Do you know much about the FD Role? Learn more about the FD Role here on the Tectona Partnership website.
Understanding and benefiting from Research & Development (R&D) tax credits can be crucial for businesses, especially with recent updates and increased scrutiny from the government and its agencies. In January 2024, the National Audit Office (NAO) published a report highlighting widespread errors and fraud, and shortcomings in HMRC’s processes for R&D tax credits, prompting significant […]
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The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is often seen by the uninitiated as the company’s number-cruncher. True, they are responsible for overseeing the company’s finances, including accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. However, the CFO is much more than just a numbers person. They are also a strategic thinker, a problem-solver, and a leader and a general […]
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What does a CFO actually do? A good part time CFO will focus on providing high level, value-added strategic financial advice to businesses. By the very nature of the part time role, the businesses that benefit most will be primarily at the smaller end of the SME spectrum from start-up, through growth and on to […]
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When my partner and I set up Tectona we were very keen to keep the necessary set up and then the day to day running costs to an absolute minimum. Then, being small, this meant doing everything ourselves – and I mean everything. With the huge benefit of hindsight (and a few years’ experience under […]
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When you are looking to tighten the financial aspects of your business it is always best to look for a quality Chief Financial Officer, or “CFO”. A person in this position must have particular qualities and you should have a certain vibe when you meet them. Otherwise you will find that the working relationship is […]
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Recruiting and maintaining staff can be one of the most expensive costs for your business. It isn’t just the wages that you need to consider when hiring staff. Making the wrong hiring decision can be disastrous. Therefore, it is important that you consider the hidden or forgotten costs of employing new staff. It is especially […]
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“What does an outstanding FD look like and do you need one?” All too often Finance Directors (FD or CFO), particularly in SME businesses, act more like “heavy” bookkeepers or management accountants rather than being a true member of the senior management team providing input to strategy and driving the business plan through in partnership […]
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We are regularly asked why a business should have a chief financial officer when the business owner already has an accountant who completes his/her annual report and accounts. The answer is that they perform very different roles. As a keen archer, I use the analogy of receiving a report of your scores at the end […]
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Back in the nineties, interim managers were selected for their broad business experience, managerial ability and agility. One writer on the subject even went so far as to suggest that successful interim mangers were generally thinner and more athletic than the norm. While you can’t get away with such sweeping generalisations about the BMI of […]
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The modern business environment is more competitive than ever, and this has forced many SMEs to take a long hard look at their overheads, and trim them where possible. The wage bill can often be one of the largest overheads that a small business has to manage, and a large number of SMEs are now […]
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