A Recruitment Agency’s Very Own Finance Department

From Expansion Overseas to Preparing for Sale. We Helped a Recruitment Agency Change Their Financial Habits.

Who Was the Client?

A recruitment agency based in the South West of England, operating without a finance director.

What Was the Challenge?

The client wanted to grow, and eventually sell, their company. However, it lacked robust financial management and had limited fiscal controls. The client knew that they wouldn’t attract buyers if they couldn’t prove how well their books were balanced.

In addition, the business’ dealings with overseas customers were impeding efficient operations. The business regularly processed payments in foreign currency and managed payroll and tax for contractors and full-time hires working for an overseas employer.

Given this, the client needed finance director-level advice to identify and install a more efficient financial model, help them grow and make them more attractive to buyers.

How Did We Help?

We were hired to fulfil the role of finance director and support the business to grow more quickly and easily.

After thoroughly assessing the client’s financial circumstances, we explained the situation to them in clear, non-technical language. We then made changes that allowed the business to run more efficiently within different countries’ payment structures.

Following this, work began on building strong financial management foundations, including collection techniques (credit control and debt collection) and stipulations we could deploy for future recruitment contracts.

What Was the Result?

We acted as the agency’s very own finance department and, by the end of our two-year tenure, had overseen the creation of a full, in-house finance team comprising around 10 people. As well as improving bill payments, we found and recovered hundreds of thousands in floating revenue due to unresolved invoices.

Partly due to our influence, and partly because of the 2015 downswing for oil and gas (the client’s main business sector), the client changed their mind about selling. Instead, their strong financial position enabled them to begin planning for overseas expansion.