Running a small business means constant decisions about cash, pricing and growth. Many owners tell us they do not need a full-time finance director, but they do need senior finance support from a senior finance professional they can turn on and off as the business changes. That is where a Micro FD comes in, bringing financial expertise to SMEs.
What is a Micro FD?
A Micro FD is an outsourced, part-time finance director who provides strategic finance leadership without the overhead of a full-time hire. Unlike a finance manager, whose focus is often on day-to-day financial policies, budgeting, and reporting, a Micro FD operates at a more senior level, driving strategic initiatives and providing broader financial oversight.
You get senior input on cash flow, pricing, funding and profit improvement, alongside tighter monthly reporting and forecasting. The Micro FD fulfils the finance director role on a flexible basis, taking on key responsibilities such as strategic financial management, leadership, and operational oversight.
We plug into your team, integrate with your finance department, and support your finance operations by setting a finance rhythm and taking ownership of the actions that follow.
A Micro FD brings key skills such as leadership, communication, and analytical thinking, as well as technical skills in financial software and compliance, to your business.
Who Benefits Most From Micro Finance Directors
- Founder-led SMEs that have grown beyond basic bookkeeping and year-end accounts, including smaller companies and medium-sized businesses.
- Medium-sized enterprises that require finance leadership but may not need a full-time finance director.
- Multi-site retailers and hospitality operators that need control of stock, labour and site performance.
- Healthcare businesses, such as pharmacies, where reimbursement timing and purchasing strategy shape cash.
- Scale-ups planning investment, acquisitions or new product launches.
If you recognise any of these, a Micro FD gives you senior accountability without the fixed cost.
What a Micro FD Actually Does
We focus on actions that move the numbers, not reports for the sake of it. As a Micro FD, we develop comprehensive financial strategies and lead strategic initiatives to support your business goals. Financial planning is a core responsibility, ensuring your business is prepared for growth and success. We provide guidance to help you make informed decisions and maintain financial stability.
We take ownership by overseeing financial operations and managing the company’s financial operations, ensuring compliance, effective resource management, and alignment with your objectives.
Cash Flow Control
We build a 13-week cash flow and a rolling 12-month forecast, then run weekly reviews to keep collections and spending on track. We set rules for payment terms, deposits and credit limits, and align them with your invoicing and payments processes. We maintain strong relationships with financial institutions to support cash flow and ensure access to necessary funding. We monitor debtor days and supplier terms so cash does not drift.
Effective cash flow control is essential for your business’s financial success.
Management Reporting You Can Act On
We turn management accounts into decisions. As part of our responsibility for financial reporting and statutory financial reporting, we ensure your reports meet compliance and strategic needs. Expect tracking against budget, variance analysis in plain English, and a short list of actions. Where you do not have monthly packs, we design a template that fits your business model, including the key financial statements such as P&L, balance sheet, and cash metrics that matter.
We use our analytical skills to interpret the data and provide actionable insights. We also focus on communicating complex financial information in an understandable way, so all stakeholders can make informed decisions.
Budgets, Forecasting, and Financial Strategy
We translate goals into spend limits, hiring plans, and pricing moves. Strategic financial planning is essential in the budgeting process to ensure resources are allocated effectively for future needs. We build top-down and bottom-up budgets, aligning them with your company’s finance strategy and financial strategy to support overall business objectives. We then run scenario analysis so you can see the impact of sales shifts or supplier price changes before they hit, helping support long-term growth and achieve your financial goals. We keep forecasts live, not annual.
KPIs That Matter
We keep a tight set of KPIs, usually no more than ten, such as gross margin by product, debtor days, stock turns, labour cost percentage, cash conversion, and cash runway where relevant. We set targets, assign owners—often from the accounting personnel or the finance team—and review performance on a fixed cadence. Managing and interpreting KPIs effectively requires strong professional skills, including analytical ability and financial expertise.
Funding Readiness
If you plan to invest or refinance, we prepare lender-ready packs. That includes a clear business narrative, historic performance, forward forecasts that reconcile to actuals, and sensitivity cases. We collaborate with your financial controller and chief financial officer as needed to ensure all financial information is accurate and comprehensive. During funding processes, your Micro FD may report directly to the board or CEO to streamline communication and decision-making. We help you compare options and keep data room materials organised.
Systems and Data Quality
We reduce manual work, tighten controls and improve accuracy. That may include cleaning product and customer masters, mapping charts of accounts to management reporting, automating bank feeds and reconciliations by applying technical expertise to improve system efficiency, and documenting month-end procedures so the numbers close on time.
