Newsletter – January 2017
Guest Article from iSiegel Consulting: Justifying the Spend on IT Security
Overview
Companies that underfund security intiatives wind up undermining a company’s ability to protect its information assets. The results can be catastrophic. IT leaders and CFOs need to understand the severity of the situation, specifically what the risks are and most importantly, how to present the business value of making the investment to upper management (CEO and board memebers). Here’s what’s to be done.
Justification
Upper management can easily come up with a hundred reasons not to properly fund security initiatives. And when they do fund they may not be investing wisely. Often the decision not to fund occurs when the executives lack adequate information to make an investment.
The best strategy is to consider Security as part of Risk Management. The strength of the argument on whether or not to fund rests on determining what the risk is to the organization, what losses can be incurred from the risk and how much it will cost to mitigate that risk. With this information upper management can decide whether it is worth the expenditure. What may shock the CFO is the degree of risk his company is facing. There is no need to exaggerate here. The risk most companies face is substantial enough to get the attention of the CFO.
Company executives will feel more comfortable investing in security when the business case and financial terms are solid and upper management is given choices of security strategies and investments to compare. Once funded, reporting strategies and regular statuses to upper management that are informative and clearly stated build credibility are necessary.
Identifying security problems
Fortunately the tools, such as intrusion detection systems and firewall logs, are readily available, and can determine where security problems already exist in your organization. These tools produce a mountain of data and can provide excellent supporting evidence for many security investment decisions.
The downside to using these tools to collect and assess network and system data is that they require a serious commitment in both time and effort. However, you will find the effort is well worth it as hard data makes the most compelling case for security investments.
Summary
Including in your deliverables a status report on how well things have gone is the last major step that upper management needs. Good communication is key. Measuring success or lack of it and making clear to management how success will be measured is important. A no nonsense semi-annual report is a great way to build credibility. Executives will then know which investments are paying off and which are not and should be cut back. This report is a great way to gain the respect of C level executives and their support for future projects.
Who we are
iSiegel Consulting is a technology firm made up of senior IT executives. We provide services to CFOs and upper management who have need for immediate solutions that improve performance, reduce spend and increase operational efficiency. We commonly work with CEOs, CFOs and Board of Directors of small to medium sized companies.
We principally focus on three technology challenges: Cyber Security; Budget/Project Management; and Compliance and Governance Design. Our teams of CIOS, CTOs and senior admins find solutions to the most demanding operational and organizational challenges facing organizations. More about us at http://isiegelconsult.com
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Case Study – Nonprofit CFO Monthly Board Presentation
Industry: Nonprofit
Type of Service: Planning & Analysis
Issue
A new CFO joined at non-profit educational institution, and she found it very time-consuming to produce the monthly financial presentation to the board. Due to its complexity, she was the only one in the department who could produce the report. Finally, many of the reports contained errors, and there was no time for analysis.
What We Did
The CFO engaged CFO Consulting Partners (“CFOCP”) to streamline the report preparation process, and to fix data integrity problems. CFOCP reorganized the chart of accounts, reformatted the management report and mapped the numbers from the revised chart of accounts to the new management report.
Outcome
The result was a report that could be produced in minutes versus many hours, and the problems causing the report to be inaccurate were eliminated. With more time for analysis and an impactful report layout, the Board of Directors received a much improved presentation. Compliments to the CFO were in abundance.
Case Study – Nonprofit Audit
Industry: Nonprofit
Type of Service: Pre-audit
Issue
The CFO of a nonprofit desired to mitigate a number of accounting weaknesses identified by its auditors, and wished to have the audit completed much sooner and more efficiently than in the prior year.
What We Did
The CFO engaged CFO Consulting Partners (“CFOCPs”) to identify and mitigate internal control weaknesses over financial reporting, and to develop an internal control manual for approval by the Board of Directors. In addition, the CFO asked CFOCPs to streamline accounting processes to be more efficient and to prepare pre-audit workpapers and final drafts of the financial statements, including footnotes.
