Steel Fabrication

SME manufacturer | Growth phase

The owner was running the business almost blind. The only financial information available was year-end accounts, typically delivered eight to nine months after the year had closed. By the time the figures arrived, they were stale and irrelevant. The accounts themselves were also materially inaccurate, with completeness and accuracy issues throughout. Fixed assets on the balance sheet included equipment that had been disposed of years earlier. Debtors and creditors were unreliable, meaning the business was regularly caught off guard by unexpected bills and had no reliable view of who owed it money.

• Reconstructed and corrected a full year of accounting data before taking on the ongoing engagement.
• Cleared down the fixed asset register, removing disposed items and ensuring the balance sheet accurately reflected what the business actually owned.
• Rebuilt the debtors and creditors ledgers so the business had a clear, accurate picture of receivables and payables.
• Established a monthly management accounts process with a two-week turnaround after each month-end.
• Introduced a structured payment scheduling approach so the owner could manage supplier payments proactively, in line with cash flow.

The business moved from receiving financial information that was nine months out of date to receiving monthly accounts within two weeks of each month-end. The owner can now chase debtors promptly and plan supplier payments deliberately rather than reactively. The balance sheet is clean and accurate for the first time.