Michelle Cook, Interim Finance Director
Company Name: Indian Summer Accountancy
Years in Industry: 15
Michelle Cook is a Chartered Management Accountant who works as a Finance Director across a range of creative and/or independent companies that need to unburden themselves of trying to run the financial side of their business but aren’t yet ready for an FD on a full-time basis. Indian Summer Accountancy oversees all commercial issues, produces management information and drives commercial awareness. Michelle is an expert in developing strategies that maximise her clients’ working capital. The business is based in London and example clients are MagicalThinking, Rocketer and the Association of Women Art Dealers (AWAD).
“In mid-2010, The Association of Women Art Dealers (AWAD) introduced Michelle Cook as Finance Director to help turn a great idea into a commercially-viable enterprise.
Looking back over the past year, I can say without any doubt that Michelle’s financial expertise has been invaluable for stabilization of finances, followed by the trade association’s growth.
Michelle started by advising how to structure the non-profit entity. The setup was quickly followed by the introduction of spreadsheets that enabled tracking attendance to monthly meetings as well as visitor conversion. We were therefore able to monitor success of events, and accordingly introduced changes based on the results. Moreover, Michelle’s guidance on introducing new levels of membership, incentivizing existing members to renew membership and general business proficiency has enabled AWAD not only to balance the books, but furthermore to invest in the future for ongoing success.
Michelle continues to work with AWAD as Finance Director – an essential cornerstone to any creative enterprise!
I highly recommend Michelle Cook as an Interim FD who specializes in working with creative businesses.
-Susan Mumford, Founder/Owner AWAD and Owner, Susan Mumford Art Consultancy” July 27, 2011
