The client
When your CFO decides to move on, it’s natural to look for a like-for-like replacement as soon as possible. While that might be the easiest response, it’s not the only one. The M Collective went a different way.
Now part of The Sauce Collective, The M Collective is a fast-growing independent communications consultancy based in London. They specialise in luxury travel, hotels and lifestyle, with clients including some of the most respected names in international hospitality.
The agency came to Barnridge at a significant moment, with a potential merger on the horizon.
The challenge
The agency was working with a self-employed CFO, with accounting, payroll, statutory accounts and tax spread across different providers. Each was doing its part well, and the CFO provided valuable, board-level advice on the agency’s overall financial position.
However, when the CFO decided it was time to move on, it coincided with an imminent merger with another communications agency. The immediate challenge was continuity: the founders needed senior financial support through the due diligence process.
Going one step further, the founders took the opportunity to consolidate their finance function. While the existing model worked, information inevitably had to move between separate parties, with the risk of things falling between the gaps.
They needed a team with full visibility across the business, genuine agency-sector experience and the capacity to support a major transaction.
Our solution
Barnridge took on The M Collective’s full outsourced finance function. That covers:
- Management accounts
- Bookkeeping
- Payroll
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Finance inbox management
- Invoicing
- Credit control
- Payment processing
- Year-end statutory accounts
- Corporation tax
The handover was completed quickly and smoothly, without interrupting day-to-day operations or requiring significant support from the outgoing CFO.
With one experienced team across the entire function, financial information now moves seamlessly across the business.
Supporting due diligence with agency expertise
By the time the merger reached the due diligence stage, the agency’s books were in great order and fully tax-compliant.
Barnridge’s experience working specifically with agencies meant we understood the management information the directors needed and could provide accurate, commercially useful information throughout the process. This helped them respond confidently and make informed decisions as the merger progressed.
Expenses off the spreadsheet
Up to the point Barnridge took over, receipts were handled in a spreadsheet with a trail of scanned image attachments. As part of the move, we introduced OCR receipt capture through a dedicated app, giving the team a quicker and easier way to submit and process expenses.
The app reads photographed receipts and pulls the supplier, date, total and VAT straight into the accounts. The team picked it up immediately, helping expenses move through the system more quickly and allowing client costs to be recharged sooner.
Billing restructured for faster payment
We recommended that client recharges were pulled out and invoiced separately from fees. It might sound insignificant, but now recharges are checked line by line in a way retainers rarely do, and creating a separate invoice means a query about a travel cost no longer holds up fee payments.
More useful management information
The move also gave Barnridge the opportunity to develop the agency’s reporting further. As well as seeing revenue by client, the directors can now see margin and servicing by client and project.
That extra layer of management information makes it easier to understand which relationships and projects are most profitable, where teams are being stretched and where scope creep could begin to affect margins. It gives the directors useful agency-specific insight to support their decisions, rather than simply more financial data.
The result
Barnridge came on board with a smooth handover, the due diligence process ran successfully, and the merger was completed. The M Collective retained Barnridge as its outsourced finance partner following the transaction.
The biggest change is not that the directors suddenly have visibility they did not have before, but that the finance function is now more consolidated and easier to manage. Bookkeeping, management accounts, payroll, tax and day-to-day finance activity all sit within one team, reducing the number of separate relationships and handovers involved.
Profitability is visible at a client and project level, expenses are processed soon after they are incurred, and there is not such a delay between costs and payment.
Along the way, Barnridge has also introduced practical efficiencies that make everyday financial processes easier for the team and provide the directors with more detailed, agency-relevant management information.
Consolidating the function has reduced overall costs too, while giving the business access to a broader finance team rather than relying on one individual.
From the client
“Michael and Barnridge started with us in 2024. They have since streamlined our entire finance function with seemingly effortless efficiency. Michael was key to managing the due diligence process from our side, handling the considerable extra workload with accuracy and understanding. We especially appreciate his calm and professional way of working, and his endless patience.”
Lucinda Buxton, Founder & Managing Director, The M Collective / The Sauce Collective
