Every growing business passes through the same finance function milestones — the moments when the current financial management arrangement becomes inadequate for the business’s current size and a new hire or a new structure is required. The question ‘who do we need in our finance team, and when?’ is one of the most practically important questions a growing business answers — and one that the CEO or founder who has not managed a growing finance function before often answers too late, too early or incorrectly.
This guide covers the finance function structure at each revenue stage from £1m to £50m+, the specific triggers that indicate a new hire is required, and the roles that Accountancy Capital places at each stage. See Hire an FC for SMEs, When a Finance Manager Is No Longer Enough and First FC for a Growing Business for the specific hiring guides.
Finance Function at Each Revenue Stage
Up to £1m Revenue: Founder and Bookkeeper
The finance function at £500,000–£1m revenue consists of the founder making all financial decisions, a bookkeeper who processes invoices, manages bank reconciliations and maintains the ledgers, and an external accountant who prepares the statutory accounts and files the corporation tax return. The accounting system is typically Xero or QuickBooks. The right hire at this stage is not a Finance Manager — it is a reliable bookkeeper or accounts assistant who can process transactions accurately and free the founder’s time from accounts payable and receivable management.
£1m–£5m Revenue: Finance Manager
The business needs its first Finance Manager when: the bookkeeper is at capacity and the close is running late; the founder is spending more than four to six hours per week on financial management; or the business needs a monthly management accounts format beyond a P&L from the accounting system. The Finance Manager owns the close, produces management accounts, manages the bookkeeper and leads the annual budget. The external accountant still prepares statutory accounts. See What Is a Finance Manager? and FM Salary Guide UK.
£5m–£15m Revenue: Financial Controller
The FC is needed when: the Finance Manager is at capacity; the business is approaching its first bank facility or external investment; the year-end audit takes four to six months because statutory accounts are being prepared externally; or the CEO is managing financial issues instead of commercial issues. The FC takes ownership of the year-end audit and statutory accounts from the external accountant, implements a systematic close process and starts presenting management accounts to the CEO. See When a Finance Manager Is No Longer Enough and First FC for a Growing Business.
£15m–£40m Revenue: Finance Director
The FD is needed when: the FC is performing all FC-scope work excellently but the CEO needs a board-level financial partner for strategic decisions — the acquisition assessment, the fundraising structure, the strategic three-year financial model, the board and investor relationship. The FD presents to the board and manages the bank and investor relationship, with the FC managing the finance team and close below them. See What Is a Finance Director? and Finance Director Recruitment.
£40m+ Revenue: CFO and Specialist Finance Team
The business at £40m+ typically has a CFO (investor relationship, strategic financial model, audit committee), a Finance Director or Group FC (group statutory accounts, year-end audit, group management accounts), a Head of FP&A or FBP function (commercial financial challenge to business units) and, at £60m+ or in specific tax-complexity contexts, an in-house tax specialist. See CFO Recruitment, FP&A Recruitment and Tax Recruitment hub.
Finance Function Headcount and Cost at Each Stage
| Revenue | Finance Headcount | Finance Staff Cost (London, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| £1m | 1 (bookkeeper, part-time) | £12k–£20k |
| £3m | 2 (bookkeeper + FM) | £55k–£80k |
| £7m | 3 (bookkeeper + FM + FC) | £125k–£175k |
| £15m | 4 (bookkeeper + FM + FC + FD) | £230k–£345k |
| £30m | 6–8 (FC + FM + MAs + FD + FP&A) | £400k–£600k |
| £50m | 8–12 (CFO + FD + FC + FM + MAs + FBPs + Tax) | £650k–£1.1m+ |
See Finance Team Costs UK and All Salary Guides for detailed cost frameworks and individual role salary benchmarks.
Discuss Finance Team Structure for Your Growing Business
Accountancy Capital provides finance function structure advice as part of every growing business FC and FD search brief. No charge, no commitment. Call 0204 553 8893.
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Common Finance Function Scaling Mistakes
Hiring a second bookkeeper when you need a Finance Manager. At £3m revenue with an overloaded bookkeeper, the answer is a Finance Manager who manages the bookkeeper’s work and produces management accounts — not a second bookkeeper who produces more transactions.
Hiring an FC when you need a Finance Manager. The business at £4m that hires an FC when the genuine requirement is a Finance Manager is paying FC-level salary for FM-level scope. The over-qualified FC will leave within twelve to eighteen months.
Not upgrading the finance system before the new hire arrives. The Finance Manager who arrives at a business running Sage 50 with a manual Excel management accounts model will spend their first three months building management accounts in Excel rather than developing the financial management the business needs. The accounting system should be appropriate for the business’s size before the new hire’s start date.
Waiting until the finance team is visibly broken. The right moment to hire each finance professional is approximately six months before the current arrangement becomes inadequate — which requires the CEO to look forward rather than backward.
