Understanding your business and finance function

In this insight, part of our guide to your first 100 days as a finance leader at an entrepreneurial SME, we focus on the foundations required to make well‑informed decisions. Visit the hub for more on navigating risk, building trust with your team, and shaping your first few months with confidence.

Getting to know the business

In your first few weeks, focus on getting clear answers to two key questions:  

1. What is your entrepreneurial business aiming for, and why?  

This often won't be understood or documented through a formal mission statement. In many SMEs and entrepreneurial businesses, a conversation with the owner or CEO about their goals, priorities, and “what good looks like” is enough to get clarity.  

2. How can Finance support these goals?  

Once you know the overarching aims for the business and its owner, you can set your priorities to support these. It may be building cash headroom, improving margins, better financial reporting, or helping the business to grow.  

We often see finance leaders at fast-paced, scaling businesses get caught in the day‑to‑day minutiae from the get-go. Taking the time to step back and consider the bigger picture is essential for identifying the right priorities.  
 
Three additional areas to focus on include:  

1. The main goals of the business over the short, medium and long term
2. The budgeting process, KPIs, and how budgets are created, monitored and utilised in the business  
3. How the strategy impacts on employees, customers and other stakeholders

First-hand insights:

“The thing that was key, especially at the start, was cash flow forecasting. Because it is a small business, the early days were all about identifying what the key value drivers for the business were.” 

Sian Cutter, Finance Director, drivvn

“The most valuable thing I did was listen - really understanding how the business worked in practice, not just through the numbers. I needed to see how projects flowed, how cash moved, and where margins were actually made or lost.”

Pablo Shorney, Finance Director at Dudley’s 

“Understanding the business, its products and its market, and meeting key people to build relationships is essential. As CFOs, we often have to be chameleons. Being able to understand and speak the language of the business, and knowing your competitors, is what will make you stand out” 

Matt Wakerley, CFO, Inspiretec  

Assessing your finance team in thirty days

In most SMEs and entrepreneurial businesses, you will inherit a very small finance team. In some cases, you may even be building the team almost from scratch. Understanding the capabilities you currently have, versus the capability you need to deliver the business’s priorities, will be essential. 

You may also need to check whether any internal candidates applied for your role and may be feeling disheartened. This is a step that often gets missed, but taking the time to engage with them early on can help maintain morale and strengthen your team from the outset, particularly in a small team.

A checklist of areas to focus on reviewing in your first month should include:

1. Systems, processes, and controls  

Assess the enabling systems currently supporting finance, and whether they are fit for purpose. For example, is there an opportunity for automation of transaction processing, workflow approvals?

2. Data, reporting and information  

What reports are sent out, and when? Do these add value, and are they accurate and tailored to stakeholder needs? Do people truly trust the data underneath them? Perform your own ‘health check’ to identify the actions to take to resolve them.

3. Efficient and effective operations  

You will need to evaluate current operations, from cyber security to tax planning, to look out for any risks as well as opportunities for increased efficiency and effectiveness.

As part of this review, assess how the business is leveraging government-backed schemes designed to optimise operational performance and financial efficiency. This includes:

• considering the suitability of Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes to attract and retain key talent
• reviewing utilisation of the Apprenticeship Levy to support workforce development
• evaluating eligibility for R&D tax relief or other innovation-focused incentives.

These programmes are often underused but can significantly reduce cost, improve cash flow, and strengthen the organisation’s long‑term capability, making them an important lever in building a more resilient and high-performing operation.  

First-hand insights:

“In the first potentially 100 days, I was reviewing the balance sheet for robustness and ensuring there were no surprises.” 

Sian Cutter, Finance Director, drivvn 

“If I were doing it again, I would structure that listening phase more deliberately. The instinct was right, but I would map out the key stakeholders and themes more formally from day one.” 

Pablo Shorney, Finance Director at Dudley’s 

Visit the second insight

Building a clear risk picture as an SME finance leader

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