Service
Business Case Support & Development
Advisory support to strengthen and present the financial evidence, benefits and risk case behind investment and transformation decisions.
Independent financial support to strengthen your business case — so decision-makers can endorse it with confidence. Nonsuch Finance works alongside local authorities, councils and public bodies to review and strengthen the case for change, the financial case and the benefits behind a proposal — helping ensure it stands up to committee, board and senior leadership scrutiny.
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Strengthening the case, not just writing the document
Major public sector investments rarely fail for lack of ambition. They stall — or are rejected — because the underlying case doesn't give decision-makers what they need: a clear case for change, credible financial assumptions, and a transparent view of benefits and risk. Nonsuch Finance provides business case support to public sector organisations, reviewing and strengthening the case being put forward — with particular depth on the financial case — so that officers and members can present it to decision-makers with confidence, and decision-makers can endorse it with confidence in turn.
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What Is Business Case Support?
Business case support means working alongside your own team as they develop a business case, rather than producing it independently on your behalf. It typically involves reviewing the case as it stands, testing whether it holds up, and strengthening the areas that matter most to decision-makers — most often the financial case and the benefits being claimed.
For councils and public bodies, this typically involves:
Reviewing the case for change and how clearly it is articulated
Testing whether strategic objectives are properly reflected in the proposal
Reviewing the options considered and how they have been appraised
Strengthening the financial case — costs, assumptions, forecasts and affordability
Reviewing the benefits being claimed and whether they are realistic and evidenced
Stress-testing risk and uncertainty within the proposal
Improving how value for money is demonstrated
Sense-checking the recommendation against the evidence presented
Helping ensure the case is presented in a form that supports governance and sign-off
This matters because public money carries public accountability. Decision-makers — whether a Section 151 Officer, a Cabinet, a board or a scrutiny committee — need more than a persuasive narrative. They need a defensible rationale, tested assumptions and a clear line of sight from strategic objective to financial outcome. Where that evidence base is thin, even a genuinely sound project can be delayed, weakened at approval, or unwound later under scrutiny. An independent, senior review can often be the difference between a case that gets waved through with reservations and one that is genuinely endorsed.
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What This Service Covers
Reviewing the Case for Change
We review how clearly and convincingly the problem or opportunity has been articulated, and whether the strategic objectives it serves are well reflected in the proposal — strengthening the narrative where the underlying rationale is sound but not yet clearly told.
Strengthening the Financial Case
This is often where Nonsuch Finance adds the most value. We review and strengthen cost assumptions, financial forecasts, affordability positions and funding considerations — testing whether the numbers will hold up to scrutiny from finance officers, auditors and committees, and helping tighten them where they won't.
Reviewing Benefits and Options
We assess whether the benefits being claimed are realistic, evidenced and proportionate to the investment, and whether the options considered have been fairly and rigorously appraised against strategic, financial and risk criteria.
Financial Modelling Support
Where the financial case needs further development, we support with cost modelling, scenario and sensitivity analysis, and revenue and capital implications — helping build a financial position that can withstand challenge, rather than one built on a single optimistic projection.
Green Book & Five Case Model Alignment
Where appropriate, we review business cases against HM Treasury Green Book principles and the Five Case Model, helping identify gaps against the Strategic, Economic, Commercial, Financial and Management Cases. The right level of formality depends on funding source, project scale and governance requirements — we help judge what's genuinely needed rather than applying a fixed template.
Sense-Checking for Decision-Makers
Before a case goes to committee, board or senior leadership, we provide an independent, CFO-level sense check — identifying where the case is strong, where it is vulnerable to challenge, and what needs tightening before it is presented.
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Our Approach
Every engagement is scoped to where your business case already is and what decision-makers specifically need to see — not delivered from a fixed template.
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Scoping
We start by understanding the project, the current state of the business case, the decision required, governance requirements, stakeholders and timescales.
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Review
We review the existing case for change, financial case and benefits, identifying what is robust, what is unclear, and where the evidence needs strengthening.
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Strengthening
We work with your team to strengthen the areas that matter most — most often the financial case — refining assumptions, analysis and the way the case for change is presented.
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Decision
Support We help prepare the case for senior review, ensuring the financial implications, risks and recommendations are presented clearly enough to support confident decision-making.
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Why Nonsuch Finance for Business Case Support?
Former GLA CFO-Led Advisory
Nonsuch Finance is led by Enver Enver, former Chief Finance Officer at the Greater London Authority, with over thirty years' senior public sector finance experience across the GLA, Cabinet Office, Home Office, local government and NHS Trusts. Reviewing a business case with this level of experience means seeing it through the eyes of the people who will ultimately need to approve it — anticipating the questions a CFO, a Section 151 Officer or a scrutiny committee will actually ask.
