Whether you’re selling, stepping back, or raising a strategic round, your numbers will be under the microscope. The goal isn’t just a clean set of accounts, it’s a credible, well-structured financial story that maximises your valuation and gives buyers confidence.
For business owners thinking 12–24+ months ahead
Planning your exit? Make sure the numbers tell the right story.
“An exit isn’t about making the numbers look good. It’s about making them believable and doing so consistently, historically, and forward-looking.
That credibility is what protects value and gives buyers confidence.”
— David, Founder & Ignition CFO
Getting exit-ready is a process, not a moment.
Ignition works with business owners well ahead of an exit to professionalise the financial backbone of the business. We help ensure your numbers tell a coherent, credible story over time, one that stands up to scrutiny and supports the valuation you’re aiming for.
Common Finance Challenges
- No long-range financial plan or target valuation
- Messy accounts or gaps in documentation
- Weak or inconsistent reporting history
- No credible forecast to support price expectations
- Founders too involved in day-to-day finance to step back
- No clear picture of what drives (or diminishes) value
How Ignition helps protect and maximise value ahead of an exit
Why preparation matters
An exit is the most significant financial milestone most founders will ever navigate. The difference between an acceptable outcome and a strong one is rarely the headline price alone. It’s the depth, consistency, and credibility of the numbers behind it.
How Ignition supports exit readiness
Ignition works with you well ahead of a transaction to build the financial infrastructure buyers and investors expect to see. We strengthen the historical record, shape a defensible forward-looking narrative, and remove dependency on founder-led finance, so the business stands up under scrutiny and transfers cleanly when it matters.
What we typically deliver
Finance function diagnostic and improvement plan. We assess what you have, identify the gaps, and put a structure in place that grows with you — so finance never becomes the bottleneck.
- Long-range financial planning and valuation modelling
- Historical accounts clean-up and normalisation
- Consistent management reporting architecture
- Exit-focused board packs and KPI framework
- Data room preparation and due diligence readiness
- Finance function handover and documentation
Subscription & Pricing
Support designed to protect exit value.
Preparing for an exit requires consistent financial leadership, not short-term fixes. Our engagement models are built to support depth, continuity, and confidence over time.
Finance Department
Finance Discipline Built for Exit Readiness
In the 12–24 months before an exit, financial quality becomes valuation-critical. Reporting history, forecasting credibility and control discipline will be scrutinised. In-House Finance Team provides full finance ownership, board-ready reporting and integrated forecasting — structured to withstand due diligence and support a value-maximising outcome.
This subscription is anchored around in-house Finance team, and it automatically includes:
All Core Finance services
- Weekly bookkeeping
- Payroll (RTI + pensions)
- VAT returns (including multi-entity)
- Statutory accounts + Corporation Tax (group where relevant)
- Structured reconciliations
- Basic financial controls
All Engine services
- Weekly bookkeeping
- Payroll (RTI + pensions)
- VAT returns (including multi-entity)
- Statutory accounts + Corporation Tax (group where relevant)
- Structured reconciliations
- Basic financial controls
Plus Full In-House Finance Team scope:
- Weekly processing owned end-to-end
- Payroll process ownership + headcount modelling
- Full month-end ownership with timetable discipline
- Board-ready monthly pack with commentary
- 12–18 month integrated forecast (monthly refresh)
- Annual budget + quarterly reforecast cycle
- Weekly cashflow review + KPI snapshot
- Ongoing modelling + scenario planning
- Full controls framework + systems optimisation
- Weekly & monthly CFO cadence meetings
- Board pack preparation + attendance
What Matters Most at Exit
For exit, the full finance stack becomes valuation-critical — particularly:
- Reporting history that demonstrates consistency and control
- Forecast credibility that supports price expectations
- A documented controls framework that withstands diligence
- Board discipline with structured commentary and oversight
- Tax alignment across corporate and founder structures
Exit value is determined not just by performance, but by the quality of the numbers behind it.
From
£4,500
/month
Start preparing long before the exit.
Speak to a senior CFO about strengthening your numbers, reducing risk, and positioning the business for a confident transition well ahead of a sale or step-back.