    Control and fewer surprises.
    Typical signs
    Finance chases budget variances and hears about decisions after they're made.
  3. STAGE 3

    Advisor

    Finance spends its time on
    Analysis, forecasting, product and customer margin, and "what if" questions.
    The business gets
    Good insight on request, and a forecast people use.
    Typical signs
    The analysis is strong but rebuilt in spreadsheets each cycle, and it rests on a few people.
  4. STAGE 4

    Strategic Partner

    Finance spends its time on
    Shaping decisions with the leadership team: pricing, investment, S&IOP and deals.
    The business gets
    A forward view everyone trusts, and scenarios in hours, not weeks.
    Typical signs
    Data flows without rekeying. One version of the truth. Finance is in the room when decisions are made.
Basics

We assume your close and controls are in place. If they need work, we fix them quickly first, because nothing else holds without them. Then the real work begins: freeing finance time and pointing it forward.

What we do

Six pieces of work that move finance up the path.

We start with the ones that free the most time, then build forward. Each is scoped and sized in your Pinpoint phase.

Data foundations and a single version of the truth

One definition for each number, one source, and a data model finance and operations both use.

You get
  • A KPI dictionary with owners
  • A clean master data plan (customers, products, costs)
  • A reporting layer people stop arguing with

Systems and ERP value

Get the value you paid for from the systems you already have, before buying more.

You get
  • A review of how the ERP is really used
  • A short list of fixes, ranked by £ and hours saved
  • Clear advice on when a new system is worth it

Automation

Take the rekeying and copy-paste out of the month, so skilled people do skilled work.

You get
  • Automated reconciliations and data feeds
  • A pack that builds itself
  • Hours saved, measured each month

AI in finance, used sensibly

AI where it saves real time today, on clean data, with a person signing off and controls your auditors accept.

You get
  • Drafted variance commentary
  • Matching and anomaly flags in reconciliations
  • Invoice and document extraction

FP&A, forecasting and S&IOP (sales, inventory and operations planning)

A rolling forecast built from the sales pipeline and the operations plan, so the numbers and the factory tell the same story.

You get
  • A driver-based rolling forecast
  • Forecast accuracy, tracked each month
  • Scenarios the board can use

Business partnering and MI

Finance people working alongside sales and operations, with MI built for the decisions each team makes.

You get
  • A partnering model with clear roles
  • Daily, weekly and monthly MI
  • Product and customer margin on demand
Done before

From no forecasting to a full S&IOP forecast, traced to EBITDA.

In one business, Nick took forecasting from nothing to a full pipeline S&IOP forecast, with every step traced through to its EBITDA impact.

  1. Sales pipelineOpportunities, weighted by stage
  2. Demand planAgreed by sales and operations
  3. Supply and capacityLines, shifts, materials
  4. Inventory and cashStock and working capital
  5. P&L forecastMargin by product and customer
  6. EBITDAThe number the board manages to

That is the joint between finance and operations we work in. When the forecast and the factory plan are the same plan, decisions on price, capacity and stock get made earlier and with more confidence.

The opportunity

There is time to win back in most finance teams.

The numbers from recent surveys point the same way: a lot of skilled finance time still goes on moving data around.

1 in 3

finance teams have senior staff losing up to half the week to manual data work.

Source: FERF/FEI survey of 116 senior finance executives, via CPA Practice Advisor (Oct 2026).
70%

of ERP initiatives don't fully meet their original business goals. There is usually value still to find in the system you have.

Source: Gartner, via The Register (Nov 2025).
50%

of finance teams take six or more business days to close the month. Only 18% close in one to three.

Source: Ledge month-end close benchmark, via CFO.com (2025).
20–50 hrs

a month go on reconciliation, the biggest time sink in the close. Much of it can be automated.

Source: Ledge, via CFO.com (2025).

This work usually starts at a moment: an ERP that hasn't delivered, growth that has outrun the MI, a new MD or CFO, or a sale on the horizon. See which sounds like you.

Next step

Where is your finance team on the path?

The Finance Partner Check is a short, free self-assessment. It shows where finance spends its time today and the first moves to change that.

Take the Finance Partner Check Book a call