Why is there a need for Seasmoke fm?
One of the most underestimated challenges for your technology-driven business?
Compiling comprehensive financial projections that guide strategic decisions, meet capital raising demands, and scale with business growth where there is little in-house expertise or time to build robust models quickly.
Providing accurate financial models is a critical service to all stakeholders, including management, the board, and investors. As CFO for several technology-driven businesses in the UK, Europe, US, and New Zealand, I’ve developed new financial models for each, recognising the often-underestimated importance of this work.
Based on my experience, the issues I've encountered with financial models and the approaches I've observed are outlined below.
Financial modelling for an entire business is a tough nut to crack; expertise is not always available
Models are generally poorly structured and wouldn’t pass external scrutiny
Finance teams do not have the time to invest in setting something appropriate up to meet company needs
Businesses tend to think of financial projections as a “one-time” activity (e.g raising capital, annual budgeting, strategic financial options), when the reality is that they are all interconnected. This means the financial tool needs to be multi-functional
Often, models are too simplified in some areas and overly complex in others
Models are out of sync with how the business has developed
Early-stage companies often overlook the time it takes to build a professional set of projections, hampering their ability to get to capital markets when they need to