CFO desk and retained financial advice
Payroll and bookkeeping
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On demand
The CFO desk provides regular financial analysis and advice for decisions that extend beyond the monthly accounts. TheTaxCo works with owners and their finance team on cash, margins, budgets, funding requirements and financial controls, with a defined review calendar and action list.
The engagement states who prepares the records, who analyses them, who follows up actions and who has authority to decide. Management retains responsibility for business commitments, banking instructions and board decisions. The service does not by itself appoint a statutory officer or replace an independent audit.
When a retained desk is useful
A retained arrangement can suit a business whose financial questions recur: cash is tight despite profits, product margins are unclear, branch expansion needs a funding plan, or lender reporting takes substantial management time each month.
A one-off forecast or facility-renewal project may be sufficient when the need is limited to a single decision. We establish the problem first and recommend a scope around it. If the books are behind, the initial work can combine urgent cash visibility with a separately defined plan to repair the accounting base.
The operating scope
The desk starts with a diagnostic of the accounts, reporting, cash commitments and approval controls. We identify recurring information gaps, such as unbilled work, old receivables, unreviewed supplier terms or inventory that ties up funds. The work plan names the analysis and decisions needed for those items.
The retained desk prepares a monthly finance pack, rolling cash forecast, margin and working-capital review, budget updates and financial decision notes. The review meeting records decisions, responsible people and due dates. The following meeting checks what changed rather than reopening the same discussion without a record.
Specific projects may examine a price change, planned hire, lease, new location or borrowing proposal. The decision note sets out the baseline, options, assumptions, downside and cash effect. Where an agreement raises legal or specialist tax issues, our specialist team handles the required legal or tax review alongside the financial analysis.
Controls and authority
We review how the business approves purchases, credit terms, payments and changes to financial data. Recommendations are proportionate to the transaction volume and team: the person preparing a payment should have a defined review and approval route, and exceptions should be visible.
Any authority delegated to the desk must be explicit in the engagement and consistent with the organisation’s approvals. Access to accounting information does not confer authority to borrow, spend, sign a contract or release a bank payment. The action list records recommendations and management decisions separately.
Bookkeeping, tax returns, payroll and audit retain named owners. Our team handles those services and the desk coordinates their information requirements and deadlines, or works with your existing advisers. Where audit independence restricts the combination of services, the appointment structure must be resolved before the work is accepted.
Inputs, deliverables and timetable
We need current accounts and reconciliations, bank facilities and covenants, receivable and payable schedules, pipeline and commitments, payroll plans and the reporting requirements already promised to others. Access to the managers who understand the numbers is as useful as access to the accounting file.
You receive the agreed finance pack, cash and funding analysis, decision notes and an action register. A project engagement specifies its particular deliverable and end point. A retainer specifies meeting frequency, preparation responsibilities, response arrangements and how new transactions are added to the work plan.
The initial timetable depends on the state of the books and the urgency of the decisions. We identify the entities, decisions and recurring responsibilities in the work plan. A new funding transaction or legal matter gets its own objectives, professional responsibilities and approval steps.
Questions about working together
Does this replace our accountant? It can work with the existing accountant. We agree where transaction processing, close, analysis and management review sit so work is not duplicated or left unowned.
Can you join lender or investor discussions? Yes. We prepare for and participate in lender and investor discussions. The figures, representations and negotiating authority are agreed before the discussion. Financing or investment approval cannot be guaranteed.
Can you start while the books are incomplete? Yes, with a defined first phase. Known bank balances and commitments can support immediate cash decisions while unresolved accounting balances are identified and repaired.
How will we know the retainer is useful? Agree the expected outputs and decisions at the start, then review delivery and completed actions against them. Examples include a maintained cash forecast, an explained margin change or an agreed collections plan; financial results still depend on business performance and execution.
Related work includes monthly management reporting, cash forecasting and project reports and CMA data.
Email TheTaxCo, message us on WhatsApp or book a call. Share the recurring finance decisions taking management time, the current reporting cycle and the next major commitment or funding discussion.