Outcome
The Board of Directors approved the internal control manual, accounting processes were streamlined, and the books are now being closed in a couple of days. Further, the auditors completed the audit in an efficient manner, with no repeat management comments and only one new suggestion, which has already been mitigated.
Case Study – Private Equity Firm Sells Portfolio Company
Industry: Private Equity
Type of Service: Accounting & Finance Outsourcing
Background
A private equity firm desired to sell one of its portfolio companies. The company, with sales of $75 million, was a leader in the fashion industry. The incumbent Chief Financial Officer and Controller left at the start of the sale process.
Issue
The company could not hire another full-time Chief Financial Officer and Controller as it was actively engaged in the sale process. It needed two people for the short term who could work with its PE owner, the investment banker, the potential buyers, lenders and other stakeholders, and at the same time, continue to produce required financial information and to liaison with its auditors.
What We Did
The PE firm reached out to CFO Consulting Partners (CFOCP) to provide an Interim CFO who could handle both the CFO and controllership responsibilities, and who could provide financial management leadership to the company during the sale process. One of CFOCP member’s was retained by the company.
During the initial phase of the engagement, the Interim CFO took total charge of the Finance Area. The Interim CFO’s direct areas of responsibility included Accounting & Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources and Legal. He was instrumental in accelerating the closing process by up to two weeks, and he enhanced the HR area by outsourcing a portion of the function. In addition, he was able to recover certain funds by investigating nuances of certain long term contracts and participated in direct negotiations of certain contracts and leases.
During the potential buyers’ due diligence processes, the Interim CFO fielded and directed all due diligence responses. He also played an active role in the Management Presentations. This posed a tremendous challenge as the sale process was not disclosed throughout the Company.
Results
CFOCP, which specializes in providing senior-level financial management services, provided such an experienced CFO from its team. CFOCP supported the Company with various accounting and M&A services. The CFOCP member became an integral member of the management team. The needs of all stakeholders were met, and the sale was successfully completed. Subsequent to the sale, the buyer group retained the CFOCP member to assist with accounting integration, purchase price accounting and a subsequent refinancing
Case Study – Preparing US GAAP Financial Statements for Review and Audit
Industry: Financial Services
Type of Service: Pre-audit
Issue
CFO Consulting Partners was engaged by a start up FinTech Company to assist in the preparation of US GAAP financial statements for a Review and eventual audit. The Company is a pioneer in its industry and needed the Review report to be included in its application for regulatory approval. The Company also needed CFO CP to prepare an accounting policy and procedures manual.
What We Did
CFO CP assisted in getting the Company ready for the Review and eventual audit. CFO CP reviewed the trial balance, general ledger from date of inception to the Review period and all the underlying accounting records for propriety and accuracy/completeness. CFO CP ensured that all the Prepared-By-Client (PBCc) were accurate and reflected the transactions that transpired during the period and also ensured that the PBCs were such that they each had an audit trail. In certain instances, CFO CP prepared the relevant schedules/analyses for some account balances. Since the client is a start-up, CFO CP prepared the financial statements from date of inception to the relevant period end, together with detailed footnotes for the auditors’ review. CFO CP liaised with the auditors throughout the duration of fieldwork and assisted in resolving Review issues with the auditors.
CFO CP delivered a complete accounting policy and procedures manual, which serves as both a key tool necessary to maintain the books and records of the Company on a consistent basis, and also provided accounting policy documentation for the Company’s auditors and regulators. The procedures manual is the roadmap necessary for maintenance of the books and records of the Company and for the preparation of its consolidated financial statements.
Outcome
The auditors completed the Review process and issued their Review report within five (5) business days and consequently, the financial statements and footnotes required for regulatory approval were filed on time. As a result of CFO CP’s involvement, the books and records had clear Review trail and the Company had a chart of accounts that is specifically designed for its business. Also, all the significant accounting policies and internal controls were well documented. CFO CP was well commended by the Company’s CFO and management for exceptional work. CFO CP also received commendations from the Company’s CPA firm.
