Why your business probably doesn’t need a finance department

Published - Jun 05, 2025

Why your business probably doesn’t need a finance department

Most rapid-growth startups and many high-growth SMEs don’t need a full finance team.

When you’re trying to scale a business efficiently, remaining lean and agile is key – so every salaried member of staff needs to be essential to everyday operations. And the truth for many companies is that finance departments just aren’t an essential day-in, day-out function for every day of the month.

It can feel ambitious and strategic to hire internally for a Head of Finance, a Finance Director, or even an entire department in-house. But in reality, for most businesses it’s an expensive, slow-moving, and often inefficient way to meet their financial requirements.

Mistake #1 – The Cost of Overbuilding

Hiring internally means committing to salaries, benefits, National Insurance, pensions, sick days, training, onboarding, software licenses – the list goes on. But the real inefficiency lies in the inconsistency of need.

You’ll know better than anybody – growing companies often experience feast and famine workflows. One month, your finance team is overworked. The next, they’re under-utilised and twiddling their thumbs. But the cost for both months remains the same.

There are non-financial costs too. Culture and agility can be impacted. Adding headcount adds complexity, more people means more layers. For fast-moving businesses, that can slow down decision-making right when you need to speed up.

Mistake #2 – The Limitations of Accountants

At the other end of the spectrum, many SMEs lean heavily on their accountant. And while they’re essential – especially when it comes to compliance, tax, and historic financials – they’re not strategic.

Accountants look backwards. They’ll help balance the books, make sure your filings are correct, and keep you out of trouble with HMRC. But few will proactively help you plan, forecast, or make decisions about future growth.

What you likely need is someone who sits between compliance and strategy. Someone who sees the bigger picture, understands your growth objectives, and gives you clarity on how your numbers are helping (or hurting) that journey.

The Outsourced Sweet Spot

That’s where an outsourced finance function comes in.

It’s the best of both worlds. You get experienced finance professionals – not just bookkeepers – without the fixed overheads of a permanent hire. And you only pay for what you actually need.

Need someone to build you a forecast? Done.

Want monthly board packs in plain English, with clear commentary? Easy.

Got investors breathing down your neck and need help preparing for a raise? That’s the kind of stuff we do every day.

Outsourced finance functions flex with your growth. You can scale up or down as your needs evolve, without ever being locked into an inflexible structure. And crucially, you get a team of experts, not just one person, who have seen and solved your kind of problems before – across a range of sectors.

Your Finance Function Should Match Your Growth Stage

Most businesses don’t create legal departments when all they need is someone to draft the occasional contract. So, why treat finance any differently?

The right financial support at the right time can be a powerful growth lever. But overbuilding too early, or putting your trust in the wrong people, can be a costly distraction.

If you're a CEO, MD or CFO of a growing business, ask yourself these three questions:

Do you really need someone in-house?

Are you paying for time you don’t use?

Is your finance function giving you clarity and confidence to make better decisions?

If the answer to any of these is no – it might be time to rethink your setup.

You don’t need a full finance function. You just need the right one.

We’re GMT Finances. We provide flexible, simple, outsourced financial functions for growing businesses. From fractional CFO advisory to full off-site financial departments, we provide tailored packages that can scale up and down depending on what you need.

For more information, visit https://gmtfinances.com/

Posted in Finance on Jun 05, 2025