Akshar Business Consulting Ltd

📍 Helping Finance Leaders Transform FP&A, Budgeting & Reporting | Power BI | AI-Driven Insights

Key Achievements & Impact:

✅ Accelerated forecasting speed by 75%+ by implementing connected planning solutions
✅ Eliminated manual finance processes through automation, improving efficiency and accuracy
✅ Developed single sources of truth for financial data, enhancing reporting consistency across departments
✅ Enabled real-time analytics with Power BI, driving data-driven decision-making
✅ Guided finance leaders in transitioning from traditional budgeting to xP&A models, improving agility


Leadership & Transformation Initiatives:

🚀 Led digital transformation projects to modernize FP&A functions for mid-to-large enterprises
💡 Implemented AI-powered forecasting models, reducing financial risk and improving resource allocation
📈 Upskilled finance teams in advanced analytics & automation, ensuring long-term success
🔍 Integrated disparate financial systems, improving cross-functional collaboration and financial visibility


I help businesses unlock financial intelligence, optimize decision-making, and drive sustainable growth by combining finance expertise, technology, and automation.


📞 Let’s Connect: https://calendly.com/abcltejas/30min | tejas@aksharconsulting.co.uk

Founder & Lead Consultant | Akshar Business Consulting

FP&A Strategy Consulting

Senior FP&A Consultant

The Value Creation Partnership

Supporting the Value Creation Partnership in the delivery of Financial Planning and Analysis Transformation programs.

Independent Operating Partner - FP&A Transformation

IWSR Drinks Market Analysis

Interim Head of Commercial Finance

YO! Sushi

Synamedia

• Deployed global digital reporting leveraging PowerBI, driving insights across the business while delivering 'a single source of truth'
• Supporting the implementation of Anaplan highlighting the key challenges and providing foresight to ensure maximum benefit for the organisation

FP&A Modeller

Unilever

• Lead the forecasting and month-end cycle simplification and automation while repatriating the same back to the UK reducing the headcount resource to less than half

Transformation Manager (Interim)

Currys plc

• Integrated and streamlined planning, budgeting and forecasting processes resulting to increased financial visibility and forecasting accuracy by implementing driver based budgeting
• Drove actions to improve the reporting on financial performance aligning to businesses strategic initiatives and to achieve overall business success

Financial Planning Manager - Supply Chain & Repairs (Interim)

Whitbread

• Delivered a new investment appraisal model (incl. NPV, IRR, Payback and Rate of Return calculations) for up-to-date concepts offering for any innovations. Appraised property investment and disposal opportunities in maximising returns

Investment Appraisal Manager (Interim)

Cobham Wireless

• Spearheaded major transformation project as Finance Business Partner to turnaround a loss-making business to being profitable through outsourcing, restructuring including asset impairment and strategic redirection.
• Designed 5 year and annual planning as well as monthly forecasting models for complete the financial suit (P&L, Balance sheet and Cashflow) achieving 98% accuracy. Leveraged financial modelling and scenario analysis to support management decision process.

Senior Finance Manager FP&A 

Finance Transformation Specialist | Delivering Finance Digitalisation: Efficiency & Effectiveness Improved +100% | Business Intelligence & Budgeting / Forecasting Technology | FP&A Thought Leader🌟 See recommendations⬇️

PE partners and boards don't lose sleep over spreadsheets.
They lose sleep over decisions made on numbers they cannot trust.
Manual reporting and fragmented data don't just slow you down; they directly impact valuations, delay exits, and erode investor confidence.

𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗜 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛
I partner with CFOs and Heads of FP&A at PE-backed companies to global enterprises who need robust financial processes that meet institutional investor standards, delivered within strict transformation timelines. 

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥
20+ years in strategic finance at GE Healthcare, Vodafone, Nielsen, and Unilever taught me what world-class FP&A looks like. Now I build it for others.
My team implements automated board reporting (PowerBI & Aimplan) and connected planning solutions (Vena, Prophix & Anaplan) that deliver:
• Real-time executive dashboards and investor-ready reporting
• Automated board pack generation that frees your team for strategic analysis
• Scenario modelling that supports investment decisions and exit planning
• Audit-ready forecasting processes that scale with rapid growth

𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗦
 • 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿: Reduced budgeting cycle from 10 weeks to 7 days with full sign-off
 • 𝗫𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘅: Built Finance Centre of Excellence, improving accuracy and reducing manual effort by 75%
 • 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗘-𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀: Implemented investor-grade reporting that supported successful exits and improved EBITDA visibility
(Full case studies at aksharconsulting.com)

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦
Your investors and senior leadership expect institutional-quality financial reporting. Your growth timeline demands agile forecasting. Your strategy requires bulletproof numbers.
Most finance teams are built for steady-state operations, not the demands of PE ownership or strategic transformation. We bridge that gap.

𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 & 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣
I share proven FP&A transformation strategies through: 
• FP&A Unboxed podcast - real-world case studies and expert interviews
• Insights from an FP&A Head newsletter - practical frameworks for finance leaders  

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞?
If your finance function needs to match the pace of your growth strategy, let's discuss your specific challenges.

