Finance Functions Built from the Ground Up — Controllership, FP&A and the Systems That Run Them
POPE&CHARIOT builds and runs finance functions for CFOs, founders and growth-stage businesses — standing-start team builds, month-end close and statutory reporting, AI-enabled workflows, cloud ERP implementations, and the investor-grade models that carry a capital raise.
Finance Functions Built for the Business, Not Adapted from a Template
We design, build and run the finance function itself — the team, the close, the controls, the systems and the reporting — and the models that sit on top of it. Every engagement is structured around your business drivers, funding strategy and reporting obligations, whether that means standing up a function from the first hire or modernising one that has outgrown its tools.
Finance Function Build
From first finance hire to a full function: team structure, processes, controls and reporting architecture — built from a standing start, four times over.
Controllership & Financial Control
Month-end close, multi-entity and multi-currency consolidation, statutory reporting and audit management — close cycles built from scratch and halved in tenure.
AI-Enabled Finance
AI copilots and agents embedded in the daily work of finance — close, reconciliation, reporting and model assurance — so the function runs faster with fewer manual hours.
ERP & Systems Implementation
Selection, implementation and migration of cloud ERP and planning platforms, owned from the finance side end to end — with reporting and BI layers moved in step.
FP&A & Budgeting
Budgeting and forecasting cycles from monthly cadence to multi-decade horizons, variance analysis, and board and investor reporting that drives decisions.
Financial Modelling
Investor-grade three-statement models for capital raising, valuation and scenario analysis — transparent, audit-ready and built from first principles.
A Finance Function That Stands Up to Scrutiny
Everything we build — the close, the controls, the reporting and the models — is designed to hold up in front of auditors, boards and investors, with total transparency from source data through to the numbers that carry a decision.
- Audit-ready close and reporting — no black-box formulas, macros or undocumented workarounds.
- Multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation and scenario analysis across funding pathways and jurisdictions.
- Board-ready outputs with automated dashboards, charts and disclosure requirements.
- Compliant with IFRS, AASB, US GAAP, and global listing standards (i.e. ASX, LSE, NYSE, B3).
Fully Personalised. Built From First Principles.
Every function, system and model is built from the ground up around your business model, revenue drivers, cost structure and reporting obligations. The result is a finance capability the business actually runs on — not a deliverable that sits in a drawer.
Tell a Story Investors Believe
Generic numbers create doubt. A well-run finance function gives every figure a clear, defensible line from assumption to outcome — so investor discussions, board decisions and capital allocation proceed with confidence rather than caveats.
SELECTED ENGAGEMENTS
Led Prezzee's FY26 budget transition — replatforming planning from a cloud EPM onto a transparent, fully integrated framework with dynamic assumptions and automated outputs. The new process enabled scenario analysis and stress testing across 15+ funding pathways, and supported a AUD 50M+ equity raise with board-ready insight.
Built Stoker's end-to-end corporate financial model, integrating operational metrics with financial outcomes. The model was robust, scalable and transparent, giving leadership and investors a clearer basis for planning and decision-making.
Rebuilt Trace's financial model to strengthen FP&A, valuation support and investor readiness. The result was a more credible, scalable model aligned to internal planning needs and investor expectations.
Developed the forecast suite behind a AUD 150M Series C capital raise — short, medium and long-term models with sensitivity analysis across funding jurisdictions — alongside workforce planning for a ~450-person organisation and an enterprise pricing restructure aligned to usage.
Supported a London Stock Exchange-listed battery developer across capital raising, multi-million-dollar grant funding and technical accounting — including R&D capitalisation policy — through an internationally consolidated model that articulated a credible commercialisation pathway.
Modelled Sea Forest's Brazil market entry strategy, incorporating adoption curves, regulatory pathways and capital requirements. This supported strategic planning for international expansion with clearer commercial and capital visibility.
Built the group FP&A capability from a standing start as first FP&A hire — the inaugural three-way budgeting cycle across six entities, and a consolidated model spanning electricity, gas and water operations that underpinned a AUD 480M funding package and institutional co-investor reporting.
Principal Consultant
Yan Santos is a Chartered Accountant with more than fifteen years across financial control, FP&A and corporate finance in listed, private-equity-backed and growth-stage businesses. He has built finance functions from a standing start four times — as first finance hire, first FP&A hire and group financial controller — and works with CFOs, founders and investors on the close, the systems, the reporting and the models that high-stakes decisions run on.
POPE&CHARIOT is a specialist finance advisory practice that builds and modernises finance functions — controllership, planning, AI-enabled workflows and cloud ERP — with the precision, structure and commercial judgement serious businesses require.
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"Yan can break down complex business situations, find patterns, and see how different variables interact. This is essential for creating realistic and flexible models."
"The models are designed like a well-organised story. They flow logically from inputs to outputs, making it easy for anyone to trace assumptions, calculations, and conclusions."
"POPE&CHARIOT can create well-organised spreadsheets, using clear labels, and summarizing key insights to make sure that anyone can understand his model, even those without a finance background."
"Prezzee's FY26 corporate budget model had excellence, clear logic, consistent formulas, and dynamic assumptions, ensuring flexibility for scenario analysis and stress testing."
"Yan rebuilt my existing financial model from the ground up to make it simpler to use and interpret. It was quick and affordable with minimal input from me!"
"Yan's an expert of Excel, VBA and modelling best practices. His model for Stoker was robust, scalable, and transparent. It links operational metrics to financial outcomes, translating complex financial relationships into actionable insights."
"Accuracy is key. Extra careful with input data and assumptions, double-checking his own work to ensure everything adds up correctly."
"Yan follows well established modeling standards, a uniform approach to labels, color-coding, and formatting making his models easy to review, audit, and build upon."