Finance · Capital · Governance

Finance leadership you can put in front of a lender.

Bedrock Advisory is a senior finance and capital advisory firm led by experienced directors and backed by a wider team of finance specialists. We act as fractional CFO, build the models and Series A decks behind capital raises, run group reporting and finance systems, and advise boards. Our work is built to stand up to DFIs, banks, investors and auditors.

Start a conversation See what we do

Our directors holdCA(SA)MBLFAIS Key Individual

Louis JordaanCA(SA) · Director

Naresh AshokMBL · Director

55+

years of combined senior finance, banking and governance experience across our lead directors.

African markets worked in, from Kenya and Nigeria to Botswana, Mauritius and South Africa.

USD 20m+

of funding raised or in progress across our clients since 2024, from development-finance debt to venture rounds.

years with our longest-standing client, a pharmaceutical distribution group, since 1998.

Source: Bedrock Advisory directors’ CVs and engagement records, October 2026. Funding figure covers debt and equity raised or in progress across client mandates since 2024.

What we do

Far more than a CFO on retainer.

Fractional CFO is where many relationships start. Most of our work is the rest: the models, Series A decks and data rooms behind capital raises, group reporting, finance systems, governance and transactions. Engage us for a project, a retainer or a full mandate.

Fractional CFO

Senior finance leadership on demand, without the cost of a full-time hire.

We take the CFO seat for a month, a year or longer: owning the monthly close, the board pack, the cash position and the lender and investor conversations. A director leads, with specialists from our wider team running the detail. Typical engagements start with a 30-day diagnostic and a 100-day plan.

Financial strategy, planning and board reporting
Cash flow, liquidity and treasury management
KPI design and performance monitoring
Finance team leadership and hiring
Investor and lender reporting cycles

Capital Raising & Investor Materials

Everything a funder asks for, built by the people who have sat across the table from funders.

Since 2024 more than USD 20 million of funding has been raised or is in progress across our clients. We prepare the raise end to end: the story, the numbers and the evidence. That covers the Series A or investor deck, the model behind it, the data room, and the funder conversations, whether the capital is equity, DFI debt, bridge funding or a mix. We have supported raises for fintech, mobility, energy and food businesses.

Series A and investor pitch decks
Investment memoranda and advisory memoranda
Funding readiness reviews and data rooms
Cap tables, dilution and funding-mix analysis
DFI, debt and equity structuring; bridge facilities

Modelling, Budgeting & Valuation

Models that survive diligence, and that management actually uses.

The full modelling offer is set out below. In short: investor-grade models for raises, operating models for management, and independent valuations and model reviews for boards and funders.

Five-year integrated three-statement models
13-week and 18-month cash flow forecasts
Budgets, rolling forecasts and variance reporting
DCF and comparables valuations; valuation reviews
Business plans and model audits

Reporting, Controls & Finance Operations

Numbers you can trust, produced on a calendar you can rely on.

We run or rebuild the finance function: monthly management accounts, group consolidation across entities and currencies, annual financial statements, and the systems and policies beneath them. Suited to groups that have outgrown their bookkeeper but are not ready for a full-time finance team.

Group consolidation and IFRS reporting
Annual financial statements: compilation and review
Outsourced finance: accounting, payroll, tax compliance, company secretarial
Finance policies and delegated-authority frameworks
Chart-of-accounts design and ERP migration

Governance, Board & Fiduciary

Independent judgement for boards, and compliance leadership for regulated businesses.

Governance and regulatory compliance for licensed and regulated businesses is set out below. We also serve on boards and committees, design board and risk frameworks, and advise directors, trustees and executors on their duties.

Independent non-executive and committee support
Board advisory, risk and governance design
Key Individual appointments and FSCA regulatory compliance
Director, trustee and executor advisory
Ownership transition and succession planning

Structuring, Tax & Transactions

Clean structures and well-run deals, from preparation to integration.

We prepare businesses for transactions and run the finance side of them: structuring, tax-efficient group design, due diligence, financial close and integration, and the financial workstream of licence and listing applications. For distressed situations we manage creditor negotiations and restructuring plans.

