I’ve helped over 100 CEOs safeguard their company’s finances. Could you be next?

I’m Ciaran, and I’m on a mission to help startups, entrepreneurs and fast-growing businesses.

Why? Because you’re interesting people with interesting financial challenges. You’re expanding, it’s causing growing pains … you need FD-level expertise, but you aren’t ready for a full-time FD.

Sound familiar? Let’s discuss how the Virtual FD could help your business. 

What CEOs think of Virtual FD

I’ve helped over 100 CEOs safeguard their company’s finances. Could you be next?

What CEOs think

I’m Ciaran, and I’m on a mission to help startups, entrepreneurs and fast-growing businesses.

Why? Because you’re interesting people with interesting financial challenges. You’re expanding, it’s causing growing pains… You need FD-level expertise, but you aren’t ready for a full-time FD.

Sound familiar? Let’s discuss how the Virtual FD could help your business.

A simple way to bring an FD into your growing business

Small businesses and startups often find finance the toughest problem of all. Before you can afford a full-time FD, you still need to know how you’re doing and where you’re going.

I’ll help you map the key aspects that underpin your vision: your growth plan or forecast, how you’re performing against it, the metrics you use to track it and the capital structure or investment needed to fund it.

Keeping you on track

By tracking key metrics, I’ll help you prove that any growth assumptions in your plan are more than a leap of faith.

You’ll need these outputs for things like board meetings, with supporting layers for in-depth analysis. I’m here to make sure you’re fully equipped.

Working together, wherever you are

Using cloud-based accounting technology, simple workflows and outputs, I’ll help you make better decisions and manage your relationships with key investors and other stakeholders.

Wherever you’re based, screen sharing makes it feel like we’re in the same room. It’s an effective way to talk through spreadsheets and bring numbers to life.

As well as virtual, I’m collaborative
and downloadable

Think of me as part of your team too. I can work with your employees, your investors and your board to ensure everyone has a clear view of your financial position.

Finally, you’ll have regular dashboards to show how you’re doing. These extract data from your accounting and project systems, split by activity to provide new insights and flag issues to address. A simple way to have the information you need to hand.

Enjoy access to a network of experts

If you have other issues, I work closely with specialists in tax, legal, patents, investment and bookkeeping. I also work with web developers, designers, brand experts and creatives who work with early stage businesses like yours.

