Having an outsourced finance director could be your ACE card

Daryl Gilley, Director of ACE Finance Directors, talks to Sarah Dale about why he set up his own business and how his 360-degree view of businesses helps them grow.

Two years ago, Daryl Gilley decided to “stop chasing promotions” in his corporate financial career and realise his dream to run his own business.

The catalyst was losing his parents to Covid just under three years ago, a huge shock that made him reassess his work/life balance.

“I had a very corporate career and had chased promotions since 1998, to the detriment of a work/life balance with my wife and kids,” said Daryl, who has a thirteen-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son.

“My parents always said to me that I was missing out on the kids growing up.

“When you have a shock like that you reassess. They died in the January and I started the business in the September. I have wanted to run my own business since I was a teenager.”

Daryl’s background as a CIMA qualified finance director and his passion for problem-solving and helping businesses with their growth strategies led to him founding ACE Finance Directors in September 2021.

“Two years ago, I decided to do contracting and interim work; I thoroughly enjoy it and I’ve had great exposure to very different businesses,” said Daryl, who has been a member of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce for two years.

“They are usually nine-month contracts around acquisitions and growth strategies and turning around businesses that need turning around. You go in and fix a problem and then get them on an even keel and then move on to the next one.

“Now, I’m looking to change the focus of the business and become essentially an outsourced finance director or fractional finance director for businesses.

“Effectively, it focuses on scaling up a business. Clients can use me for a project or for a day a week throughout their growth strategy project.

“I’m a commercial accountant so where an accountant looks at transactions and compliance, I’m a strategising partner and provide guidance. I look at where they are and how they are going to move forward. I look at budgets and forecasting, their resources, where they need additional funding, business structure, equipment upgrades, and their one-year and three-year plans.”

Daryl’s target is to gain five new clients over the next 18 months.

“My role is to take a 360 degree look at a client’s business,” he explained.

“I’m looking at the business from the owner’s perspective but with a financial, problem-solving eye.

“This frees up the owner’s time to focus on delivery and attracting clients so they can concentrate on what they do best.

“I can independently assess what’s improved and work holistically across the divisions, for example, some companies’ marketing strategy may not be aligned with their sales strategy so it’s taking that holistic approach to look at everything.

“A big part of that is becoming the keeper of data and analysing and critiquing performance going forward, looking at where there are over-spends, for example.”

Daryl loves the “Dragon’s Den aspect” of supporting businesses’ growth.

“I love the hands-on aspect to supporting the growth of a business,” he said.

“I thoroughly enjoy what I do.”

Increasing his attendance at networking events with the Chamber is one of his targets for the new year.

“Like many people in finance, networking isn’t my forte, but I do love meeting new people,” he said.

“Primarily, I’m targeting small and medium sized businesses going through periods of growth or turnaround that are possibly too small to have their own finance director and there are project elements to support.

“I can support them through a period of growth.

“I’m proud of the businesses that I have worked with and turned around, so they moved back into profit.

“By the end of next year I would like to have three of my five clients on board and embedded myself into these businesses and developed their growth strategy.

“I will also be looking at employing my first member of staff by the end of next year. That will free me up to focus on the next two to three clients.”