M&A: buy-side and sell-side, due diligence, integration
Group restructuring and transfer pricing
Tax planning, local and offshore
Turnaround, creditor negotiation and restructuring
Listing and licence application preparation

All fifteen disciplines

Fractional CFOPitch Decks & Investment MemorandaFunding ReadinessTax Planning, Local & OffshoreGroup RestructuringBusiness Plan DevelopmentFiduciary ServicesFinancial Control & ReportingBusiness ValuationsM&A AdvisoryStrategy & GovernanceTurnaround & RestructuringOutsourced Finance FunctionFinancial Statements: Reviews & CompilationsBudgeting & Financial Modelling

Financial modelling

Models that win funding and run the business.

Modelling is the core of much of our work. Every model is built for a purpose: to raise capital, to get a board decision made, to steer operations, or to settle a price. We build them in Excel, fully documented, so your team can own them afterwards.

Investor and fundraising models

Built to sit behind a Series A or debt raise and to stand up in diligence.

Integrated income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, typically five years monthly then annual
Unit economics, cohort and loan-book models for fintech and lending
Cap table, round pricing, dilution and use-of-proceeds
Scenario and sensitivity cases, with a clear base, upside and downside
Output pages that feed the pitch deck directly

Project and infrastructure finance

Lender-grade models for capital-intensive projects.

Revenue, build-cost and operating-cost build-ups
Debt sizing, drawdown and repayment schedules; DSCR and covenant tests
Multi-currency funding structures, including DFI debt
Returns analysis: IRR, NPV and equity cash flows
Investment-committee models for sponsors and funders

Budgets, forecasts and cash

The operating models management returns to every month.

Annual budgets and rolling forecasts by entity and consolidated
13-week and 18-month cash flow forecasts
Variance analysis and board dashboards
Working-capital and liquidity planning
Departmental and product-line profitability

Valuation and transactions

Defensible numbers for buying, selling and reporting.

DCF and comparable-company valuations
Valuation reviews for boards, funders and shareholders
Merger, acquisition and restructuring models
Funding-mix and capital-structure analysis
Independent model audits and reviews

Typical outputs: a documented model, an assumptions book, a plain-language summary for the board, and a working session to hand it over.

Regulatory compliance & governance

Licensed, compliant and well governed.

South African financial services are closely regulated. Naresh Ashok is an appointed Key Individual under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS) for a number of licensed businesses across the country, including a registered bank. We bring that experience to firms that need a licence, need to keep one, or need their governance to withstand the regulator.

Key Individual services

Appointed Key Individual or interim Key Individual for authorised financial services providers.

Oversight of the licensed activities, as the regulator requires
Fit-and-proper standing: honesty, integrity, competence, operational ability
Representative supervision and regulatory examination requirements
Interim cover during recruitment or transition

FSCA licensing and applications

From first application to approved licence.

New FSP licence applications and category selection
Licence variations and added product categories
Business plans, compliance manuals and operating structures
Responses to regulator queries

Compliance frameworks

Practical frameworks that the business actually follows.

Compliance and risk-management programmes
Conduct and client-treatment policies
Anti-money-laundering and FICA procedures
Record-keeping, complaints handling and POPIA readiness

Board and committee governance

Governance built for regulated businesses.

Risk, compliance and operations committee design and chairing
Board charters, delegations of authority and reporting packs
Independent non-executive and committee support
Governance reviews ahead of a licence, listing or raise

Ongoing regulatory monitoring

Keeping a licence in good standing.

Regulatory calendars and returns
Compliance monitoring and reporting to the board
Preparation for regulator inspections
Remediation plans for findings

Financial services start-ups

Licence, capital and governance together.

Regulatory capital and financial-soundness planning
Licensing roadmap alongside the business plan and model
Reinsurance, lending, mutual-bank and fintech structures
Investor-ready regulatory position

Who you work with

Directors who have done the work themselves.

Every engagement is led by a director, with specialists from our wider team behind them. Client mandates are described by sector and geography; client names are shared only with their approval.

