| Persona #1 - Finance Director Fred | |
|---|---|
| Overview | Responsible for overseeing the company’s financial health, operations and will have close relations with the CEO/ Board members. |
| Background | Has worked for the company for many years and has worked his way up, as the business has scaled and has started to see work deadlines getting pushed back due to slow systems as feedback from staff as the years have progressed. |
| Demographics | 45-55 years old |
| Male | |
| Location: South West England | |
| Salary: 70k | |
| Technology/watering holes | LinkedIn, Financial Times, The Telegraph, CFO UK, Manufacturing Management Magazine, The CFO Centre, Make UK, ICAEW |
| Goals, metrics and motivations | • Faster reporting |
| • Better and more accurate data to support strategic decisions | |
| • Smoother operations and connected tools to understand ROI | |
| • Better oversight of stock, cashflow and margins | |
| • Increase cash flow | |
| Responsibilities | • Financial planning |
| • Budgeting | |
| • Risk management and compliance | |
| • Managing financial teams | |
| • Influencing commercial decisions | |
| Challenges & pain points | • Frustrated with slow reporting, manual spreadsheets and outdated finance systems which could possibly be Sage 50 or similar. |
◦ Spreadsheets leave them open to errors / duplications
◦ Leaving them open to security / cyber risks
• The need for accurate data, a faster month end and a system that is able to scale as they grow. ◦ Delayed month-end close and reporting runs the risk of missing deadlines if the system prolongs the time to close the books ◦ Outdated systems mean poor visibility or profits, costs, and performance • Business is growing and the current finance set up cannot scale • Disconnected systems causing errors • Balancing productivity and efficiencies • Frustrated with issues in the data affecting any financial automations set up • Communicating with other departments to influence business decisions • Pressure to protect and improve the company’s financial performance • Lack of software training / understanding either for themselves or for the wider team | | What can we do? | • Proven process to allow for smooth migrations of data • Ensuring no data is lost during the process • Sage 50 > Business Central migrations / implementation • Power BI • Cyber Essentials • Ongoing support and training for team members | | Real Quotes | • “88% of CFOs say they struggle to capture value from their technology investments PwC Pulse Survey: Focused on reinvention • 94% of finance leaders have had regrets of previous ERP purchases [ERP nightmares: 94% of finance leaders regret implementation, survey reveals - Accounting Insight News](https://www.accountex.co.uk/insight/2025/09/23/erp-nightmares-94-of-finance-leaders-regret-implementation-survey-reveals/#:~:text=AccountsIQ's 2025 CFO Mindset Report,drive up costs for customers.) • “Just a quick thank you to everyone involved in our migration and the quick response times The migration across to Business Central was a great success and no issues at all. All the staff from Qi have been excellent and extremely helpful.”- Finance manager Morelife UK | | Common Objections | • Budget • Fear of corrupting data during migration • Concerns around downtime and the financial impact of it • Change management concerns, if we implement a new system, will the teams use it and understand it to get ROI? • Risk management issues | | Marketing messaging | • Get real time financial reporting with Business Central • Eliminate spreadsheets and speed up month end with Business Central | | Elevator pitch | |