Niall
Pirie

Who I help

International groups. Owner-managed businesses. Private equity-backed businesses.

How I help

Management information. Board reporting. KPI setting and reporting. Process and transactional support. Driving efficiencies in finance functions.

Sectors/ support

Energy

“My goal is for clients to see us as a true business partner.”

Niall Pirie is a Virtual Finance Function Partner, based in our Aberdeen office. As a partner, he ensures that the VFF team deliver a high-quality service for clients and supports the growth plans of both the team and the group. He brings to the team 14 years of experience working in Audit and 11 years of experience in senior finance roles in private equity-backed oil field service companies.

Niall supports his clients with management information including board reports, financial reporting, setting and reporting on KPIs along with supporting clients with a wide range of financial issues. As a senior leader in our VFF team, he also supports the growth and development of junior members of the team utilising his industry experience to provide them with operational finance insights and also help support them to achieve their career goals.

The right team for the job

“For me, an ideal client relationship is one built on trust and openness. With an open relationship, we are able to be an integral part of the business and help support and challenge them on their growth targets.  We are also able to deal with any challenges because clients appreciate that we’re not just going to tell them what they want to hear because we have their best interests at heart,  This helps our clients make well-informed decisions that will benefit their businesses.

My goal is for clients to see us as colleagues rather than an outsourced service provider. On the one hand, we’re there to ensure that the finance function runs smoothly and delivers robust and accurate financial data that our clients need. However, the strength, depth, and knowledge of our VFF team means that we have a wide range of skills that allow us to be agile and add value to support business decisions for our clients.”

No two days are the same

“I love the variety of working with clients. Every day is different and that keeps it extremely interesting as there’s always something new and no day is ever the same. The ability to support incredible businesses and provide them with smooth running high-quality finance functions that deliver what they need, when they need it is so satisfying.”

Creating a learning environment

“The VFF team has a wide mix of individuals at different stages in their careers all with very different experiences so far.  That makes the team much stronger where we can all learn from each other to make the combined team as strong as possible. To see individual development is extremely satisfying for the team.

The wider AAB team has so much expertise and skills it makes it a privilege to work with them , as we all support each other on the engagements to ensure our clients receive rounded advice that is fit for purpose.”

Opportunity in challenge

“As with anything change can be a challenge.  Being able to articulate what VFF does and can do for clients is one of the biggest challenges. When clients have had traditional in-house teams for so long it can be a challenge to showcase why what we offer will add more value.

However, we are a highly skilled and agile team with the ability to step in at short notice to demonstrate our capabilities. Every challenge is an opportunity and when we can quickly deliver and quickly show the value of our service this helps to build trust.  It is not just about replacing the traditional model, it’s not one way or the other. We can provide support that is supplementary to those teams when there are particular pinch points or projects and that is the true value of what we do. It’s the flexibility and adaptability of VFF that adds value.”

Adding value for our clients

“Our profession is often seen as a necessary overhead rather than adding value.  A true finance function should operate as trusted colleagues and be integral to all business decisions. Whilst being integral to overseeing the controls in place the data available to a business can be utilised to support strategic business decisions and this is where a finance function can really add value aside from the normal financial reporting. Our goal is to show each and every client that this is the case.”