Background
Absolute Commercial Interiors Ltd was established more than 16 years ago by Founder and CEO Phil Brown. Employing 15 people, they provide consultancy, design and build services to transform workplaces around the country.
Why BHP?
Absolute Commercial Interiors has a longstanding relationship with BHP. Initially providing guidance to the directors on their company finances, the firm went on to introduce them to the concept of employee ownership through an Employee Benefit Trust scheme and enabled the shareholders to extract significant amounts of money at preferential tax rates.
BHP has always taken a very hands-on approach at Absolute. From being involved in tax planning for the directors and shareholders, to providing advice on property investments and the group restructure, to helping set up joint venture operations in London.
What was the challenge?
In 2021, Absolute’s long-term in-house finance manager left the company. They were then faced with the task of recruiting for a new, in-house finance professional with sufficient knowledge of the industry and expertise in the company’s software to take on the role.
Due to the close connection between BHP and Absolute, Partner Mike Jackson suggested they consider outsourcing the finance function to BHP. As our Digital Finance team had previously helped Absolute to transfer their accounts onto Xero, the company didn’t hesitate in choosing this way forward.
How did we help?
The handover between Absolute’s outgoing finance manager and the new outsourced finance director service was a smooth one, because BHP already had all the skills and systems expertise. Our digital finance specialists were able to take over the work quickly and easily – something that isn’t usually possible when recruiting externally and having to manage notice periods.
We were able to dramatically transform the company’s finance function by providing an on-demand virtual finance director service, as well as outsourced bookkeeping and payroll. And with the introduction of Xero, Absolute was able to produce faster, better and MTD-compliant data.
In addition, we gave them the tools to review and approve invoices on the go in the form of ApprovalMax, and provided them with a time-saving payment processing function – Modulr, which has taken away the need to manually process individual payments inhouse.
Founder and Company Director Phil Brown said:
“We enjoy a productive, collaborative relationship with BHP. Not only do they provide invaluable support for our management team, but they’re able to produce timely and detailed management information to help us make informed decisions quickly.
“Their expertise is second to none and their experience in improving and building robust financial systems and controls has enabled us to really develop and refine our reporting process. The team at BHP are friendly and approachable and they present all financial information in an easy to understand format, so we have no need for an in-house finance director.”
If you’d like any advice on transitioning to digital accounting processes or support in helping you to achieve your business aspirations, get in touch with us today. Email digital.finance@bhp.co.uk or call us on 0114 266 7171.
