New EFM Associate Kevan Hopwood’s 20-plus year career in financial and service industries and business consultancy stands him in good stead to deliver to EFM’s SME clients what he believes will serve them best, at every stage of business growth.

This is a Finance and financial management function that’s on top of the detail and the fundamentals, but proactive in communicating the story the numbers tell - and the business plans it informs - across all levels of the company.

With a proven track record of troubleshooting, problem-solving, and turnaround work behind him, he’s enabled even much larger businesses to understand their true financial position, identify (often unseen) issues and opportunities for improvement, and reshape the business to perform better.

CIMA-qualified Kevan’s focus on understanding detail and enforcing financial accuracy is a big part of the value he delivers to the business, as forecasts and analyses are all predicated on the quality of these inputs.

As he puts it, “Modelling Finance is critical, but people sometimes underestimate the importance of the transactional stuff. It feeds everything else, so it’s really important to get it right to avoid a ‘garbage in, garbage out’ situation.”

But Kevan values leadership as well as insight, having learned much about this skill in his MBA. A Finance Director, he argues, should be out and about in the heart of the business, and communicating with everybody from those in overalls to those in suits. “Finance should be more than just an office in the corner,” he says.

Kevan’s proven ability to build and inspire Finance teams, implement new systems, and embed new processes speaks to his commitment to leading from the front and making Finance a key enabler of the business’s success.

About Kevan

Notwithstanding his hands-on approach, Kevan is also resolutely strategic. He’s well practised in risk analyses, restructuring, securing sources of external finance, and business acquisition and sale, but he also believes in keeping the strategy piece as simple and digestible as the rest of his communication.

He describes forecasting, for example, quite simply, as “Understanding what the business is, where it needs to go, and how it needs to get there,” and continues: “It’s just an extension of the motives of the business owner. It doesn’t need to be difficult – you leverage whatever you’ve got to identify and set targets.”

“But it’s imperative to do it – and SMEs often need help to realise the value in it.”

Making things simple in this way and communicating Finance differently at varying levels of the organisation, Kevan says, has enabled him to change business cultures for the better.

“By engaging openly and simply with the people who were making financial decisions at the coalface,” he says, “I helped them understand the impact of their decisions on the business fundamentals, and so I built and drove accountability. This, in turn, drove better financial behaviours and improved business outcomes.”

And for those not at the Finance coalface, Kevan adapts his communication to suit, articulating not only what Finance does and why it’s important, but how it positively influences the fortunes of the business.

What Kevan will help EFM to do

Kevan’s personable and communicative approach doesn’t mean he won’t be focused on his EFM clients’ bottom line, however – quite the reverse as his past achievements show.

He has presided over a fivefold increase in turnover in one organisation, secured returns of £250,000 from HMRC and suppliers in another, and stabilised and exited a major brand business to the complete satisfaction of the shareholders, amongst many examples.

But he’ll also bring a keen interest in cash to the table, as cash flow is an area of Finance that is business-critical, but often problematic for SME business leaders and their teams to understand and manage. As he says, “Profit and loss are important, but until the cash is in the business, you can’t pay your sales team.”

Kevan’s exceptional people development skills will also serve his EFM clients well. Experienced in both building and leading Finance teams, he’ll deploy his trademark flexible leadership style to get the best out of each individual, in the understanding that some people simply want to be valued for what they do, and some value themselves by achieving more.
In any event, with teams as with the business, Kevan will be clear on expectations of delivery, agreeing on targets to aim for, performance to improve, and growth to achieve.

But through all this, he’ll remain approachable, open to discussion, and ready to accept opinions, ideas, and advice. “The best people surround themselves with people who know more about some things than they do,” he remarks.

In his own words

Kevan says of becoming an EFM Associate: “I’m delighted to have joined EFM. Working with SMEs as a part-time Finance Director will enable them to build strong, growing businesses, based on financial leadership that combines analysis, problem-solving, proactivity, and – thanks to pay-as-you-go financial management - affordability.”

“I’m also looking forward to engaging with EFM’s network of like-minded Finance professionals to win and share new business, and benefit from the excellent work-life balance EFM’s flexible model delivers.”

View Kevan's Expert Profile Here