Finance Leadership Advisory · Founder-Led Businesses

When the numbers exist —
but the clarity doesn't.

I work with founders who have built something real, and whose finance function hasn't kept pace with it.

Start a conversation Finance Leadership Advisory

Who this is for

Founders who've outgrown
their finance function.

Most founders I work with are running profitable businesses between £5m and £30m. Finance isn't broken — it's just not keeping up. The numbers exist. The clarity behind them doesn't. That gap is where the risk lives.

You're scaling fast and the monthly accounts are no longer telling you what you need to know to make decisions with confidence.

You're heading toward an investment round or an exit, and you know your financial leadership needs to be stronger before that conversation starts.

You're thinking about bringing in a CFO or a senior finance leader, but you're not sure what you actually need — or how to find the right person.

What I do

I help founders get the financial leadership their business has outgrown them for.

Finding the right FD or CFO

I identify and introduce senior finance leaders — fractional or permanent — from my network. Not CVs. People I know, whose quality I can vouch for, who are the right fit for your business at this moment.

Strengthening the finance function

Before a placement, I help you understand what you actually need. That means an honest assessment of where the gaps are, what level of leadership the business requires, and what good looks like for your stage.

Preparing for investment or exit

If you're approaching a milestone — a funding round, a strategic sale, a management buyout — I help you ensure your financial leadership is strong enough to hold up under scrutiny and support the process.

Why me

When finance starts to constrain growth
rather than support it.

That's the moment founders call Sheridan Lloyd.

Tony Sheridan, Founder of Sheridan Lloyd

Tony Sheridan Founder · Sheridan Lloyd

I work exclusively with founder-led businesses at the point where the finance function is holding the business back rather than driving it forward.

That might mean the FD has just resigned. A funding round is approaching. An acquisition has completed. Or growth has simply outpaced what the current finance team can handle.

In each case, the question is the same: who leads the finance function now, in what structure, and how quickly can they be in place?

That's what I advise on. And through a curated panel of experienced CFOs and FDs, I can provide interim, fractional or permanent solutions — depending on what the business actually needs.

Commercial, not transactional I work on retained mandates. That means I'm aligned to your outcome, not to filling a vacancy quickly.

Senior network, not a database I work with a curated panel of CFOs and FDs — senior professionals who I know personally, brief individually, and match to the specific stage and complexity of your business.

Founder-only focus I work exclusively with owner-managed businesses. No FTSE, no corporate. That focus matters — the dynamics are entirely different.

Direct and honest If I don't think you need an FD or CFO yet, I'll tell you. If the timing is wrong, we'll talk about that too. Founders deserve straight answers.

When the numbers exist — but the clarity doesn't.

Founders who've outgrowntheir finance function.