In the Media
Damian Connolly regularly shares his views on how an experienced CFO, along with a professional and robust Finance Team are the ‘backbone’ of any successful SME business.
He also discusses his experience to date through interesting finance related stories and case studies on the topics of SME growth challenges, fractional CFO support and exit planning via press articles, podcasts and speaking events across Ireland and the UK.
Book a Discovery Call →Featured In
About Damian Connolly FCCA
Damian is an ACCA qualified accountant, whose career has taken him from offshore tax advisory, to the senior management board of a £40m recruitment services group, via a Group Financial Controller in a £65m UK & international property services group, a £40m private equity backed UK media and content agency, to now being an entrepreneur in his own right with his accountancy and advisory firm – Sakura !
Highlights include:
✅ an SME that grew from £3m turnover to circa £65m over 3.5 years. with all of the financial, system, cashflow and people issues that that brings
✅ working on 'Exit' plans and preparing for due diligence projects
✅ delivery of a number of systems projects
✅ dealing with the opening of international offices in Spain, Hong Kong, South Africa and Dubai
✅ operating in a private equity backed company, where managing cashflow, debt and budgets was key
Today, Damian brings all of that experience to entrepreneurs and SMEs across the UK and Ireland through Sakura, supporting business owners as a fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or by guiding them towards early exit planning, so that their businesses can become more profitable, more resilient and more valuable ahead of a ‘life changing’ sale or exit.
Podcast Guest Appearances
Watch Damian on the Sakura Business YouTube Channel
From quick, practical tips to more information, resources, FAQs and podcasts, the Sakura YouTube channel is packed with straightforward, jargon free guidance for SMEs on growing, scaling, protecting – and ultimately selling or exiting your business.YouTube channel is packed with.
Are you looking for a knowledgeable Speaker or Guest?
If you're a journalist, podcast host or event organiser and would like to invite Damian to contribute, share his insights or speak at your event, we'd love to hear from you.
Sample interview questions
- When is the right time to recruit a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for my business?
- What does an CFO actually do?
- How will a CFO role benefit my business and how quickly?
- How do I know how much my business is worth?
- How quickly can I sell my business?
- Where do I start when first thinking about retirement or selling my business?
- How easy is it to expand my business into overseas ?
Get in touch
We take your privacy very seriously and will only use your details to respond to your message. To see how we process your data, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
Dominic Goodjeanan
Fantastic company. Damian is clear, professional and very measured in his approach, which is welcomed. Excellent customer service. A breath of fresh air. Highly recommended.
Vic Kimmel
Damian Connolly and Sakura are like an extended part of our own team with super powers in the area of finance.
Liam Hughes
Damian’s critical eye and creative thinking have been invaluable for me over the last year of strategic review meetings
Caroline Durack
Working with Sakura gave us the ability to understand our finances more accurately and helped us in our strategic thinking. This in turn allowed us to make more informed decisions pertaining to our direction of travel as a business.
Eamon Chawke
Thanks to Damian’s advice and guidance, the finance team operates more efficiently and our financial visibility of the business has materially improved. We are now much more confident that we can achieve our 5 year goals !
Sheena Campbell
I have to do next to nothing to expedite matters... I think you are wonderful. Once again in a shorter time than it takes to say 'Damian, you are wonderful', you respond to my query. I have to do next to nothing to expedite matters and immediately any stress or worry is lifted.
Deirdre Monks
I got back in touch with Damian last November after a few years, and it honestly felt like no time had passed. He was the first person who came to mind when I had a very specific query, and I knew he was the expert to ask - and he absolutely delivered. Damian has a real talent for explaining things clearly and in plain English, which gave me total confidence in his advice. And rightly so, because everything he advised turned out to be 100% spot on. Highly recommend!
Evan Frechette
Damian was very helpful in his consultation, and took the necessary time to listen to my situation in great detail. His explanation for what I needed for my new business was very informative and knowledgeable.
Cyril Lynch
Damian and the team at Sakura provided great support when I set up my consulting company and on an ongoing basis they continue to provide professional, timely and reliable services with regard to the production and filing of annual accounts and the associated compliance requirements.
I would highly recommend Sakura Business Solutions for their dedication, commitment and ability to get the job done!
Ronan Reilly
Damian and the team at Sakura have provided excellent advice to me and also assisted a number of clients to whom Sakura have been recommended. Sakura advised in a professional and capable manner and now, post BREXIT, their offices in Dublin and London are likely to be very valuable to prospective clients seeking professional advice.
Cathy Moore
Sakura Business Solutions and Damian have provided invaluable guidance to our business as we transitioned from sole-trader to limited company. They have also advised us throughout the Covid-19 crisis and kept us fully updated on available government supports. The introduction of Quickbooks has been very useful to us, it is easy to navigate and a very effective tool for managing our accounts. We highly recommend Sakura Business for accountancy and business advice.
Jane Manzor
I have known Damian from Sakura Business Solutions for just over a year. He is a true professional and has been very helpful to me in particular in tax and planning advice. He is also very current and has been a huge help in keeping me up to date on government supports since Covid 19. I would highly recommend Damian and his team for all of your accounting and financial needs. 5 stars!
Jo-Anne Mac Millan
When I moved from my previous accountant, I was feeling overwhelmed and unsure about the financial side of my business. Accounts and bookkeeping aren’t my strong points, and I needed support I could trust. Damian and the team at Sakura stepped in and made the transition seamless. They handled the handover efficiently and took time to understand how my business works and what I needed from them. I’m no longer worried about year-end surprises, and I feel more confident making decisions. It’s been a genuinely positive shift, and I’m delighted I made the move to Sakura.
Jean Evans
Damian is a fountain of knowledge and is so generous with his time and knowledge around all things accounting, tax, scaling your business, getting exit ready and working to go international in business between Ireland and UK or vice versa.
He is a true gentleman, very approachable, particularly on topics that can feel and seem overwhelming. He is calm and patient; definitely an ally to have in your corner!