When to Use Fractional Finance Instead
For businesses where the financial management scope at a given stage is genuine but does not yet fill a full-time appointment, the fractional model — a qualified Finance Manager or FC working one to two days per week on a monthly retainer — provides the right level of financial management at the right cost without the commitment of a full-time employment. The fractional FM is right for £1m–£4m businesses where the FM scope fills one to two days. The fractional FC is right for £2m–£10m businesses where the FC scope fills one to two days. See Fractional Finance Manager, Part-Time FC and Fractional Finance hub.
A Note from Our Founder — Adrian Lawrence FCA
The most consistent finance function scaling mistake I see — across hundreds of growing business briefs — is the delay. The business waits until the Finance Manager is clearly struggling before hiring the FC. The business waits until the CEO is managing financial issues before hiring the Finance Manager. The right moment to hire each finance professional is approximately six months before the current arrangement becomes inadequate — which requires the CEO to look forward at what the business will need rather than backward at what it currently has.
Accountancy Capital advises on finance function structure as part of every growing business brief. Call 0204 553 8893. See When a Finance Manager Is No Longer Enough, First FC for a Growing Business and Hire an FC for SMEs.
Adrian Lawrence FCA
Founder, Accountancy Capital — Qualified finance recruitment specialists, £50,000 and above. Adrian is a Fellow of the ICAEW — verify via ICAEW.
Finance Function Scaling: The Accounting System Roadmap
The accounting system is the infrastructure on which the finance function’s output quality depends — and it is typically the element that CEOs and founders are most reluctant to invest in ahead of need. The system roadmap for a growing business: Up to £3m revenue: Xero, QuickBooks or Sage 50 — adequate for basic transaction processing and management accounts production. £3m–£15m revenue: Approaching the scalability limit of Xero/QuickBooks; consider Sage 200, Dynamics 365 Business Central or NetSuite. The Finance Manager appointment and the accounting system upgrade should be planned together. £15m–£50m revenue: NetSuite, Dynamics 365 Finance or Sage 200 for mid-market; SAP Business One for manufacturing-heavy businesses. £50m+: SAP S/4HANA, Oracle or Dynamics 365 Finance for enterprise-scale financial management.
The business that upgrades its accounting system at the same time as it hires a new Finance Manager or FC is making both investments at the right time. The one that delays the system upgrade while hiring the new finance professional is asking that professional to produce better output from an inadequate system — a constraint that limits how good the output can be regardless of how experienced the professional is. See FC for ERP Finance System Change for the system implementation FC service.
Finance Function Scaling: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my current Finance Manager is ready to be promoted to FC? Give them the year-end audit management responsibility. If they manage it independently — if the auditors accept the management accounts and working papers they provide without needing the external accountant to prepare the statutory accounts alongside the audit — the FM is demonstrating FC capability.
Do I need a formal budget process before I hire the FC? The FC is the right person to implement the first formal budget process. You do not need to have a budget process before the FC arrives — introducing one is often the FC’s first major deliverable in their first three months.
What is the most common finance team scaling mistake? Waiting until the current arrangement is clearly broken before making the upgrade hire. Call 0204 553 8893 for a finance team structure assessment for your specific business.
Finance Function Scaling: Candidate Registration
Qualified finance professionals at all levels — from Management Accountant to CFO — who are actively or passively considering a career move within a growing business finance function are invited to register with Accountancy Capital. We place across all finance function stages from the first FM appointment at a growing business to the CFO appointment at a £50m+ group. Register here or call 0204 553 8893 for a direct, confidential market assessment of your background’s value in the current UK qualified finance market. All qualifying finance salary data on this page reflects Accountancy Capital’s live placements through June 2026.
Accountancy Capital places qualified finance professionals at every stage of the finance function growth journey — from the first Finance Manager appointment at a £2m business to the CFO appointment at a £50m group. Call 0204 553 8893 for a specific finance function structure assessment. See When a Finance Manager Is No Longer Enough, First FC for a Growing Business, Hire an FC for SMEs, What Is a Finance Manager?, What Is a Financial Controller?, What Is a Finance Director?, Finance Team Costs UK, All Salary Guides, Fractional Finance Hub and Part-Time FC for the complete growing business finance function resource suite. All finance function salary benchmarks on this page reflect Accountancy Capital’s live placement data through June 2026. Qualified finance professionals at all levels are invited to register here or call 0204 553 8893 for a confidential market assessment.
Related Pages and Resources
| First FC Guide When to hire your first FC. | Finance Team Costs Finance headcount and costs. | Role-by-Role Guides What each finance role does. | Part-Time Finance Options Fractional and interim models. |
Finance Function Structure — 0204 553 8893
Accountancy Capital advises on finance function structure and places qualified finance professionals at £50,000+ for growing businesses. Same-day response.