Part-Time Finance Director Services In Reading

Experienced financial leadership for Reading owner-managed businesses, without a full-time salary

A part-time Finance Director joins a Reading business's management team and takes responsibility for its reporting, forecasting and financial control, without the cost of a full-time appointment. They work alongside your people and help you make the decisions that matter, as a director would. Secantor provides experienced Finance Directors to owner-managed businesses across Reading, Caversham and the M4 corridor, learning how the business runs before proposing the right person.

This page covers the local service. Our national guide to the Fractional Finance Director role explains the model in full, and you can also see our wider board-level support in Reading.

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What Does A Part-Time Finance Director Do For A Reading Business?

A part-time Finance Director joins a Reading business's management team and takes responsibility for turning the numbers into decisions. The areas of support typically include:

  • Reporting and control. Monthly management accounts you can trust, with the key figures explained.
  • Planning. Budgets, a rolling cash view and a three to five year financial forecast model covering profit and loss, balance sheet and cashflow.
  • Profitability. Margin analysis by customer, product or project, and action on what it shows.
  • Funding. The figures and commentary your bank expects, and support with lenders and the information they need.
  • A partner in the decisions. Working alongside the owner and the directors on the big calls, and building a stronger, more accountable management team.

In a Reading business a part-time Finance Director takes a seat in the management team and answers for turning the numbers into decisions. The areas of support typically include:

  • Reporting you can trust. Monthly management accounts with the key figures explained.
  • Looking ahead. Budgets, a rolling cash view and a three to five year financial forecast model covering profit and loss, balance sheet and cashflow.
  • Where the profit is. Margin analysis by customer, product or project, and action on what it shows.
  • Dealing with funders. The figures and commentary your bank expects, and support with lenders and the information they need.
  • A partner in the decisions. Working with the owner and the directors on the big calls, and strengthening an accountable management team.

Reporting is built by a Management Accountant; the Finance Director interprets it and embeds it into how you run the business.

You may also search for this role as a fractional Finance Director, an outsourced Finance Director or a virtual Finance Director. All three names describe the same service: a commercially experienced Finance Director who works with your business on an ongoing, part-time basis as part of your management team.

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When Does A Reading Business Need A Part-Time Finance Director?

Reading owners look to a part-time Finance Director when sales are growing faster than the finance function can follow. A Finance Director gives the business figures it can run on, a forecast to plan against and a senior partner on the financial decisions that shape it, and builds a stronger, more accountable management team around the numbers. Common signs are monthly figures that arrive late or cannot be relied on, strong sales with weak profit, a bank asking for more than you can produce, or an owner still doing the forecasting. Our blog on what a Fractional Finance Director does in the first 90 days shows how the work typically starts.

How A Part-Time Finance Director Helped A Reading Business

A Reading commercial property business with £12m turnover lost its Finance Director to resignation shortly after its MD had also resigned, forcing the owners to step back into the business. Growth had masked a problem: the push for sales had eroded project margins without anyone noticing.

Secantor placed a fractional Finance Director, whose first task was a review of gross margin on every project, with project managers made accountable for delivering the margins set when the work was quoted. The owners now see where the business makes money and where it does not, have an improvement plan in place and have a finance function they can rely on again.

A part-time Finance Director discussing strategy with a business owner

How A Part-Time Finance Director Works With You

Secantor starts a part-time Finance Director engagement in Reading by listening to how the business works and where it wants to get to, then proposes the Finance Director we think fits you and your people, or more than one if you would like to choose. All of our advisors have held Finance Director, CFO or Non-Executive Director roles themselves. Once you have chosen, the Finance Director joins your management team, works alongside your people and takes ownership of the finance function.

The work begins with a diagnostic phase. The Finance Director takes stock of the business and gets to know its people, and reviews the systems, processes, reporting and organisation structure, and how the business operates day to day. From that review you agree an improvement action plan, and the Finance Director helps you put it into effect. The work then settles into a regular rhythm with the same advisor throughout and contact between sessions when you need it. You have full flexibility to increase or decrease the days to suit the business.

What Does A Part-Time Finance Director Cost In Reading?

Secantor charges £1,200 a day plus VAT and expenses for a part-time Finance Director in Reading, invoiced monthly for the days worked. You choose the days and can increase or decrease them to suit the business. Our cost guide sets out the figures in more detail.

A part-time Finance Director meeting with an SME management team
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Choosing The Right Arrangement For A Reading Business

Secantor's part-time Finance Director suits a Reading business that needs ongoing financial leadership. If growth, funding or a sale is the main question, a Part-Time CFO may suit better. If the board needs a fresh, independent perspective, consider a Non-Executive Director. If your Finance Director has left and you need cover quickly, an Interim Finance Director can start at short notice. Read Fractional vs Part-Time vs Interim CFO for the national picture.

Once we have met you and understand your business priorities, we will be able to recommend the most suitable support.

Working With Your Existing Team

Secantor's part-time Finance Directors work alongside the accountants, bookkeeper and finance staff of a Reading business and do not replace them. They provide the senior layer above that team. We do not provide bookkeeping or outsourced accounts. Read how to use management accounts effectively.

A part-time Finance Director reviewing financial information with an SME business owner

Starting With A Free Business Review

Secantor's Free Business Review is our no obligation starting point for Reading business owners. We begin with a conversation, then come to you to hear the story of your business. You leave with an independent view and our recommendation of the right support. See the Free Business Review.

Next Steps

Start with a conversation. Our Free Business Review begins with a chat about where the business is heading and ends with an independent view and no obligation. Prefer to talk first? Book a discovery call with a Secantor Director.

What Do Reading Business Owners Ask About A Part-Time Finance Director?

Is a part-time Finance Director a consultant?

No. In a Reading business a part-time Finance Director is a working member of the management team who answers for the finance function and sits in on the decisions that shape the business, as a director would. They stay to see things through rather than handing over a report.

Do you work with businesses outside Reading town centre?

Yes. We support businesses in Caversham, Tilehurst and along the M4 corridor, and across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey.

How many days a month will we need?

It depends on what the business needs. We agree the level with you at the first meeting, and you can increase or decrease the days to suit the business.

How is a part-time Finance Director different from a CFO?

A Finance Director runs reporting, forecasting and controls. A CFO adds funding, strategy and board leadership. Once we have met you and got to know the business, we recommend which role to start with.

Can a part-time Finance Director help us manage our relationship with the bank and other lenders?

Yes. They prepare the reporting and commentary lenders expect and lead the conversations with the bank, so the relationship rests on clear information.

Do you provide bookkeeping?

No. We provide the senior finance layer: Finance Director, CFO, Non-Executive Director and Management Accountant. Your existing accountants or bookkeeper carry on with the day to day.

Not quite found the answer you need? Contact our team and we will get back to you personally.

Interested in how senior support could help in other areas too? Learn more about our Non-Executive Directors and Fractional Operations Directors.

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Paul Gibbins

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On the call, you’ll:

  • Identify what’s holding back your profit and growth
  • Gain clearer direction on your business priorities
  • Understand how to improve cashflow and performance
  • Explore practical steps to move your business forward

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