Meet some of the people I’ve been lucky to work with over the last 10 years

Ciaran has done something for me that nobody, including all my maths teachers, has ever been able to do. He has made numbers fun, interesting and understandable. You don't often meet people this good at numbers that can also communicate like a human being!
Melanie LawsonFounder, Bare Biology
Melanie Lawson
Ciaran's advice has been critical not only to the smooth running of our own business, but his approach has been a key inspiration for our Business Insights tool. This is a free cash flow forecasting service that helps our small business borrowers optimise their working capital, and which is becoming a key part of our service proposition.
Greg CarterFounder at Growth Street
Greg Carter
Working with Ciaran since the very beginning of our business journey is the best decision we have ever made. His help with setting up the proper financial structure and reporting has been crucial to us and helped us to secure our first major investment ... We couldn’t be happier!
Kristina KomlosiovaCo-Founder, pollen + grace
Kristina Komlosiova
Ciaran joined PLATF9RM as FD in the early stages of the company and has brought things together beautifully.My business is now in a place where we have complete faith in the numbers. I feel lucky to have somebody with Ciaran’s experience, he is personable, reliable, insightful, provides good counsel and is great to work with.
Seb RoyleFounder and CEO at PLATF9RM
Seb Royle
Ciaran is very quick to understand the mechanics of a business in a single conversation. He has an impressive ability to convert financial data into visual dashboards so that we can instantly and easily see how our agency is performing and make more informed decisions as a result.
Zanya DahlFounder & CEO, Artizan Creative
Zanya Dahl
In a remarkably short space of time, Ciaran brought a financial rigour to United for Change that has seen the organisation reach a gold standard in financial governance and facilitated better short and long-term decision making. Simply put, he is brilliant.
Ryan WainCEO at United For Change
Ryan Wain
Ciaran has been an absolute legend in smoothing my transition from Self-Employed to a Ltd Company. His knowledge of, and patience in explaining, the various ins and outs has been outstanding. If they had an 'Excel Hall Of Fame', he'd be in it for sure!
Jonathan ColeAward winning photographer
Jonathan Cole
Ciaran's experience and insight have proved invaluable to our company. If you need a CFO who can add value from day one and make a significant contribution, from financial planning to strategic thinking, Ciaran is your man.
David MansfieldFounder of The Monday Revolution
David Mansfield
Ciaran is brilliant fit for Bigballs, personable, great communicator, strategic and utterly gets our business. It’s refreshing to work with an FD of this calibre and understanding, I have no doubt we will achieve our grand ambitions with Ciaran's guidance.
Tom ThirlwallCEO, Bigballs
Tom Thirlwall
He has an ability to draw out the best from those who need a little more help, and really brings your business forwards to a place where you can see exactly what's going on. He helps me out! I couldn't recommend him highly enough.
Chris RhodesHigh Growth Tech Entrepreneur & Investor
Chris Rhodes
Ciaran provides turbo charged financial consultancy. Not your run of the mill accounts person, he's the Dom Pérignon of critical business insight! He’ll help you maximize cash flow, identify the best customers and make them even better!
Toby TreacherFounder at Penum
Toby Treacher
Ciaran offers a potent combination of deep experience with startup businesses, custom data models and templates, and meticulous execution. He is immensely thorough and a true professional. In every interaction, Ciaran has gone above and beyond expectation.
Nicholas RussellCEO, We Are Pop Up
Nicholas Russell
Ciaran has done something for me that nobody, including all my maths teachers, has ever been able to do. He has made numbers fun, interesting and understandable. You don't often meet people this good at numbers that can also communicate like a human being!
Melanie Lawson
Melanie LawsonFounder, Bare Biology
Ciaran's advice has been critical not only to the smooth running of our own business, but his approach has been a key inspiration for our Business Insights tool. This is a free cash flow forecasting service that helps our small business borrowers optimise their working capital, and which is becoming a key part of our service proposition.
Greg Carter
Greg CarterFounder at Growth Street
Working with Ciaran since the very beginning of our business journey is the best decision we have ever made. His help with setting up the proper financial structure and reporting has been crucial to us and helped us to secure our first major investment ... We couldn’t be happier!
Kristina Komlosiova
Kristina KomlosiovaCo-Founder, pollen + grace
Ciaran joined PLATF9RM as FD in the early stages of the company and has brought things together beautifully.My business is now in a place where we have complete faith in the numbers. I feel lucky to have somebody with Ciaran’s experience, he is personable, reliable, insightful, provides good counsel and is great to work with.
Seb Royle
Seb RoyleFounder and CEO at PLATF9RM
Ciaran is very quick to understand the mechanics of a business in a single conversation. He has an impressive ability to convert financial data into visual dashboards so that we can instantly and easily see how our agency is performing and make more informed decisions as a result.
Zanya Dahl
Zanya DahlFounder & CEO, Artizan Creative
In a remarkably short space of time, Ciaran brought a financial rigour to United for Change that has seen the organisation reach a gold standard in financial governance and facilitated better short and long-term decision making. Simply put, he is brilliant.
Ryan Wain
Ryan WainCEO at United For Change
Ciaran has been an absolute legend in smoothing my transition from Self-Employed to a Ltd Company. His knowledge of, and patience in explaining, the various ins and outs has been outstanding. If they had an 'Excel Hall Of Fame', he'd be in it for sure!
Jonathan Cole
Jonathan ColeAward winning photographer
Ciaran's experience and insight have proved invaluable to our company. If you need a CFO who can add value from day one and make a significant contribution, from financial planning to strategic thinking, Ciaran is your man.
David Mansfield
David MansfieldFounder of The Monday Revolution
Ciaran is brilliant fit for Bigballs, personable, great communicator, strategic and utterly gets our business. It’s refreshing to work with an FD of this calibre and understanding, I have no doubt we will achieve our grand ambitions with Ciaran's guidance.
Tom Thirlwall
Tom ThirlwallCEO, Bigballs
He has an ability to draw out the best from those who need a little more help, and really brings your business forwards to a place where you can see exactly what's going on. He helps me out! I couldn't recommend him highly enough.
Chris Rhodes
Chris RhodesHigh Growth Tech Entrepreneur & Investor
Ciaran provides turbo charged financial consultancy. Not your run of the mill accounts person, he's the Dom Pérignon of critical business insight! He’ll help you maximize cash flow, identify the best customers and make them even better!
Toby Treacher
Toby TreacherFounder at Penum
Ciaran offers a potent combination of deep experience with startup businesses, custom data models and templates, and meticulous execution. He is immensely thorough and a true professional. In every interaction, Ciaran has gone above and beyond expectation.
Nicholas Russell
Nicholas RussellCEO, We Are Pop Up

The five whys

As we’re mapping out what your business needs, asking ‘why’ helps me get to the answer or root cause of any issues you may have. It’s been helping my daughters get what they want for years.

The five whys

As we’re mapping out what your business needs, asking ‘why’ helps me get to the answer or root cause of any issues you may have. It’s been helping my daughters get what they want for years.

I'm Ciaran, the Virtual FD

I qualified as an accountant in 1998, and spent 12 years at Hutchison Whampoa, Three and Carphone Warehouse – who all had very entrepreneurial beginnings.

So I launched Virtual FD in 2010, on a mission to help new businesses who needed that level of advice, but weren’t ready for a full-time role.

Since then, I’ve advised over 100 ambitious startups and fast growth businesses. Almost all came through personal recommendations. I help them grow, prepare to sell, stay on track – whatever’s needed.

Thanks to this, I was named CFO of the Year at the British Accountancy Awards 2019.

I’d love to hear about your business, and see what we could do together.

ciaran@virtualfd.co

Linkedin Envelope
Linkedin
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I'm Ciaran, the Virtual FD

I qualified as an accountant in 1998, and spent 12 years at Hutchison Whampoa, Three and Carphone Warehouse – who all had very entrepreneurial beginnings.

So I launched Virtual FD in 2010, on a mission to help new businesses who needed that level of advice, but weren’t ready for a full-time role.

Since then, I’ve advised over 100 ambitious startups and fast growth businesses. Almost all came through personal recommendations. I help them grow, prepare to sell, stay on track – whatever’s needed.

Thanks to this, I was named CFO of the Year at the British Accountancy Awards 2019.

I’d love to hear about your business, and see what we could do together.

ciaran@virtualfd.co