Expert Financial Leadership
Without the Full-Time Cost
A Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) gives your business access to an experienced financial professional precisely when you need it.
Typically as an SME grows up to (and beyond) the €1.0 turnover level, the business activities become much more complex - whether with more staff, higher payroll €€€’s, larger Customer contracts and more important finance related decisions – this can start to overwhelm the business owner.
However, with over 15 years of commercial and financial experience and now as an entrepreneur with his own accountancy business, Damian Connolly can bring the expertise of a CFO to your business – but on a flexible basis that works for you.
Book a Discovery Call →Does any of this sound familiar?
Most SME business owners didn't start their own business to spend their days wrestling with financial reports they don't fully understand, worrying about cash flow, or making major business decisions without the strategic insight they really need.
Has your business outgrown the way that you are currently managing it ?
Business owners may consider Fractional CFO support for many differing of reasons, but it quite often comes down to the same deeply frustrating experiences:
You are workings all the hours within a growing business, but frustrated with the time you spend with your family.
You still seem to carry all the responsibility for the big financial decisions - hiring, investing, expanding, but without the background, the experience or even the financial information you really need to feel confident doing so.
Cashflow or more accurately cashflow ‘surprises’ keeps catching you off guard. Most likely the business seems profitable on paper, but the bank balance tells a different story.
You have a great bookkeeper or accountant handling Revenue and the ‘day to day, but there is nobody looking at the strategic picture with you. Nobody helping you plan for next year, avoid the coming pitfalls or advise you with the experience of having done it before.
You know there is more growth in your business in the next 12 months, but you don’t know how to fund it, structure it, or manage the additional complexity that comes with it.
You have been thinking about the future, perhaps a future sale of the business, bringing in third party investment at some point or at least having some options – but you don’t know even know where to start.
Essentially you are interested in being in control of your business once again, freeing up more of your time, reducing risk protecting what you have built, and making better and more confident decisions !
If any of those frustrations land for you, a conversation with Damian is probably long overdue.
Book a Discovery Call →A Fractional CFO who feels like part of your team
Think of it as having a CFO working alongside you, just not full time. Damian steps in to lead your finance function, bring clarity to your numbers and guide the bigger decisions, all on a flexible basis that suits your business and your budget.
There are plenty of finance consultants who will review your figures and hand you a report. What sets Sakura apart is that Damian doesn't just tell you what has already happened, he helps you understand what it means, what to do about it, and how to build a business that's genuinely valuable and resilient for the years ahead.
We follow a simple four-stage approach, so you always know what's coming next.
What does a Fractional CFO do for your business?
Broadly a Fractional CFO will bring the skills to ‘troubleshoot’ existing problems or challenges in your business, professionalise your existing Finance Team and the wider business, offer strategic guidance and advice for the future, and/or where necessary, lead key business and financial projects.
So what it looks like in practice is as follows.
Strategic Expertise
With over 15 years of commercial and financial experience, spanning new business launches, system implementations, obtaining regulatory licences, overseas expansion and building finance teams through to exit planning across Ireland and the UK.
Flexible Engagement
High-level financial guidance on your terms. Whether that is a few days a month or a more intensive engagement during a period of growth, we work around your business.
Cash Flow Clarity
Clarity and focus on cash to improve and maximise cashflow, avoid cash surprises ahead of time so that the business can operate without difficulty and make investment decisions with confidence.
Better Financial Reporting
Management accounts and financial reports that actually tell you something useful each month. No jargon - just the turnover, profitability and cash information that you need to monitor performance and make better decisions faster.
Exit Planning Support
Whether you are planning to sell in two years or ten, We can outline how the process works, what is involved and how to approach the due diligence process – and begin preparing the financial story of your business right now to maximise your valuation.
Backed by a Full Team
Uniquely at Sakura, your Fractional CFO is supported by a full accountancy practice - so compliance, bookkeeping and tax are handled seamlessly alongside your strategic work, where this required too !
Caroline Durack
Working with Sakura gave us the ability to understand our finances more accurately and helped us in our strategic thinking. This in turn allowed us to make more informed decisions pertaining to our direction of travel as a business.
Liam Hughes
Damian’s critical eye and creative thinking have been invaluable for me over the last year of strategic review meetings
Eamon Chawke
Thanks to Damian’s advice and guidance, the finance team operates more efficiently and our financial visibility of the business has materially improved. We are now much more confident that we can achieve our 5 year goals !
Sheena Campbell
I have to do next to nothing to expedite matters... I think you are wonderful. Once again in a shorter time than it takes to say 'Damian, you are wonderful', you respond to my query. I have to do next to nothing to expedite matters and immediately any stress or worry is lifted.
