Dani Wainwright set up as a portfolio FD during lockdown and now also advises those looking to strike out on their own on how to prepare for success. Three months after launching Wainwright Consulting, she was fully booked, something she credits to online networking, learning to sell, and using LinkedIn to its full potential. While establishing herself, she found she had a passion for marketing and even sales, skills she was keen to share with others in the same boat. 

“It’s not about uploading your CV and describing how good you are at financial modelling, as we tend to think when we’ve previously been employed, it’s about talking to potential clients about their pain points and the benefits you can bring to them.” Her PowerUP! course for those starting their own portfolio FD business is now in its third year.

But while it’s essential to get the marketing, sales and networking right, a business must be built on strong foundations. “Practising certificates (PCs) are one of the first things I bring up on my initial call with those interested in joining the course. Because if they can’t get a PC, they can’t do the job, so there’s no point in them joining. There are very few situations where it’s impossible to get one,” Wainwright explains. 

Other regulatory issues Wainwright runs through with her cohorts include making sure they have the right professional indemnity insurance – they’ll need that to apply for their PC too – and checking that they’re aware of their anti-money laundering responsibilities, the need for engagement letters, and even things like data protection laws.

Providing a clear path

While Wainwright’s stance on PCs is very clear, clarity is something she found hard to come by when she was setting up her business. “When I first decided to set up as a portfolio FD, I asked the people around me who were doing portfolio work whether they had a PC. To be honest, there was a mixture of answers. So, I went to the source of the truth and reading the ICAEW guidance, it was so clear to me that I needed a PC. It couldn’t have been clearer.

“When you look at the list of services in the ICAEW statement on members engaging in public practice, there are so many things on there that you do as a portfolio FD, things like preparing business plans, cash flows and budgets, and consulting on accounting and financial reporting systems. I would look at that and say, if you’re a portfolio FD and you can put your hand on your heart and say you're not doing any of those things, what are you doing for your clients?

“When I refer to people who argue you don’t need a PC for that list of services, they very quickly go quiet. For me, it’s about being able to sleep soundly in my bed at night, knowing I have everything I need to be compliant in place.”

The freedom to lean into your set of skills

While Wainwright is clear that everyone coming through her course needs a PC as they are acting as principals, she accepts that there are some situations when someone with a portfolio or consulting career may not need a PC. 

“If you’re a part-time employed FD, then that’s different as you’re employed by someone else. Likewise, if you’re doing work on a subcontract basis for an accountancy firm and you are not being held out as a principal, or if you’re a consultant giving general advice on business strategy and it doesn’t touch on finance, then again, by the letter of the guidance you don’t need one.

“But I think if I was a chartered accountant and I was giving general business advice, first of all it’s very hard not to lean into your skill set and give some financial advice, and secondly, I wouldn’t want to take the risk that someone might say I’d given them financial advice, even if I didn’t feel I had.

“In that situation I’d want to get a PC so that I don’t have to worry if I occasionally stray over the line.”

The practising certificate guidelines are changing on 1 January 2024 and it’s your responsibility to comply with the updated regulations. Make sure you know how these changes affect you by visiting ICAEW’s practising certificate hub.