The challenge

Two analysts were spending close to three days every week manually reconciling bank statements against cash book entries — downloading exports, copy-pasting into spreadsheets, and matching line by line. For a business with multiple accounts, currencies, and payment methods, the manual approach had become unsustainable. The process was error-prone, queries from auditors around unreconciled items were recurring, and the team had no bandwidth left for anything else.

What I did

I built a multi-pass automated reconciliation tool that ingests bank exports and ERP outputs in their existing formats — no reformatting required from the team. The tool runs through matching passes (exact value, near-match with tolerance, batch roll-up, and manual override) and produces a single exception report with matched and unmatched items clearly presented. The whole process runs from a single button click. Training both analysts took under an hour.

Outcomes

• Weekly reconciliation time reduced from ~3 days to under half a day
• High match rate achieved on automated passes, exceptions clearly flagged
• Full audit trail built into output for every matched item
• No coding or technical knowledge required from the finance team
• Audit queries on cash reconciliation materially reduced

The challenge

The business had evolved — markets entered, some exited, the entity structure updated — but the banking infrastructure hadn't kept pace. There were active accounts in regions where trading had wound down, creating unnecessary cost, compliance overhead, and KYC maintenance burden. Meanwhile, entities actively trading in new European markets lacked proper local banking arrangements, meaning cash was moving inefficiently and FX costs were higher than they needed to be. The CFO needed the structure rationalised and rebuilt to match the business as it now stood.

What I did

I mapped the existing banking footprint against the current entity and trading structure — identifying accounts to close, accounts to retain, and gaps to fill. I then managed the full process in parallel: closing dormant accounts in markets the business had exited (including coordinating final balance sweeps, mandate revocations, and bank confirmations), while simultaneously opening new accounts in the European entities that needed them, handling KYC documentation, mandate setup, and signatory frameworks. I also built a simple banking register so the treasury team had a clean, current picture of the full account structure going forward.

Outcomes

• Dormant accounts cleanly closed — KYC burden and bank charges eliminated
• New European entities banked and operational within project timeline
• Intercompany cash flows rerouted through the correct accounts from day one
• Banking register built and handed over — full visibility of account structure
• CFO confident the banking structure now reflects the business, not its history

The challenge

The monthly board pack involved pulling data from four systems, reformatting it into a consistent template, writing variance commentary, and building supporting slides. It was taking the CFO and a senior analyst the better part of two days every month — time neither of them had to spare. The output was good but the process was completely manual and highly person-dependent.

What I did

I mapped the full reporting workflow, identified the highest-leverage points for automation, and built a set of AI-assisted tools within Microsoft 365. Data from source systems feeds a structured model; AI generates the initial variance commentary and executive summary from that model; a formatting layer produces the pack in the correct template. The CFO reviews and approves rather than building from scratch. I also built a prompt library so the finance team could use AI independently across other tasks.

Outcomes

• Monthly board pack preparation time reduced by approximately 70%
• Variance commentary generated in minutes, not hours
• Finance team upskilled on AI tools — actively using them within weeks
• CFO time redirected to reviewing and deciding, not building
• Process now resilient — not dependent on one individual

The challenge

The business needed to move from higher-cost alternative finance to a clearing bank ABL facility — improving cost of debt, unlocking better advance rates, and establishing a more sustainable long-term banking relationship. The process required simultaneous management of a lender data room, detailed covenant and working capital modelling, and ongoing information requests — all while the finance team continued to operate the business month to month.

What I did

I owned the treasury workstream end-to-end: structured and populated the Intralinks data room, built and maintained the information request tracker, produced the working capital model and covenant headroom analysis, and managed lender-facing communication alongside the CFO. I stress-tested the borrowing base structure across seasonal scenarios, identified watch points around peak stock periods, and prepared the finance team for lender due diligence questions.

Outcomes

• Facility successfully refinanced, improving cost of debt and advance rate terms
• Data room maintained to lender satisfaction throughout the process
• Covenant model built with period-by-period headroom visibility across FY
• CFO's time protected — treasury workstream managed independently
• Business continued to operate without disruption during the process

The challenge

The business had a treasury policy on paper — but it had been written some years earlier and the company had grown significantly since. The FX exposure had changed in scale and currency mix, counterparty arrangements hadn't been reviewed, and the hedge register was maintained inconsistently. The gap between the policy as written and what was actually happening in practice was creating risk — and starting to attract questions from auditors and the banking partner.

What I did

I reviewed the existing policy against the current business structure and exposure profile, identified the gaps, and updated it to reflect how the company actually operated. I then rebuilt the hedge register and monitoring framework around the revised policy — clear hedge ratios, counterparty limits, and a compliance dashboard so the CFO could see at a glance whether the business was operating within its own rules. I also ran what-if rate scenario analysis to help the leadership team understand the real cost of being unhedged at different rate levels.

Outcomes

• Policy updated and re-approved at board level within 6 weeks
• Hedge register rebuilt and current from day one of engagement
• Compliance monitoring dashboard in place for monthly treasury reporting
• Auditor and banking partner questions resolved
• CFO has clear visibility of hedge position and open exposure at all times

The challenge

The business had a treasury policy — but it was several years old and the company had changed significantly since it was written. Entity structure had grown, currency exposures had shifted, banking arrangements had changed, and the authority limits bore no relation to current transaction volumes. The policy existed more as a compliance box-tick than a working document. With a lender facility review on the horizon, the CFO needed it to actually hold up under scrutiny.

What I did

I reviewed the existing policy against the current business structure — what had changed, what was missing, and where the real gaps were. Rather than starting from scratch, I rebuilt around the existing framework, preserving what was sound and overhauling what wasn't. Each section was updated to reflect the company's current footprint: revised FX hedging parameters, updated authority limits, current banking arrangements, and counterparty exposure guidelines appropriate to today's scale. I also built a monthly monitoring template so the policy remained a live document rather than reverting to shelf furniture.

Outcomes

• Policy updated to reflect current entity structure, exposures, and banking arrangements
• Authority limits and counterparty guidelines calibrated to actual transaction volumes
• Re-approved at board level ahead of lender facility review
• Monthly compliance monitoring template in place from day one
• FD confident the document would withstand audit or lender scrutiny