An anonymised case description from an actual mandate. Sector, scale and type of shareholder are stated; the company name is not. All details come from the mandate description on the interim CFO references page. Results are not broken down by date there, so they are given here for the mandate as a whole.
Starting position
A B2B SaaS company with more than 70 employees, financed by a Landesbeteiligungsgesellschaft — a state-owned development investment company of the kind that exists in most German federal states and typically takes minority stakes in regional growth businesses. The company was in a growth and financing phase.
Unlike the other mandates, this one was not about taking over the finance leadership but about supporting it. The role was that of a senior financial advisor.
Brief
Support through a growth and financing phase: backing the operational finance leadership, and preparing and executing a financing round.
Scope
- Supporting the operational finance leadership
- Preparing and executing a revenue-based financing
- Financial modelling
- Cash flow reporting
Approach
Revenue-based financing is not decided on the balance sheet but on the quality of the recurring revenue: how stable the base is, how high the churn, how predictable the cash collection. The provider examines the revenue series and the cash flow, not the fixed assets.
The work therefore centred on the financial model and cash flow reporting: a plan that shows the relationship between growth and cash requirement, and ongoing reporting that evidences that relationship over time. In an advisory mandate operational responsibility stays with the company — the external role supplies structure, the model and the preparation for negotiations.
Result
- Operational finance leadership supported
- Revenue-based financing prepared and executed
- Financial modelling and cash flow reporting built
Duration
Ongoing since July 2024.
Does this match your situation?
Where a finance leadership is in place but lacks experience with one particular financing route, an advisory mandate is often the better fit than an interim appointment. The models are compared in interim CFO, CFO as a Service or a permanent hire. On cash control during growth: the 13-week cash flow forecast. On the model itself: financial modelling. All mandates at a glance: interim CFO references.