Dominic Goodjeanan
Fantastic company. Damian is clear, professional and very measured in his approach, which is welcomed. Excellent customer service. A breath of fresh air. Highly recommended.
Vic Kimmel
Damian Connolly and Sakura are like an extended part of our own team with super powers in the area of finance.
Deirdre Monks
I got back in touch with Damian last November after a few years, and it honestly felt like no time had passed. He was the first person who came to mind when I had a very specific query, and I knew he was the expert to ask - and he absolutely delivered. Damian has a real talent for explaining things clearly and in plain English, which gave me total confidence in his advice. And rightly so, because everything he advised turned out to be 100% spot on. Highly recommend!
Evan Frechette
Damian was very helpful in his consultation, and took the necessary time to listen to my situation in great detail. His explanation for what I needed for my new business was very informative and knowledgeable.
Cyril Lynch
Damian and the team at Sakura provided great support when I set up my consulting company and on an ongoing basis they continue to provide professional, timely and reliable services with regard to the production and filing of annual accounts and the associated compliance requirements.
I would highly recommend Sakura Business Solutions for their dedication, commitment and ability to get the job done!
Ronan Reilly
Damian and the team at Sakura have provided excellent advice to me and also assisted a number of clients to whom Sakura have been recommended. Sakura advised in a professional and capable manner and now, post BREXIT, their offices in Dublin and London are likely to be very valuable to prospective clients seeking professional advice.
Cathy Moore
Sakura Business Solutions and Damian have provided invaluable guidance to our business as we transitioned from sole-trader to limited company. They have also advised us throughout the Covid-19 crisis and kept us fully updated on available government supports. The introduction of Quickbooks has been very useful to us, it is easy to navigate and a very effective tool for managing our accounts. We highly recommend Sakura Business for accountancy and business advice.
Jane Manzor
I have known Damian from Sakura Business Solutions for just over a year. He is a true professional and has been very helpful to me in particular in tax and planning advice. He is also very current and has been a huge help in keeping me up to date on government supports since Covid 19. I would highly recommend Damian and his team for all of your accounting and financial needs. 5 stars!
Jo-Anne Mac Millan
When I moved from my previous accountant, I was feeling overwhelmed and unsure about the financial side of my business. Accounts and bookkeeping aren’t my strong points, and I needed support I could trust. Damian and the team at Sakura stepped in and made the transition seamless. They handled the handover efficiently and took time to understand how my business works and what I needed from them. I’m no longer worried about year-end surprises, and I feel more confident making decisions. It’s been a genuinely positive shift, and I’m delighted I made the move to Sakura.
Jean Evans
Damian is a fountain of knowledge and is so generous with his time and knowledge around all things accounting, tax, scaling your business, getting exit ready and working to go international in business between Ireland and UK or vice versa.
He is a true gentleman, very approachable, particularly on topics that can feel and seem overwhelming. He is calm and patient; definitely an ally to have in your corner!
From the Insights Blog
Case Study | From Potential Collapse to Full Control: Shareholder Dispute and Exit
Our Client was a director/shareholder of a privately owned consultancy limited company, where along with his business partner they owned the business on a 50 : 50 basis. The consultancy was at a turnover of circa €1.0m per annum after years of growth, with an established client base within multi year contracts in place. The business had been built very successfully over a number of years by the two director / shareholders working closely together.
Why Cash is the Lifeblood of Your Business, and What a Fractional CFO Can Do About It
Ask any group of growing business owners what keeps them awake at night, and the answer is almost always the same: cash. Not profit margins, not turnover targets, not even their biggest client relationship. Cash. And not because they are living lavishly or making reckless decisions. Usually quite the opposite. The truth is that cash has a tendency to leave a business very easily indeed, whilst arriving back in at a rather more leisurely pace.
What Does a CFO Actually Do?
It is not unusual for the finance system that once worked perfectly well to start falling behind as an SME grows and scales. Processes that used to be good enough begin to break down, small errors creep in, and before long the numbers become harder to trust and further removed from the true position of the business. This is often the exact moment a business realises it needs a fractional CFO rather than another pair of hands in the bookkeeping.
Not sure if a Fractional CFO is right for your business?
Download our free guide - 15 Signs You Need a Fractional CFO - and find out whether your business is at the stage where senior financial leadership would make a real difference. It is a quick read, and it could be one of the most useful things you do for your business today.
Download the Guide →
Ready to find out what expert financial leadership could do for your business?
A Discovery Meeting with Damian is a relaxed, no-obligation conversation about where your business is, where you want it to go, and how a Fractional CFO could help you get there.
See our testimonials to see what has been achieved with other Clients !