Let’s Talk – No-Obligation Discussion
📅 Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/abcltejas/30min
📩 Message me on LinkedIn
📧 Email: tejas@aksharconsulting.co.uk
📞 Call: 07592300593

➡️Specialties

AI-Driven Budgeting & Forecasting | Integrated Reporting | Business Intelligence | Connected Planning

Tejas Parikh (ACMA, MBA)

Busuu

FP&A Director

The Economist

Achievements:
Defined pricing strategy to mitigate inflationary pressures, growing lifetime value by £60m
Partnered Education business to grow from zero to £2m revenue inside 2 years
Finance transformation; offshored and automated key processes using Anaplan

Responsibilities:
Leading global monthly forecast, budget and strategic planning processes. Using analytical rigour and commercial acumen to manage 1.2m subscriber base/400k new subs annually
P&L ownership of business units with turnover £220m, direct costs £45m, marketing £35m
Finance lead on our largest projects – product & pricing  strategy, finance transformation
Guardian of customer lifetime value (CLTV), consumer economics and investment appraisal metrics, providing actionable insights to help drive improved decision making
Developing a team of 6 through clear objective setting, regular reviews and open feedback

Head of FP&A - Subscriptions

Achievements:
Proposed and agreed a plan with CFO and VP to move to quarterly forecasting, freeing up significant finance team time for more value-add activities

Responsibilities:
Finance leadership of business units with turnover >£200m
Co-piloting alongside the C-suite, enabling the business to adapt and meet deliverables

Finance Director (paternity cover)

Achievements:
Project lead – drove subscription revenue up 20% by working in partnership with pricing consultants; quantifying price elasticity per customer segment, scenario modelling P&L impacts before implementing a price increase across the entire subscriber base
Finance lead - commercial review of entire business ahead of critical data insourcing project Enabled informed decisions on how our business will change post-migration
Implemented cloud-based planning tool, along with a new forecast process, improving accuracy of both P&L and forecasted volumes (to 99% accuracy)

Responsibilities:
Managing £55m marketing budget. Translating regressive model data into actionable insights, enabling e-commerce leaders to balance short term deliverables vs customer lifetime value
Leading global monthly forecast, budget and strategic planning processes
Telling the story behind the figures; presenting regular trading updates to senior leadership, quantifying risk and opportunities from across the business to help us manage to plan
Project manager for all finance initiatives, using communication and prioritisation skills to ensure strategic goals are met in the midst of a fast-moving environment
Overseeing continual process improvements to make business as usual tasks more efficient
Partnering with data science and systems teams to ensure data integrity

Head of Commercial Finance – Subscriptions (3 direct reports)

Achievements:
•	Designed and embedded new processes, enabling the e-commerce team to deliver +30k subs.
•	Project lead - globalising subscriber retention processes, driving £2m efficiencies in budget.

Responsibilities:
•	Partnering e-commerce and retention teams, providing commercial insight and analysis.
•	Management of marketing (£15m) and overheads (£2m) budgets.
•	Coordinating 7 global submissions each month totalling £160m revenue.
•	Partnering social media team to maximise conversion of fans into paid subscribers.

Senior Global Circulation Analyst

Financesoftskills.com

Side hustle: coaching better soft skills for finance professionals

Starbucks

Achievements:
•	Delivered £3.4m of cost reduction initiatives in 2013.
•	Starbucks head office employee of the quarter Q2 2013.
•	Modelled ROI for all initiatives, allowing prioritisation and quicker time to market for new products.

Responsibilities:
•	Presenting weekly results to EMEA board, identifying commercial risks/opportunities.
•	Creating weekly management info pack for EMEA, showing performance against strategic targets.
•	Forecasting, scenario modelling and analysis for direct costs (£100m) and marketing (£12m).
•	Project lead - partnering cross-functionally to identify and deliver £3.4m savings to UK P&L.
•	Investment appraisal for all marketing, pricing and new product launch activity.

Finance Business Partner

Quarterly budgeting and forecasting for business unit with turnover of £60m, including modelling and ownership of complex manpower costs.
Owning the month end reporting process including gap analysis and coordinating submissions from all business units.
Cashflow analysis and tracking of billing progress to ensure maximum cash liquidity.
Delivery of monthly management information packs and review with department heads to highlight commercial risks and opportunities within the business.

Management Accountant

Ernst & Young

Maintenance and review of financial performance for engagements totalling £30M working capital, including analysis and reporting of risk to senior finance staff.
Challenging senior managers and partners to ensure company revenue is maximised. 
Forecasting and budgetary analysis including setting cash collection & revenue targets.

Engagement Analyst

Dell

Assistant Accountant (7 months)
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Internal Controls Officer (10 months)
Credit Controller (10 months)

Contractor: Various Finance and Audit Roles

With over 15 years experience in finance, I am a CIMA qualified professional who leads the global forecast, budget, and strategic planning processes for The Economist's subscription business. I use analytical rigour and commercial acumen to manage a subscriber base of 1.2 million, helping drive revenue growth and profitability.

As the head of FP&A, I partner with the C-suite and business units to define and execute product and pricing strategies, finance transformation initiatives, and customer lifetime value optimization. I also have a passion for coaching and developing finance professionals to improve their soft skills and communication abilities. I run a side hustle at Financesoftskills.com, where I share tips and resources on how to succeed in finance.

taplio

The Battle

Tejas Parikh (ACMA, MBA)

Howard Tunnicliffe

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