How Nick went from darkness to genuine visibility over the numbers

The short version

Nick runs Pioneer Leadership with his co-director Heather, who looks after governance. They run outdoor education and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, they had every intention of growing, and they had an accountant who only ever did the bare compliance. Leigh gave them the management information, and the confidence, to make decisions properly.

Where they were before

Nick describes the finances before Leigh in a single word: darkness. Their accountant handled the year end and the compliance, was getting close to retirement and worked strictly to a template. If your business fitted the template, fine. But Nick and Heather had proof the business had legs, and they knew they needed real management accounts and accurate, up to date information, not just tax filings and a set of accounts once a year.

The turning point was VAT. A contract pushed them over the threshold, the advice they were given around registering was poor, a payment was missed, and they ended up with an audit. The audit itself turned out to be straightforward, but at the time it was stress they could have done without. Around the same time they joined a business growth programme, and it brought home just how many decisions they were making on gut feel alone.

How they found Leigh

They met Leigh alongside three other accountants, some local and some national. The others led with their gold and platinum packages. Leigh did the opposite. He approached it with curiosity rather than a sales script, wanting to understand what the business actually did and where he could add value.

When the growth programme produced a checklist of exactly what to expect from a financial controller, Nick handed it to Leigh. Rather than bristle at it, Leigh welcomed it and shaped his proposal around it. Heather spent time with him too, working out precisely how she would work with him day to day.

What Leigh does now

The single biggest change was moving onto Xero in the cloud, away from the old routine of handing over a box of receipts at month end. Now they can see where the accounts are at any point, and model what happens if they lose a customer, win a big one, take on a member of staff or buy new kit. Alongside that, Leigh runs the monthly management accounts, the payroll, the VAT and the compliance.

He has been just as useful on the things that are not strictly finance. He has helped with staffing decisions, an office move and growing the team, drawing on a background in HR as well as finance. Cash flow is a particular challenge in their world, because money often comes in early on work that is delivered much later in the year, across contracts that range from a few thousand pounds to tens of thousands, and Leigh has been steadily helping them get on top of it.

He is also the outside perspective they lean on. There is a monthly review call, and when the day to day starts to pile up he pulls them back out to look at the bigger picture. Nick is risk averse and slow to spend by nature, and when a decision is the right one to make, Leigh gently pushes him towards it.

The difference it has made

Ask Nick how he measures the return and he does not reach for a number.

By that measure the answer is clear. They are far less stressed than they were, the cash in the bank is apportioned properly, and for the first time they know exactly what is going where. From darkness to genuine visibility.

You can read more about what a full-time finance director actually costs, and about the management accounts that gave Nick and Heather their visibility.