A Decision-Maker's Perspective
We know what senior decision-makers look for in a business case: transparent assumptions, credible financial evidence, a clear view of risk, and a recommendation that is genuinely defensible — not simply persuasive. That perspective shapes how we review and strengthen every case, not just how it reads.
A Critical Friend, Not a Rewrite
We work alongside your team rather than replacing them — bringing an independent, senior perspective to a case you already own, so the final version still reflects your organisation's work and voice.
Tailored, Not Templated
Business cases vary significantly by project, funding environment, governance structure and strategic context. We shape our review and support around what your organisation and your decision-makers actually require.
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Who This Service Is For
Business Case Support from Nonsuch Finance is built for organisations that already have a business case underway — or a clear proposal taking shape — and want independent financial support to strengthen it before it goes to decision-makers, including:
If your organisation has a case for change, a set of financials and proposed benefits, and needs an independent, senior review to strengthen it before committee, board or senior leadership sign-off, this service is designed for that stage of the journey.
- Local authorities and councils
- Public bodies and government organisations
- Public sector transformation programmes
- Corporate services and finance teams
- Capital investment programmes
- Service transformation and change projects
- Strategic investment proposals
- Major change and reorganisation programmes
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Benefits
Business case support often connects to wider financial and organisational change. Explore related Nonsuch Finance services:
A Stronger Case for Change
A more clearly articulated rationale, better connected to strategic objectives, that decision-makers can follow and trust.
A More Robust Financial Case
Tested assumptions, realistic forecasts and a financial position that holds up to scrutiny rather than one built on optimism alone.
More Credible Benefits
Benefits that are realistic, evidenced and proportionate — reducing the risk of challenge at approval or delivery.
Better Risk Visibility
Financial, strategic, commercial and delivery risks identified and addressed before the case reaches committee, not after.
A Clearer Value-for-Money Position
A stronger, more defensible basis for demonstrating value for money against alternative approaches.
A Case That's Easier to Endorse
A business case that gives decision-makers what they need to say yes with confidence — rather than one they feel obliged to question.
Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
financial advisory for organisations navigating structural reorganisation
Corporate Services Transformation
support for transforming back-office and corporate functions
Efficiency Review
identifying and evidencing efficiency opportunities
Services Overview
the full range of Nonsuch Finance financial consultancy
- Return to the Homepage to explore Nonsuch Finance's full public sector consultancy offer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do you write the business case for us, or support us with it?
We provide support rather than writing the business case independently on your behalf. We work alongside your team to review and strengthen the case as it develops — with particular focus on the case for change, the financial case and the benefits being claimed — so the final case remains genuinely yours, but is more robust and easier for decision-makers to endorse.
What's the difference between an Outline Business Case and a Full Business Case?
An Outline Business Case (OBC) sets out the strategic rationale for a proposal, appraises a shortlist of options and provides indicative costs and benefits — enough evidence to justify progressing to detailed development. A Full Business Case (FBC) develops the preferred option in much greater depth, with refined financial modelling, a firmer commercial position and a fuller assessment of delivery risk. We can support the strengthening of either stage, tailoring our review to what's required at each point.
Does Nonsuch Finance support local authorities with business cases?
Yes. Supporting local authorities and councils to strengthen business cases is a core part of our work, drawing on senior public sector finance experience including a former GLA Chief Finance Officer. We support authorities across capital investment, service transformation and reorganisation proposals, helping build cases designed to withstand scrutiny from Section 151 Officers, Cabinet, committees and elected members.
Can you help specifically with the financial case?
Yes — the financial case is where we typically add the most value. We review and strengthen cost assumptions, financial forecasts, affordability positions and funding considerations, and can support financial modelling, scenario analysis and sensitivity testing where the existing financial case needs further development or challenge.
Can you review a business case against the Green Book and Five Case Model?
Yes, where it is the appropriate framework. We can review and strengthen a business case with reference to HM Treasury Green Book principles and the Five Case Model — covering the Strategic, Economic, Commercial, Financial and Management Cases. The right level of formality depends on your funding source, project scale and governance requirements, and we help identify gaps against that framework rather than assuming a fixed methodology applies regardless of context.
Ready to Strengthen Your Business Case?
A stronger business case gives your decision-makers the confidence to endorse it — and gives your organisation a more defensible basis for the decision it ultimately takes.