Do I need a full-time Finance Director to fix my financial reporting?

No. A fractional Finance Director provides the same strategic and operational expertise on a flexible, part-time basis. For most growing SMEs, this is not only more cost-effective — it is more appropriate for the stage of the business. Lock & Ledger delivers senior FD-level input without the overhead of a full-time hire.

How quickly can financial reporting be improved?

Initial improvements — including a structured month-end process, WIP controls, and basic reconciliations — can typically be implemented within four to eight weeks. The timeline depends on the complexity of your current systems and the quality of existing data.

What is work in progress (WIP) accounting and why does it matter?

WIP accounting ensures revenue is recognised in line with the work actually delivered, rather than when invoices are raised. For project-based businesses such as engineering firms, this is critical. Without WIP accounting, your P&L will overstate performance in some months and understate it in others, making it almost impossible to manage the business accurately.

What is a fractional Finance Director?

A fractional Finance Director is an experienced FD who works with your business on a part-time or project basis, rather than as a full-time employee. They provide the same strategic financial leadership as an in-house FD — covering reporting, controls, cashflow, and growth planning — at a fraction of the cost.

What is the risk of not addressing poor financial reporting?

Poor financial controls create real exposure during audit, banking reviews, or any investment or acquisition process. Buyers and investors scrutinise financial credibility — gaps in your reporting can delay a deal or reduce your valuation. Beyond that, every business decision made on inaccurate data carries unnecessary risk.

Is a fractional FD relevant if my business is already growing well?

Especially then. Growth amplifies the consequences of poor financial visibility. As revenue scales, so does the cost of making decisions based on inaccurate data. The strongest time to fix your financial foundations is before you need them to be perfect.

Fixing the Financial Foundations

How a Growing Engineerng Business Went From Guesswork to Confident Decision-Making

8 Weeks

Time to first result

4

Revenue Streams Tracked

100%

Balance Sheet Reconciled

Zero

Full Time FD Headcount

The Challenge:

Consistent revenue growth. No reliable way to understand it.

This growing UK engineering business was winning contracts, delivering projects, and building a strong reputation in its sector. On the surface, things looked positive.

But behind the scenes, the leadership team couldn’t trust their own financial reports.

One month the business appeared highly profitable. The next, performance looked weak. Cashflow didn’t reflect what was being reported. And there was no way to tell which part of the business - capital projects, manufactured products, service contracts, or testing and validation was actually driving margin.

The finance function had grown organically alongside the business, but without the structure to support it. Key problems included:

No structured, repeatable month-end close process
- journals were inconsistent, deadlines unclear, and the accounts unreliable
Revenue recognised at invoicing, not in line with project delivery creating significant distortion in the monthly P&L
No work in progress (WIP) tracking for live projects, meaning performance was regularly overstated or understated.
A single, undivided P&L with no visibility by revenue stream
Increasing exposure to audit risk, cashflow mismanagement, and an inability to present credible data to banks or investors

The Approach:

Building the financial infrastructure the business needed to grow.

I was brought in as a fractional Finance Director to build a proper financial foundation before introducing any strategic improvements. There’s no point planning for growth if the numbers underneath aren’t reliable.

The engagement focused on four interconnected workstreams, implemented within four to eight weeks:

A structured month-end close process

I designed and embedded a formal, repeatable month-end close into the business, with clear timelines, defined ownership for each step, and standardised journals for accruals, prepayments, and period-end adjustments.

A balance sheet reconciliation framework was introduced to catch errors before they compounded. For the first time, the finance function had a rhythm the business could rely on.

Revenue recognition and WIP control

I introduced a consistent, policy-driven approach to revenue recognition, aligned to actual project delivery milestones rather than invoicing dates. This included:

WIP tracking for all live projects
Accrued income recognition where work had been completed but not yet invoiced
Deferred income treatment for upfront or milestone-based billing

The result was that revenue and costs were matched correctly for the first time, giving a true and fair view of performance in every reporting period.

Financial controls and balance sheet integrity

I strengthened core financial controls across the function, including monthly VAT reconciliations, balance sheet integrity checks built into the month-end routine, and review processes for key accounts and high-risk lines.

This significantly reduced the risk of misstatement and improved the business’s readiness for external audit and any future due diligence.

Segmented P&L by revenue stream

Perhaps the most commercially significant change: I introduced a segmented P&L providing clear visibility across the business’s four distinct revenue streams - capital projects, manufactured items, service and maintenance, and testing and validation.

Leadership could now see not just whether the business was profitable, but where the profit was coming from - and where it wasn’t.

The Result:

Monthly accounts the leadership team could finally trust.

The transformation delivered measurable, practical impact within weeks. not quarters.
Monthly accounts became accurate, consistent, and trusted.
- The leadership team stopped second-guessing the numbers and started using them
Clear profitability by revenue stream enabled better pricing decisions, smarter resource allocation, and stronger commercial focus.
Faster, more confident decision-making at board level with opportunities acted on sooner, risks identified earlier
Audit and governance exposure significantly reduced through stronger controls and cleaner balance sheet reconciliations
A scalable finance function built to support the next stage of growth, including improved cashflow management and commercial planning

Is your financial reporting giving you clear answers?

If your numbers don’t add up or you’re not entirely sure they do, it’s time to fix the foundation.

Lock & Ledger works with UK SMEs to build reliable financial reporting, improve cashflow visibility, and support confident, data-driven growth.

→ Contact Us Today For A Free Consultation