I have been tasked with recommending a new structure for the finance team for two connected companies. We currently have two accounts staff in one company and one in the other with a finance manager (me) looking after both companies. The finance manager is doing lots on top of the core finance work and feeling very stretched. What would you expect the structure to be for a business of this size? I know that it would depend to a degree on the complexities of the business and neither of these are straightforward as they have multiple income streams.
Does anybody have any examples of a similar sized business?
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I know that it would depend to a degree on the complexities of the business and neither of these are straightforward as they have multiple income streams.
I would have thought it would depend almost entirely on that and so I can't see how anyone can give you the answer without more details.
You might start by writing a list of who currently does what and what the finance manager currently does that he/she thinks is outside his/her remit.
Are the businesses similar and do they use the same systems?
Are the "accounts staff" qualified, part-qualified, unqualified?
Future plans for the businesses?
Any audit issues that point to areas that require attention?
Very much depends on the firm.
Sounds manageable, roughly.
I used to run a department for a £16m firm with five staff (inc me), and currently run a 'department' of 2 for £4m.
Depends if you are selling penny sweets or jet engines.
That is nowt.
This week I spent time pushing cars around a storage unit( the one with seized brakes was interesting) moved about 50 boxes, went through a pile of tat to go to auction, (bulk went before Christmas) shifted vast numbers of parts for an old Daimler Barker Special which is sitting in pieces (so if anyone wants a really great ground up restoration project (though not 100% complete) we will be marketing it for sale soon so PM me, here is a link to a sorted one https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24118/lot/35/ to get an idea what they are like), shifted all car fluids etc from one set of shelves to another, replaced on the empty shelves a vast amount of car spares (mainly Mitsubushi L200) and will be doing more of this next Monday or Tuesday but at least with our handyman helping this time as I am getting a bit long in the tooth for labouring; such is the life of an accountant/labourer with no accounts staff to rely upon in a property company with a thirty odd year accumulation of things that will maybe be useful one day but never are.
On the plus side it should eventually release up to 15 more secure parking spaces re classic car storage, so at say £1,000 a year per space it was probably worth all the effort; now just need to find the extra customers, anyone wanting secure dry storage for a classic car (Edinburgh) PM me.
Not quite, my more normal role is holding steady a piece of wood whilst someone more skilled cuts it.