Louis Jordaan

Director · Cape Town

CA(SA) · South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
BCom Honours, Accounting and Finance, with the Certificate in Theoretical Accountancy · University of Johannesburg, top five of class
BCom, Accounting and Finance, cum laude · University of Johannesburg

More than 25 years leading finance for financial institutions and growth businesses across Africa and Europe. Today Louis is Group CFO of platforms in renewable energy, mobility fintech and multi-jurisdiction fintech, a fractional CFO to a West African food-tech platform, and Lead Independent Director of a JSE-listed mining group, where he chairs the Audit and Remuneration committees.

Earlier career

Group CFO, Old Mutual Malawi (2016–17). Led finance across asset management, life, banking and property, and turned around underperforming banking and property investments.
Director of Finance, Risk and Actuarial, Old Mutual West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana, 2013–16). Oversaw finance and actuarial for life and general insurance, launched commercial insurance operations, negotiated reinsurance treaties and was a core member of the Old Mutual Plc task team that set up its Botswana reinsurance hub.
CFO and COO, Bravura Group (2007–12; South Africa, Mauritius, Australia, Namibia). Managed finance, operations and compliance across 300+ companies at an investment banking and corporate finance group, and cleared a five-year accounting and audit backlog.
CFO, HSBC Africa (2004–07). Ran finance, treasury, asset-liability management and risk across HSBC’s African operations, delivered the first positive audit rating for treasury, and sat on ALCO and the Audit and Risk committees.
Earlier: Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis, Old Mutual Plc, London (2003–04); Senior Manager Finance, Standard Bank Africa, Stanbic (2002–03); Financial Controller, Old Mutual Bank, greenfield launch (1999–2002); Senior Manager, PwC Financial Services Practice, and lecturer at the University of Johannesburg (1992–99).

Naresh Ashok

Director · Johannesburg

MBL, Master of Business Leadership · UNISA School of Business Leadership
BCom (Informatics) · University of South Africa
International Executive Development Programme · Wits Business School
Regulatory examinations RE1, RE3 and RE5 · FSCA, for Key Individuals and representatives
Associate PRM, Professional Risk Manager · PRMIA
CertITM, International Treasury Management · Association of Corporate Treasurers (UK)
Registered Persons Examinations · SA Institute of Financial Markets

More than 30 years across banking, asset management, treasury and regulatory compliance. Naresh is an appointed Key Individual under FAIS for a number of licensed financial services providers across South Africa, including a registered bank, and a non-executive director of a JSE-listed mining group.

Earlier career

Group Chief Commercial Officer and CEO (South Africa), pan-African financial services group (2019–). Chairs its operations, risk and compliance committees and established its licensed Category I financial services provider.
Senior Manager, Business Facilitation, Nedbank Capital (2010–17). Led the end-to-end implementation of a foreign-exchange trading platform, from vendor selection to go-live.
Vice President, Product Management (Liquidity), HSBC Bank South Africa (2006–10). Built the cash-pooling and concentration product set and established branch management information.
Earlier: Management Accountant, Alexander Forbes (group-wide MIS implementation, 2005–06); Forex finance and MIS at Rand Merchant Bank (1999–2005), automating VAT reconciliation and FEC revaluation; First National Bank and FirstCorp Merchant Bank (1995–99).

Selected work

What we build for the businesses we serve.

Six engagements, described by sector and geography. Models, Series A decks and investor materials sit at the centre of most of them. Client names are withheld under confidentiality.

Embedded fintech and micro-lending · Africa and India

Series A readiness for a five-entity lending group.

Series A advisory memorandum and finance readiness report, scored across ten domains
Five-year institutional model: 60 months, 64 sheets, scenario and country toggles, no formula errors
FY2025 group consolidation, with currency translation corrected under IAS 21 and audit support
24-month cash-flow and burn model with 72 pass/fail checks, and an investor data room
Chart of accounts rebuilt (about 293 accounts rationalised to 155) and migrated to a new ERP
Transfer-pricing framework, intercompany debt-to-equity conversions and lender covenant monitoring
Twenty-policy finance suite and delegated-authority matrix

OutcomeFinance infrastructure rebuilt for investors, and a valuation error caught and corrected before it reached them.

