Tony Philip

Finance Consultant, Trainer & Mentor

There are many occasions when an enterprise needs external finance input.  You may be planning a major development, a re-organisation, a sale, or perhaps an assessment of a current activity.  All of these have finance implications and if you do not have the expert resources internally then you will look for external and well-qualified resources to support the activity.  And you will find many consultants to help you. 

A useful word to describe these activities is a "transition".

How are your staff supported during and after this transition?  Going through a period of transition is a testing time and some humans need support in order to reach the next level of their capabilities.  This is what a mentor does.  You may have come across mentoring, or its near relative - coaching, often when a person has already been through a transition and wants some support to reach high performance levels again.

I combine the two roles.  There seems to be a very logical and persuasive case for the combination.  When you undertake some activity with a financial implication then there is always an effect on people.  Who better to mentor individuals affected by a transition than someone who understands their old and new environment, who understands their job (probably has done their job somewhere else), understands the challenges and has the credibility and confidence to effectively support that person.

I provide finance consultancy for all stages of a transition, working through from strategy to detailed planning and evaluation, including economic and financial appraisal, documentation, decision day and then implementation.  I draw on many years successful experience with Shell, as a Chartered Accountant, and from my practical experience with many of the world’s major banks, lawyers and advisors, and many Government organisations.  I can then assist the transition in its wider context, as an experienced trainer and facilitator.  Possibly uniquely, I am a professional coach-mentor  and support the transition with coaching and mentoring for the finance staff most affected.   I draw upon my experience of that person operating in that environment to facilitate the change in knowledge, skills and behaviours that are needed for best performance.