Case Study

“Lesley helped our organisation survive – Twice”

The client: Disability Rights UK

The challenge: The organisation was formed out of the merger of three smaller charities, all with their own financial issues, operating systems and organisational culture! I was responsible for implementing the merger, and turning three very different, struggling charities into one successful one.

What I did: “Because we had to combine three teams, I had to work out a structure which worked for the new organisation. This involved redundancies, which I had to manage sensitively following a consultation.

“The remaining staff then had to be moved to the new organisation and turned into one team. As there were significant cultural differences, we worked hard to bring people together.

“I found that the three accounting systems being used were all weak, and that there were a substantial number of unknown debtors and bad debts.

“I put in a new accounting system and CRM system for the new organisation – again helping existing staff members move across. And I developed new policies and procedures to ensure a consistency of delivery, and restructured the governance of the charities to ensure compliance with company and charity law.

“Finally, the merger was almost derailed by an issue concerning the defined benefit pension scheme. I helped transfer and manage this, and it was eventually closed.

“I’m enormously proud that we turned three charities which were not sustainable individually into one strong organisation that functions well – and allows the voice of disabled people to be heard!

“And while I’ve moved onto other projects, I’ve stayed on as the finance committee as an advisor and will soon become a trustee, because this charity is particularly close to my heart.”

What the client says: “The combined turnover of the three charities was not large, but their challenges were big,” says Michael Bromwich, board member and honorary treasurer for Disability Rights UK.

“They all had very different accounting systems and legacy systems, and a lot of information was missing. Lesley’s first job was to come up with a proper accounting system for the new organisation, but the staff members from each legacy organisation remained loyal to what they knew. She had to work with a lot of understandable resistance.

“Lesley ensured we had proper systems in place, so we could be confident about our numbers and move ahead with decisions, because we knew our financial information was good. (This wasn’t the case previously.)

“Initially the organisation had very little money, so she had to run the finance function with very little flexibility and resources to do new things – but she helped make sure we survived.

“And when we discovered we had an issue with the pension scheme, Lesley was instrumental in the early stages. So she helped save the organisation a second time.

“We chose her because she understood the problems, understood charities and understood accounting. And even though she strikes one as reasonably quiet, she gets her ideas through. Rather than being someone who jumps up and down shouting about the solution, she just does it! And that’s invaluable.”

If those are the kinds of results you would like for your organisation, please get in touch with me today. I’d love to help.

“Lesley equipped our organisation to scale”

The client: TEDI London, a new design-led engineering school being created by three global partners: King’s College London, Arizona State University and the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

The challenge: As a brand-new organisation, TEDI-London needed to set up its finance function from scratch but because it had high-growth plans, it couldn’t afford for its finance function to develop slowly…

…It needed the more formal systems that a larger organisation would have in place, in order to scale.

What I did: As Chief Finance Officer, I was responsible for setting up every aspect of the organisation’s new finance department.

Following some research, I recommended an outsourced solution for the finance department. I defined the scope of the role, reviewed possible providers and managed the tender process. When we settled on a provider, I helped them set up so that our bookkeeping and accounting were running smoothly.

To ensure that the department would be run professionally, we needed robust systems and processes and good governance in place. I created those systems.

I ensured that there was financial discipline, turning the overarching financial plan into a functional budget with strict controls and reporting systems.

What the client says: “I was interim COO for TEDI-London, but when I was taken back into King’s College, Lesley had to take lead of the finance function by herself very quickly – and that’s exactly what she did,” says Annie Kent, currently interim CFO at King’s College London.

“In fact, she worked so well that I didn’t have to worry about the finance function at all, and could devote my attention to other important issues.

“She made sure our systems were set up correctly from the start, got everything sorted and ensured financial discipline.

“How she went about it was every bit as important as what she did.

“She has a very good, engaging manner and works with people easily, even though she is a strong personality who doesn’t get rolled over. This was really important because in start-ups there are always tensions.

“Integrity is also very important. When you’re starting up a new organisation, controls over cash may not be as strong as they could be, so you need someone you can trust strongly to maintain that integrity. I would recommend Lesley wholeheartedly.”