Following an introduction from Nasstar PLC’s chairman, Lord Daresbury, we first became involved with Nasstar in 2007, assisting with a re-model of their management accounts reporting format and preparation of their IFRS-compliance interim accounts.

As an AIM-quoted PLC, Nasstar had a part-time FD at that time, a highly-regarded accountant who combined his Nasstar responsibilities with a full-time role as FD of a City investment house.

However, when the FD’s increasing workload elsewhere started to made it difficult for him to devote as much time to Nasstar as both he and the company would have liked, chief executive Charles Black turned to us for more than the occasional accounting support that we had been providing.

Nasstar provides computing services on the internet enabling users to do all their computing online from anywhere through a web browser. With a market capitalisation of £5 million and the need to be sensible about costs, Charles Black recognised that FD Solutions could provide the FD support on an as-needed basis with a first-class FD at a fraction of the cost of a full-timer in the role.

As a consequence, our client finance director Tony Eve joined Nasstar as FD in December 2007, undertaking all the work that an active and fast-growing AIM company requires. As well as reporting to the board with monthly management accounts and forecasts, Tony participates in the liaison with auditors, NOMADs and brokers, and acts as company secretary.

Tony is able to give the company the level of involvement it requires, ranging from a day here and there at quiet times to concentrated periods around period-ends or when City reporting is being finalised.

Charles Black, chief executive of Nasstar plc, is delighted with Tony’s involvement and said:

"Nasstar provides on-demand computing so that you just pay for what you use. FD Solutions apply the same approach to the role of finance director, so we can have as much or as little as we need. Tony has come in and taken ownership of our numbers and performed brilliantly as our FD, undertaking all the functions a full-time FD would undertake including preparation of management accounts, budgets, presentation of numbers to the City and liaising with our broker and NOMAD.

“As a quoted company the finances of the business are publicly visible and being measured at all times so you need a specialist finance director resource. What is really great is that we get everything done that needs to be done as an AIM-quoted company for less than a third of the cost of employing a full-time finance director. Put simply, FD Solutions means we don't need a full time finance director, we get everything done using their 'on demand' approach and save massively on cost."