SERVICE

Financial Advisory

We work with you to strengthen your organisation’s financial position.

We provide clear analysis, senior leadership and practical knowledge transfer, ensuring decisions are informed, confident and sustainable.

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Typical Outcomes

  • Clear recovery and budget plans
  • Stronger controls and governance
  • Improved financial oversight and risk awareness
  • Confident decision-making backed by evidence
  • Strengthened internal capability

Who It's For

  • Local authorities and public bodies
  • Education organisations, trusts and schools
  • Boards, committees and programme leads
  • Organisations needing independent challenge or specialist expertise

Services

For SMEs

Start-Up Advisory
Support for new founders to set up their business correctly and confidently.

Setting up a business brings complex decisions including structure, registration, banking, compliance, payroll and tax. We guide founders through every step, ensuring the essentials are in place from day one. Our team provides practical support, reducing uncertainty and helping you focus on building your business.

Business Performance & Financial Insight
Clear analysis to help you understand performance and plan for sustainable growth.

We break down the factors that drive income, margins and profitability, giving you meaningful insight into how your business performs. Working closely with directors, we help you assess drawings, investment capacity and future plans, providing forecasts that support confident strategic decisions.

KPI Design & Monitoring
Selecting and interpreting the right KPIs to support stronger decision-making.

Effective KPIs offer powerful insight, but choosing the right ones is essential. We help identify the metrics that matter most to your organisation and interpret what they reveal. Regular monitoring deepens understanding, uncovers trends and enables more informed, proactive management.

Accounting & Bookkeeping
Reliable, compliant accounting support so you can focus on running your business.

We handle day-to-day bookkeeping, set up appropriate controls and ensure your financial records are always current. Our experienced team prepares statutory accounts in line with the latest standards and manages submissions to Companies House. We work with a range of software to suit your preferences.

VAT Advice & Compliance
Specialist guidance on VAT schemes, rules and complex transactions.

We support SMEs, contractors, landlords and sole traders in choosing the right VAT scheme and understanding their obligations. Our team advises on complex areas such as cross-border VAT, option to tax, and import/export requirements. With up-to-date knowledge of legislation, we help you remain compliant and avoid costly mistakes.

Payroll Services
Accurate, compliant payroll delivered with minimal administrative burden.

We provide full payroll services or advisory support, ensuring staff are paid correctly and statutory requirements are met. From routine processing to advice on payroll structure, we help maintain compliance and smooth operations.

Tax Planning & Company Returns
Strategic planning and accurate submissions to reduce corporation tax liability.

We prepare detailed tax computations, identify allowable reliefs and file returns on your behalf. Our approach reduces tax exposure by ensuring all eligible deductions, such as R&D relief, are considered. We also support directors with their personal tax responsibilities for a seamless end-to-end service.

Benchmarking
Insight into how your organisation compares and where improvement opportunities lie.

Benchmarking highlights cost pressures, performance gaps and opportunities for improvement by comparing your organisation against similar peers. We produce clear, comprehensive reports that explore both metrics and processes, helping you challenge assumptions and drive meaningful change.

Management Accounts
Regular financial reporting that improves visibility and supports informed decisions.

Our management accounts provide essential insight into cashflow, profitability, variances, credit control and other key indicators. These reports keep leaders informed, highlight risks early and support confident, proactive decision-making.

Due Diligence & Business Valuation
Trusted valuations and financial reviews for acquisitions, sales or restructuring.

We provide robust business valuations using tested methodologies and conduct thorough due diligence to identify risks and opportunities. Our analysis offers clarity on financial position and supports confident negotiation and decision-making.

Business Planning
Clear, structured plans and forecasts that support funding, growth and operational clarity.

We help shape business plans that define objectives, articulate strategy and provide realistic financial forecasts. Strong plans reinforce lender confidence, support investment decisions and offer a practical roadmap for day-to-day operations.

Accounting & Business Software Advice
Guidance on selecting the right financial and business systems.

We help you choose and implement accounting and business software that fits your organisation’s needs, enabling smoother operations and better financial oversight.

Policies & Process Design
Well-designed policies and processes that strengthen compliance and operations.

From cybersecurity to financial controls, we help you design clear, practical policies and operational processes. We also support rollout and staff communication to ensure they are understood and embedded across the organisation.

Services

For The Public Sector

Budget & Recovery Planning
Practical, evidence-based plans that stabilise budgets and support long-term financial resilience.

We help councils and public bodies navigate financial pressure through clear analysis, realistic planning and robust financial modelling. Our work identifies achievable savings, clarifies risks and develops pathways to stabilise medium- and long-term positions. We work closely with finance leaders, service areas and members to ensure plans are both operationally feasible and strategically defensible, strengthening confidence across the organisation.

Funding Reviews & DSG/SEND Finance
Specialist expertise to understand funding pressures, assess viability and shape credible recovery plans.

We bring deep experience in education funding, DSG management and SEND financial modelling. Our reviews diagnose the root causes of budget pressure, test the viability of existing plans and provide clear recommendations for sustainable recovery. We support both local authorities and education bodies to strengthen compliance, improve governance and make informed decisions in a highly scrutinised landscape.

Governance Improvement
Streamlined governance, controls and decision pathways that strengthen assurance and transparency.

We review financial governance arrangements to ensure they meet statutory expectations and provide reliable oversight. Our work covers roles and responsibilities, reporting lines, internal controls, risk management and scrutiny processes. We provide practical improvements that enhance accountability, support effective challenge and build confidence among officers, members and external stakeholders.

Due Diligence & Business Case Reviews
Independent, objective assessments that support confident, defensible and well-informed decisions.

We undertake due diligence and rigorous business case reviews for investments, service changes, partnerships and commissioning decisions. Our analysis tests assumptions, identifies risk, evaluates financial and operational impacts, and ensures proposals meet public-sector standards of value for money. This independent challenge helps organisations make decisions that withstand scrutiny from audit, regulators and elected members.

Our Approach in Action

Focused, senior-led and collaborative. We work with your teams, transfer knowledge and ensure improvements endure.

DSG Deficit Advisory

We were appointed by the Department for Education (DfE) to support their engagement with local authorities facing significant Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits.

DSG Compliance Review

Enfield Council engaged Langbrook to assess their DSG allocation and compliance.

Deep Dive School Budget Reviews

Greenwich Council asked Langbrook to investigate schools with persistent budget issues.

TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL CHALLENGE

We're here to help you move forward with clarity and confidence