The work that speaks for itself.
Two engagements. Two different challenges. The same outcome: finance that works the way it should, delivered without the overhead of an in-house team.
Seven Legal took back control of their finances
A growing corporate law firm was getting acceptable finance support. But acceptable was costing more than it should, delivering less than it needed to and leaving a lot of cash sitting where nobody could see it.
Client
Seven Legal
Sector
Corporate Law
Engagement
Managed Finance Operations
Duration
9 months, ongoing
Result
Broader scope. Lower cost than before.
From limited visibility to financial control
The situation
As Seven Legal grew, so did the demands on its finance function. Increased needs for tax planning or business advice becoming a bigger issue for the business, a significant amount of cash was tied up in lock up and a clearer picture of which clients or practice areas were actually profitable was necessary.
What we did
We moved Seven Legal into our managed finance operations service using a staged, parallel-run transition, so reporting continued without interruption.
We took on a broader scope than had been in place before, established a reliable reporting rhythm, built the controls and documentation that had been missing and brought lock up into regular view so it could be managed rather than merely observed.
Where it stands
Reporting now runs on a monthly rhythm without anyone at Seven Legal. Lock up is a standing item, reviewed and actively managed rather than an occasional concern. The scope of the engagement has grown broader than when it started, at a lower overall cost than before.
Key outcomes
Z Group gave us something we hadn't had before: a clear picture of our business and a team that was genuinely invested in helping us act on it.
Bill Cogan
Founder and Managing Director, Seven Legal
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Vimeo's UK finance function. For eleven years and counting.
A global technology business needed more than a bookkeeper for its UK entity. It needed a complete finance operation capable of producing audit-ready numbers on a group timetable, without the cost of maintaining a UK finance team in-house.
Client
Vimeo
Sector
Technology, SaaS
Engagement
Complete Outsourced Finance Function
Duration
Since 2015, ongoing
Close
Hard close by third business day of the month
A complete UK finance function at global scale
The situation
Vimeo is a video technology business operating a subscription model at global scale. Its UK entity reports into a head office consolidation on a group timetable. What was needed was not bookkeeping.
It was a complete UK finance operation capable of producing reconciled, department-level numbers fast enough for group consolidation, under controls that satisfy group auditors, without maintaining an in-house UK team.
What we do
Z Group runs the entire UK finance function. Day-to-day transaction processing, UK VAT compliance, payroll covering independent checks, journal booking and payroll provider funding execution. Payment runs operated through approval workflows tracked in ApprovalMax, giving full audit trail and enforced segregation of duties. Third-party integrations, including Mesh, configured and maintained to feed transaction data directly into the ledger.
Above the operational layer, the intercompany transfer pricing and monthly invoice calculation was designed by us and is adjusted periodically so the UK entity’s results align with group policy. Every month the UK entity is reconciled against the head company’s records so intercompany balances eliminate cleanly at consolidation.
Expenses are analysed by department and business unit, with multi-dimensional management reporting built to group specification. We act as primary contact for the statutory auditors, preparing schedules and resolving queries directly.
Where it stands
The engagement has run for more than eleven years and has been sustained through significant corporate change, including acquisitions made by the business, its own acquisition and the subsequent group restructuring.
Throughout, the UK reporting rhythm has held. Z Group remains the UK finance function. The group receives a fully reconciled, department-level UK reporting pack days ahead of typical timelines for a business of this size, every single month.
Key outcomes
Z Group operates as an extension of our team. They understand the complexity of our group structure and deliver consistently, regardless of what is happening around them.
Josephine Sylvester
Financial Controller, UK, Singapore and Australia, Vimeo