Structuring the finance function of a growing SME
Background
Exphar, a pharmaceutical company focused on accessible healthcare solutions, needed to strengthen its financial reporting — and, more fundamentally, align its finance department with its broader ambitions.
The management team was looking for a partner capable of delivering high-quality, practical support tailored to the realities of an SME — not just theoretical advice. Having heard of Altesia’s financial diagnostic services, they saw it as the ideal tool to professionalize their finance function.
Altesia’s intervention provided a 360° analysis of Exphar’s finance organizational structure, reporting processes, and associated systems and tools, followed by a detailed, actionable roadmap and on-site support to drive implementation.
"THE FINANCIAL DIAGNOSTIC REPORT, THE STRATEGIC VISION AND HIGHLY ACTIONABLE ROADMAP WAS TOP-TIER QUALITY AND TAILORED TO THE REALITIES OF A SME."
- Laurent Haverbeke, CEO Exphar
Approach
Initially mandated to focus on financial reporting, Altesia’s team quickly identified broader opportunities to reinforce the entire finance function.
We proposed a two-phase approach:
1. Diagnostic phase
Led by Altesia Finance Partner and experienced CFO, Cédric Van Themsche, this phase assessed the organization, processes, systems and reporting quality. It combined strategic insights with a highly operational action plan, ensuring immediate usability by internal teams. Structured interviews, document reviews, and benchmarking enabled the delivery of a clear, mobilizable roadmap for improvement.
2. Implementation phase
Financial consultant Dorian Van Brusselen took the lead with Exphar’s finance team in implementing the action plan, with regular touchpoints involving Cédric Van Themsche and Exphar’s CEO Laurent Haverbeke to ensure progress and maintain alignment.
Results
Unlike many consulting reports that are either overly dense (making them difficult to share) or too superficial (designed mainly to upsell further services), Altesia’s diagnostic produced a perfectly actionable and mobilizable tool, designed to be read and used by all stakeholders and guide real-world implementation at all levels – from board members to operational teams.
Having an external, highly credible financial expert engage directly with our teams helped reassure, convince, and unite them around a common vision of professionalizing the finance function."
"Altesia’s diagnostic combines high-level strategic insights with operationally detailed action plans. It was an extremely worthwhile investment. The quality of the report, the strategic vision, and the highly actionable roadmap truly impressed us. A level of quality you would expect from a top-tier consulting firm — fully adapted to an SME.
- Laurent Haverbeke, CEO Exphar
The management team emphasized the strong return on investment of the initiative, praising the depth of analysis, strategic vision, and immediate operational value of the plan.
The diagnostic has been immediately adopted as a management tool, shared across teams and the executive committee, driving internal engagement and resource mobilization.
Dorian Van Brusselen, Finance consultant, is leading the implementation of the financial diagnostic roadmap, together with Exphar's finance team.
Although the implementation phase is still underway, the project has already triggered a tangible shift in mindset across the company.
