Tim Clancy is Chief Financial Officer at Avantia, a UK-based non-standard home insurer and the company behind Homeprotect. The business provides insurance to more than 300,000 customers, focusing on homes and risks that many traditional insurers do not cover.
In his role, Tim is responsible for Finance, Assurance, and Compliance, while helping guide decisions that advance the company’s strategic goals. He joined Avantia in 2022 after spending many years working in financial services.
Earlier in his career, Tim worked in online retail and the travel sector in senior finance and general management roles, giving him experience across a range of industries before moving fully into financial services.
How did you become a CFO?
I took my first finance director role about 30 years ago, when I was 28. I originally studied sciences, but I had an epiphany that I did not want to spend the rest of my life working in a lab wearing a white coat.
I started thinking about finance, switched my studies to finance in college, and then joined an organization working in industry.
From there, I worked long hours, put in a lot of effort, and worked my way through the ranks quite quickly.
What skills or traits does a good finance leader need?
One of the key things that distinguishes accountants from CFOs at different levels comes down to a few core skills. The first is the ability to communicate and tell the story of the business.
That means being able to explain to investors and stakeholders how the business is performing and how it is expected to perform in the future. That storytelling skill set is really important.
The second is sound commercial judgement. That includes signing off on business cases, challenging commercial pricing strategies, and adding value by showing commercial acumen and knowing when to challenge decisions.
What’s the biggest challenge facing your sector at the moment?
In the UK, financial services is an active and progressive industry, but there are some clear challenges. One is increasing regulation and how that impacts the ability to innovate.
We are a highly innovative private equity-backed business, and we win by innovating, so regulation is something we have to carefully consider as we grow and develop new ideas.
Another challenge is the adoption of AI. We need to bring it into the business to improve efficiency and the customer experience. As a company, we are doing a good job in this area and have recently incorporated AI into the claims process, which helps improve accuracy, outcomes, and fraud prevention.
What single thing do you think would make your job easier?
Getting the numbers faster would make a real difference. Reducing the time it takes to produce financial information is important.
Taking manual processes out of the finance function would also help. Removing manual work can reduce inaccuracies in the numbers.
What is the best bit of business advice you’ve ever received?
Someone once told me to have the ability to zoom in and zoom out of information. That means being able to look at the big picture at a high level, and then zoom in to understand the detail. It’s about knowing when to interrogate the information and when to challenge it.
What do you do outside of work to protect yourself from burnout?
I try to keep fit as much as possible. In finance, we spend a lot of time in front of a laptop and sitting. I try to get to the gym most mornings to stay fit. With so much time spent in meetings and hybrid working, staying fit is my main way of looking after myself.
What’s been your proudest achievement in your current role?
I have worked in different types of companies, and I am proud of the range of experience I have built up. I have worked in public companies, private companies, and private equity-backed businesses.
I have also worked not just in finance, but in general management and operations. That has given me a good perspective on how different parts of an organization work and what motivates people in different areas.
If you weren’t a CFO, what would you like to do?
I would work in a customer-facing role. I like the idea of working in a restaurant or something similar, where I could give the level of service I like to receive as a customer. I could focus on delivering a great experience for customers day to day.
What is currently inspiring you today and why?
I try to do a good job in my chosen profession. I enjoy working with fast-growth businesses. At the end of the year, when you can see that revenue has grown and profit has grown, it feels like a good job has been done. Seeing that growth is what inspires me.
Tim Clancy is Chief Financial Officer at Avantia, a UK-based non-standard home insurer and the company behind Homeprotect. The business provides insurance to more than 300,000 customers, focusing on homes and risks that many traditional insurers do not cover.
In his role, Tim is responsible for Finance, Assurance, and Compliance, while helping guide decisions that advance the company’s strategic goals. He joined Avantia in 2022 after spending many years working in financial services.
Earlier in his career, Tim worked in online retail and the travel sector in senior finance and general management roles, giving him experience across a range of industries before moving fully into financial services.