Case Study – Private Equity Firm Portfolio Company Sale
Background:
A private equity firm desired to sell one of its portfolio companies. The company, with sales of $75 million, was a leader in the fashion industry. The incumbent Chief Financial Officer and Controller left at the start of the sale process.
Problem:
The company could not hire another full-time Chief Financial Officer and Controller as it was actively engaged in the sale process. It needed two people for the short term who could work with its PE owner, the investment banker, the potential buyers, lenders and other stakeholders, and at the same time, continue to produce required financial information and to liaison with its auditors.
Contributions:
The PE firm reached out to CFO Consulting Partners (CFOCP) to provide an Interim CFO who could handle both the CFO and controllership responsibilities, and who could provide financial management leadership to the company during the sale process. One of CFOCP member’s was retained by the company.
During the initial phase of the engagement, the Interim CFO took total charge of the Finance Area. The Interim CFO’s direct areas of responsibility included Accounting & Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources and Legal. He was instrumental in accelerating the closing process by up to two weeks, and he enhanced the HR area by outsourcing a portion of the function. In addition, he was able to recover certain funds by investigating nuances of certain long term contracts and participated in direct negotiations of certain contracts and leases.
During the potential buyers’ due diligence processes, the Interim CFO fielded and directed all due diligence responses. He also played an active role in the Management Presentations. This posed a tremendous challenge as the sale process was not disclosed throughout the Company.
Results:
CFOCP, which specializes in providing senior-level financial management services, provided such an experienced CFO from its team. CFOCP supported the Company with various accounting and M&A services. The CFOCP member became an integral member of the management team. The needs of all stakeholders were met, and the sale was successfully completed. Subsequent to the sale, the buyer group retained the CFOCP member to assist with accounting integration, purchase price accounting and a subsequent refinancing. In addition, the CFOCP member provided valuable institutional knowledge to the buyer group.
Case Study – Finance Transformation for Professional Services Firm
Industry: Business Services
Type of Service: Finance Transformation
Issue
Our client, a 100+ professional, multi-office professional services firm was ending its affiliation with an International Firm. As part of the separation, our client was required to migrate off the International Firm’s infrastructure, including their Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) and Billing systems, at a date certain (approximately three months from the time CFOCP was engaged). The client had selected a cloud-based ERP system and several add-in products to form the core of their new accounting infrastructure and had engaged the ERP vendor to assist with the technical aspects of the migration. However, our client realized that they did not have the depth of staff to complete the migration using their Finance resources. They hired CFOCP to manage and execute the migration on a day-to-day basis, driving project planning and execution; ensuring that all tasks were completed on a timely basis and existing Finance resources were used as efficiently as possible.
What We Did
Working with the Controller and two key members of his staff, our activities included:
- Development and management of an overall project plan including status reporting to the CFO
- Diagnosis and documentation of their existing accounting processes
- Understanding exactly how the International Firm’s PeopleSoft based accounting systems worked and how their data was structured
- Designing a new, much more simple process, keeping the key capabilities needed by our client while eliminating the International Firm’s legacy complexity. Among the items addressed was a change from a 52-week fiscal year to a calendar fiscal year.
- Creating and coordinating a master integration plan between ERP system and the three non-ERP satellite systems. While part of the “ERP environment”, each had differing levels of integration with ERP system, from seamless to almost non-existent.
- Writing three Business Requirements documents
- Developing a report and dashboard migration plan
- Developing and executing a data migration plan. This included migration of all key master files; seven years of history in summary form, and four months (fiscal year to date) of every recorded transaction in the old system (approximately 400,000 entries). Reconciled all balances and activity to the penny.
- Development and execution of test cases
- Post migration support and training
Outcome
The implementation was time-bound. The cutover date was 90 days from the time we commenced work. Moreover, the International Firm’s PeopleSoft system was only partially understood by the client. This made the diagnosis and documentation work particularly challenging was well as increasing the degree of difficulty of the data migration effort. Despite these challenges, the migration was successful and by 120 days, the system was fully stabilized and operating efficiently.