Mobility fintech · Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa

Investor-grade reporting and capital raising for a four-country group.

Four-phase programme: diagnostic, data integrity, weekly and monthly dashboards, investor and board layer
Consolidation of four countries and a US holding company, tying to the cent
165 of 165 reconciliation checks passed on a model of about 33,000 formulas
Principal and agent revenue policy, with transaction value kept apart from revenue and cash
16-KPI dictionary, unit economics, 13-week and 18-month cash flow
Technology cost reclassification and salary capitalisation under IAS 38
Series A investor and board pack, cap table and dilution model, plus fundraising support
Monthly finance retainer for the group’s South African bus operator, including payment-run review

OutcomeA group whose numbers tie to the cent, ahead of a Series A.

Food-tech and distribution · Nigeria

Valuation, funding structure and board dashboards for a Series A.

Master investor model with base, best and worst cases, city-level unit economics and breakeven
Series A valuation: DCF and comparables, WACC and exit-multiple sensitivities
Capital-raise and cap-table model showing dilution before and after the round
Seven grant-and-debt funding mixes, each tested for valuation and dilution
Working-capital bridge facility modelled across five round-delay scenarios
Board KPI dashboard: 13 traffic-light measures across survival, stability and scale

OutcomeA fundable plan with the downside cases already priced.

Renewable energy · Belgium, Kenya, DR Congo

Lender-grade finance for a hydropower platform.

Development-finance debt: covenant tests, gearing and debt-service-cover monitoring, quarterly lender certificates
Transfer-pricing policy for development, operations and financing fees, with intercompany reconciliation
13-week cash flow and an 18-month treasury tool
Quarterly funder and board packs; move from quarterly to monthly close
ERP migration across three countries on a 369-account master chart

OutcomeUSD 9m of senior DFI debt secured, with lender reporting in place.

Pharmaceutical distribution · South Africa

Continuous finance leadership for a multi-entity group.

Annual financial statements with independent review
Quarterly and half-year management accounts and board reports
Provisional tax and SARS correspondence
Company secretarial work and annual returns for seven group entities

OutcomeA trusted finance partner since 1998.

Pan-African financial services · Botswana, Mauritius, South Africa

Listing, licensing and structuring for a financial services group.

Stock-exchange listing preparation: prospectus drafts, private placement memorandum and reviewed financials with multiple capital-raise scenarios
International financial services centre accreditation and cross-border group structure
Set-up of a licensed financial services provider, with compliance pack and board resolutions
Insurance business plan, budgets and investor sourcing

OutcomeA licensed operating subsidiary inside a structured holding group.

Mining beneficiation · South AfricaInvestment-committee modelling for a mineral-processing technology company.

Renewable energy and agri-industry · BotswanaFinancial models, investor decks and a special-economic-zone licence application for a multi-division platform.

Reinsurance · Africa and the UKGovernance and policy framework for a reinsurance start-up, aligned to UK regulatory expectations.

Case notes describe past work for confidential clients. They are not a forecast of future results.

Where we have worked

Sector depth, not a service list.

Our mandates sit where capital, regulation and operations meet. We know what funders in these sectors look for before they ask.

Financial services
Micro-lending and embedded finance
Insurance and reinsurance
Fintech and payments
Renewable energy and infrastructure
Transport technology
Agri-food and distribution
Pharmaceuticals and healthcare
Mining and beneficiation

Markets

South AfricaKenyaUgandaTanzaniaNigeriaGhanaCôte d’IvoireBotswanaMalawiDR CongoMauritiusNamibia

With international experience across Europe and the United Kingdom, we support businesses operating locally, across the continent and globally.

Contact

Start with a conversation.

Whether you need a fractional CFO, a Series A deck and model, reporting and systems, or a director for your board, we offer an initial conversation to understand your needs and agree how we can help.

Email us

Email: information@bedrockadvisory.africa
Phone: +27 72 475 7667
Based in: Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa