Author Archives: Matt Smith

The Series B Readiness Review: 12 Red Flags Investors Spot Immediately

THE SERIES B READINESS REVIEW: 12 RED FLAGS INVESTORS SPOT IMMEDIATELY Raising Series B funding is the moment to prove your business can scale, and that your leadership team already operates at investor-grade. When growth accelerates, persuasion doesn’t win confidence. Precision does: clear data, disciplined reporting, and a story that stands up to scrutiny. Today’s investors look beyond forecasts and financial models. They expect a well-organised dataroom. In fact, nearly … Continue reading →

Investor-Grade Reporting – The Framework Every Scale-Up Needs Before a Series B

INVESTOR-GRADE REPORTING – THE FRAMEWORK EVERY SCALE-UP NEEDS BEFORE A SERIES B Your investors want evidence that you’re in control. When forecasts shift or board packs raise more questions than answers, confidence starts to slip. Investor-grade reporting fixes that. It’s a repeatable, cross-functional framework that connects financial data, forecasts, KPIs, and governance into one clear story of performance and growth. For any scale-up heading into Series B, it’s the foundation … Continue reading →

Why Founders Misread Runway (And How VCs Read It Differently) | Series B Readiness

WHY FOUNDERS MISREAD RUNWAY (AND HOW VCS READ IT DIFFERENTLY) Every founder has a version of their runway story. It’s usually told in months: “We’ve got 12 months of cash left before the next raise.” But investors don’t hear that number the same way. A founder’s 12 months of comfort often looks like 6 months of risk to a VC. That’s because the story behind those months, the cashflow forecasting, … Continue reading →

Hidden Reporting Gaps That Undermine Investor Confidence at Series B

HIDDEN REPORTING GAPS THAT UNDERMINE INVESTOR CONFIDENCE AT SERIES B You’ve got growth, a strong pipeline, and a clear path to the next round. But investors are hesitating, not because the maths is wrong, but because confidence in your numbers isn’t where it needs to be. Investor confidence erodes when reporting can’t be defended under scrutiny, when assumptions shift, or when definitions don’t reconcile. That credibility gap often becomes visible … Continue reading →

From Innovation To Control: Funding Growth Without Losing Financial Clarity

From Innovation To Control: Funding Growth Without Losing Financial Clarity Funding Growth With Financial Control: Innovation remains one of the strongest drivers of growth in the UK economy. Across technology, life sciences, professional services and advanced manufacturing, ambitious businesses continue investing heavily in development, supported by funding schemes, tax incentives and investor capital. However, in today’s economic environment, innovation alone is no longer enough. Rising cost pressures, increased investor scrutiny … Continue reading →

Why Investors Lose Confidence in Your Numbers

WHY INVESTORS LOSE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR NUMBERS For leaders preparing for a Series B raise, financial accuracy is usually not the problem. The numbers reconcile. The board pack goes out on time. But then the questions start, and suddenly the confidence in the room shifts. Forecast assumptions are challenged, scenarios don’t quite align, and what looked solid on paper feels less certain under scrutiny. Most businesses at this stage are … Continue reading →

Scaling with Precision: Strategic Insights from Sage and iFD

Scaling Finance with Sage and iFD: Reframing finance as the system that unlocks enterprise value, not a cost that absorbs it. A New Era for Finance: From Scorekeeping to Strategic Intelligence In the second part of our Sage and iFinanceDirector webinar series, Marvin Fletcher-Rogers, Principal Consultant for Sage Intacct and head of Sage’s UK Private Equity Programme, highlighted how the finance function is evolving. It is moving beyond its traditional role of compliance-focused reporting and … Continue reading →

iFD and Sage Event: Driving Enterprise Value With Authentic Intelligence

iFD and Sage Event: Driving enterprise value – The iFD community recently came together for an insightful session hosted in partnership with Sage, featuring Marvin Fletcher Rogers, Principal Consultant and Head of Business Development at Sage. The event centred on a crucial topic for today’s finance leaders: unlocking enterprise value through authentic intelligence-enabled financials.. It offered an in-depth look at how finance functions are evolving and the tools, strategies and … Continue reading →

How Power BI Helps Businesses Scale After Investment

Securing investment for your business is a significant milestone, but it is not the finish line. With new funding comes new pressure, especially for CFOs and finance leaders who are now tasked with meeting heightened expectations. They must now scale effectively, fulfill commitments to investors and ensure transparency, strategic resource allocation and measurable returns. In this dynamic environment, modern finance teams require advanced solutions that align with their goals. Conventional … Continue reading →

How Data Cubes Support Private Equity Portfolio Management

The private equity landscape is complex and ever-changing. Yet CFOs and portfolio managers are still expected to provide clear insights, often relying on outdated tools like Excel or siloed data systems. This can lead to problems that may erode returns, strain investor relationships, and result in missed opportunities during exits. Traditional methods struggle to manage the multidimensional datasets that characterise modern PE portfolios. From tracking profitability shifts to stress-testing exit … Continue reading →

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