Governance and Risk
We set simple, proportionate controls. Typical examples include two-stage approval for spend above a threshold, standardised pricing sign-off, stock counts on a cycle basis, and a short risk register that owners review quarterly. These controls also help ensure compliance with financial regulations and relevant business law, supporting effective risk management and legal oversight.
How the Working Rhythm Looks
- Weekly cash huddle for receipts, payments and short-term decisions.
- Month-end within ten working days with a consistent pack, commentary and action log.
- Quarterly planning to review strategy, capacity and investment, collaborating closely with the senior executive team, senior leadership, and senior management to ensure alignment on key decisions.
- Ad-hoc support for board packs, lender queries and major supplier negotiations.
Strong management skills are essential to facilitate these meetings and keep everyone aligned by ending each pack with who, what and by when. If something slips, we reset the plan at the next review.
Outcomes You Should Expect for Your Company’s Financial Health
- Faster cash conversion from tighter invoicing, clearer terms and focused credit control, directly supporting the company’s financial health.
- Better margins through visibility of product or site performance and disciplined pricing, contributing to the overall improvement of the company’s financial health.
- Fewer surprises because forecasts are live and assumptions are tested, ensuring the company’s financial health is proactively managed.
- Lender and investor readiness with clean numbers, a clear story and robust sensitivities, which is a key responsibility of finance directors in maintaining the company’s financial health.
- Time is saved as owners step back from minute-by-minute decisions and focus on growth, a result often delivered by a good finance director.
A Micro FD acts as a financial director, delivering the strategic leadership, financial planning, and oversight expected from good finance directors. This ensures your business benefits from the expertise and results typically associated with top finance directors.
Common Pitfalls and How We Avoid Them
- Too many reports, not enough action
We cap the KPIs, keep the pack short and always finish with actions. Many candidates searching for finance director jobs or considering a finance director job may expect extensive reporting, but our Micro FD model focuses on actionable insights rather than volume. - Data that does not agree
We reconcile management reports to statutory figures and document the bridges. - No owner for key measures
Every KPI has a named owner and a simple escalation route when targets are missed. - Over-engineering
We favour usable spreadsheets and light-touch tools over heavy systems until the data is clean and the process is proven.
It’s common to assume that the average salary or the need for professional certifications defines the value of a finance director’s job, but our approach prioritises practical impact and fit over traditional expectations.
When to Consider a Micro FD
- You are growing, and the owner still signs off on every price and hire.
- Margins look fine on paper, but cash is tight each month.
- You expect to seek funding in the next six to twelve months.
- You are opening new sites or taking on a large contract.
- Your sector has volatile input costs or seasonal demand.
- As your business grows, you or a team member may need to become a finance director or seek support from experienced finance professionals to manage increased financial complexity.
If that describes you, start with a focused period to stabilise cash and reporting, then move to a steady rhythm.
A Quick PAS View
Problem: SMEs often run on thin margins and unpredictable cash. Late payments, price changes and ad-hoc decisions erode control.
Agitation: When forecasts are out of date and big customers pay late, working capital gets squeezed, hiring stalls, and investment drifts.
Solution: We act as your part-time finance director, bringing a solid understanding of finance and business administration. We set a clear cadence, keep forecasts live and convert monthly reporting into decisions that protect cash and grow profit.
How We Deliver at Diamond Accounts
We bring Micro FD support together with our core services so you get one team and one plan. Our team members hold a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or economics, and many also have a similar master’s degree, such as an MBA or other advanced qualifications in related fields. They have extensive experience in the financial industry and stay up to date with industry trends to ensure you receive informed, forward-thinking advice. If you already work with us on management accounts, we use that pack as the backbone for decisions. Our budget advisory work turns strategy into a real spending and hiring plan. Where you need capital, we prepare and coordinate options through corporate finance so you move quickly when the numbers stack up.
Sector context matters. Pharmacies face reimbursement timing and stock pressures, so our pharmacy accountants team aligns cash forecasts with fee cycles and buying groups. Hospitality and retail need tight control of stock and labour, which we support through food and hospitality reporting and KPIs.
If you prefer a local touch, you can meet the team through our services hub and ask about Micro FD support, or contact us directly via our enquiry page. We typically start with an intensive first month to design the model and cadence, then move to an agreed rhythm that scales with your needs.