Case Study – Improving the Finance Function of a Private Equity Backed Technology Company

Industry: Private Equity
Type of Service: Accounting & Finance Outsourcing

Issue

The Board of a recently acquired Private Equity portfolio company had identified significant deficiencies in the accounting/finance function, most importantly the department’s inability to produce accurate and timely financial statements/reports. There was no confidence in the finance department and the company lacked a permanent CFO.  The company needed an assessment of the situation and recommendations on how to fix the problems.

What We Did

We first performed an assessment and reported back to the Board, identifying multiple deficiencies, many of which contributed to the inability to produce accurate and timely financials. We also completed a staff assessment and worked with an executive search firm to develop a profile for a CFO. We provided specific examples of each deficiency and possible remedial actions. CFOCP was then engaged to address the deficiencies, and work with company personnel to remediate them.  CFOCP worked with the finance staff to develop a detailed closing calendar and identify and execute steps needed to remediate the deficiencies. Along the way, CFOCP made several recommendations to improve the tools and processes used by the accounting department, implement best practices and improve internal controls.

Results

The Company was able for the first time to prepare timely and accurate monthly financial statements. In addition, we facilitated the creation and implementation of “dashboards” to help senior management and the Board monitor the key business metrics of the company. CFOCP also commenced implementing several of the processes and tools recommended by CFOCP.  The Company also moved forward with hiring of a permanent CFO and implementing CFOCP’s recommendation for the reorganization of the accounting department.