Yates Finance, Fractional CFO & Business Advisory

I work with businesses where finance is being asked to do something new. An acquisition, a refinancing, an exit process. A step up in growth without an FD in place. Or an experienced team who want a second, independent view before a key decision.

From owner-managed businesses through to PE-backed groups and larger corporates.

I've run P&Ls over €4bn. The same rigour applies here, without needing a team of twelve to build the analysis.

How I Help

Senior finance expertise, tailored to your business.

A one-off project, ongoing part-time leadership, or hands-on cover through a key period. Whatever it is, I shape the engagement around what you actually need.

Fractional CFO Leadership

A senior finance head in the room, without the full-time cost.

Executive, board & investor reporting
Cashflow, forecasting & planning
Finance team & systems development

Strategic Decision Support

Acquisitions or big investments? I surface the missing questions & lay out the choices.

Financial modelling & scenario planning
M&A, due diligence & transaction support
Investment appraisal & capital allocation
Growth & expansion planning

Commercial Performance & Profitability

Revenue's easy to see. Profit can hide. I find where you make money and where you don't.

Pricing & margin optimisation
Performance analytics & financial visibility
Cost structure review & optimisation

Finance Automation & AI

The team can refocus their time where it matters. Only the parts that are safe get automated.

Month-end, reporting and analysis automation
Practical AI adoption, without the hype
Where your data goes, and who sees it

A shorter first step

A clear answer, quickly

Fixed scope, fixed fee, and results within two weeks. These can include:

Full finance review · what's actually needed in your business, rather than what looks good on paper

Or something more specific:

Pricing & margin review Post-deal finance readiness Pre-raise & pre-sale readiness Board pack overhaul Automate one process, and see it working

Why Yates Finance

An unusually complete finance background.

Finance people can sometimes specialise. I never have. I trained in practice with SMEs, spent 12 years running various finance functions inside some of the world's biggest brands, and led sales teams along the way. It's a broad mix, and it's what I bring to your business.

Built on firm foundations

I qualified as a chartered accountant in practice, working across accounts, audit, tax and advisory for smaller businesses. I know how a set of accounts is really put together, not just how it looks in a board pack.

Proven across every scale

I've worked with small businesses and run finance for global names like Adidas, Lundbeck and Pandora. I bring big-company rigour, but I keep it practical for the business in front of me.

Versatile by experience

Practice or blue-chip, local market or global HQ, steady operations or fast-moving change. I've worked in all of them and adapted to each, fitting myself to the business rather than forcing one playbook onto it.

Not just a finance guy

I led sales for some of the largest key accounts at Adidas, so I know what it's like to sit on the other side of the table as well as the finance side. I bring financial discipline with a commercial mindset.

How I think about finance

Finance done well is a catalyst. It's one of the few functions with a line of sight into every part of a business, so its real job is to break down silos and be the connecting tissue: to think end to end, join the dots, and tell the story of what's actually going on. Governing the P&L, while being a genuine partner and co-pilot to the leadership team. That's what gives me energy, and it's the foundation of how I work.

Experience

From chartered accountant to global finance leader.

2026 to present

Founder & Director

Yates Finance, Fractional CFO & Business Advisory

2024 to 2026

Senior Director, Global Head of Performance

Pandora, Copenhagen, Denmark · €4bn+ P&L

2024

Senior Director, Global Head of Commercial Finance

Lundbeck, Copenhagen, Denmark · €2bn+ P&L

2020 to 2023

Finance Director, Head of Central Europe Finance

Adidas, Germany · €1bn+ P&L

Including assignment as Senior Director, Sales (Alliance Accounts)

2017 to 2020

Senior Manager, Commercial Finance & FP&A (Europe)

Adidas, Germany

2014 to 2017

Manager, Accounting & FP&A (North Europe)

Adidas, UK

2011 to 2014

Trainee ACA → Chartered Accountant

MHA Chartered Accountants, UK

About

Richard Yates, FCA

I began my career in practice, qualifying as a chartered accountant while working across accounts, audit, tax and advisory for owner-managed businesses. That gave me a foundation many senior finance leaders never build. I understand a set of accounts from the ground up.

From there I moved into blue-chip commercial finance, holding both in-market and global-headquarters roles across Adidas, Lundbeck and Pandora, and leading P&Ls of up to €4bn. I've also worked as a Senior Sales Director, so I've sat on both sides of the finance and commercial relationship.

Away from client work I'm an active private investor in small and mid-cap companies, which keeps me thinking like an owner and a shareholder as much as a finance lead.

I set up Yates Finance to bring that full range to businesses that need serious financial leadership, but not a full-time hire.

FCA, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales

Financial clarity through periods of change.