Fifteen years of finance, all building to this.
Meet Mark Austin.
I've led finance functions at businesses turning over hundreds of millions and worked alongside founders making decisions that shape whether a business grows or stalls.
I started Transform Finance Solutions to make that thinking available to the businesses that need it most.
Running a growing business shouldn’t mean navigating your numbers alone.
Many SMEs reach a point where a bookkeeper and an accountant no longer cover the need. Decisions get harder. Cash flow becomes less predictable. Reporting stops telling you what to do next. You need senior financial leadership but a full-time Finance Director isn’t the right answer yet.
That’s the gap Transform Finance Solutions was built to close.
I'm Mark Austin. I’ve spent 25 years in senior finance roles, 12 in practice and 13 in industry, including Finance Director positions at businesses turning up to £250m. I work with ambitious UK SMEs who need that level of financial leadership on a fractional basis: one to three days a week, for as long as they need it, at a fraction of the full-time cost.
A career built in demanding environments
My experience spans sectors where finance can’t afford to be decorative.
At Dr. Martens, I led a 30-person team through a high-pressure listed-company audit. I accelerated AP automation, strengthened controls and helped the team understand not just what needed to be done but why it mattered.
At Papa John's UK, I ran operational finance across a 530-site franchise network. I improved cash flow discipline, introduced more rigorous forecasting and built financial capability across franchisee groups.
At Arjo, a £105m medical equipment business, I strengthened governance, improved forecasting accuracy and supported teams delivering essential clinical equipment.
Each environment required the same combination: technical strength, commercial instinct and the ability to lead people through pressure. That’s what I bring to every fractional engagement.
What I do
I work with owner-managers, CEOs and leadership teams across the UK who need:
01
Cash Flow
Cash flow they can trust and forecast with confidence
02
Reporting
Management reporting that tells them what to do, not just what happened
03
ERP Implementation
ERP implementation done properly, with clean data and clear process from day one
04
Team Building
Finance teams that are stronger, not more dependent, at the end of an engagement
05
Support
Support through funding rounds, M&A activity, restructure & investor reporting
Five principles that guide everything I do
People first
The numbers matter. The people behind them matter more. Every engagement starts with understanding the team and the culture, not just the spreadsheets.
Partnership
I work alongside leadership teams, not above them. The goal of every engagement is a client team that is stronger at the end of it than the beginning.
Innovate
I use technology to reduce manual processing, strengthen controls and build reporting that actually earns trust. Systems should work for the business, not the other way around.
Do the right thing
Commercial advice that ignores ethics isn’t advice worth taking. I help clients make decisions they’re comfortable defending.
Have fun
Finance doesn’t have to be heavy. The work is serious.
The environment doesn’t need to be.
Beyond the balance sheet
I serve as Trustee Treasurer and incoming Vice Chair at Worktree, a Milton Keynes charity that supports youth employability. I mentor and champion emerging finance professionals through their ACCA studies.
I also write The Insightful FD, a newsletter for business owners and finance leaders on insight-driven, values-led financial practice.
These aren’t side interests. They reflect a conviction that finance leadership, done well, is fundamentally public-interest work.
By the numbers
25
years experience
12
years in practice
13
years in industry
Where I work
Transform Finance Solutions works with businesses across the UK. In-person engagement is strongest across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire. Remote fractional FD and advisory engagements are available to businesses UK-wide.
If your business is growing and finance needs to keep up, I’d be glad to have a conversation.
Book a discovery call
No obligation. No pitch. Just a conversation about where your business is and what financial leadership could do for it.