CFO Consulting Partners

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Crisis Leadership – What To Do Now?

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At CFO Consulting we serve the needs of Boards of Directors, CEOs and CFOs. We provide senior-level C suite and Board services to small and mid-sized public and private companies. In this current environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are focusing on helping Executive Management and Boards navigate through this crisis.
The following presents some thoughts for your consideration:
  • Prepare for talent disruption by considering interim executive resources, and by evaluating how functions are operating virtually. Parts of the accounting and finance function may be operating effectively in remote locations, while others may require intervention.
  • Bolster liquidity by understanding and managing your short-term credit, cash, and performance needs. A strategic focus when combined with well-thought through tactical plans to drive operational and cash flow improvements, including a 13-week cash forecast, should provide sound direction.
  • Increase communication with your critical stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, auditors, regulators, and the SEC. It is said that one should err on the side of over communicating. In times of crisis, we suggest that this is truer than not.
  • Review and manage all risks in the organization to ensure that a less obvious risk doesn’t catch the organization off guard and hinder recovery or growth plans.
  • Conduct a cost reduction review of all areas of the company. This may be a time to take cost reduction actions that may have been postponed during good economic times.
  • Review your financial reporting to make sure it continues to serve the needs of the company during times of distress. It is said and I paraphrase, if one can’t measure the results of an action, then we don’t know if the action produced the expected result. There may also be specific reporting issues that come to the fore, such as asset impairments and going concern analyses.
CFO Consulting Partners can advise you in all of the above areas of crisis management.
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For more information, please contact one of the following:
Ashish Bali, Senior Advisor, who authored this article. Ashish is a former Deloitte CFO and a member of several boards; he has hands-on experience in the above areas. abali@cfoconsultingpartners.com, 609.309.9307 x741
Allan Tepper, Sr. Managing Director, who edited the article and has crisis management experience. atepper@cfoconsultingpartners.com, 646.650.2028 x701
David DeMuth, Sr. Managing Director, who leads the Turnaround & Restructuring practice. ddemuth@cfoconsultingpartners.com, 609.309.9307 x700

Strengthen Your Financial Position With Our Turnaround Service

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We are proud to introduce our Turnaround and Restructuring practice to you. Our services are designed to help all companies improve their financial positions and rebound from the negative effects of Covid-19. Examples of services include:

· Restructuring debt

· Diagnosing issues quickly

· Producing 13-week cash forecasts

· Developing action-oriented short and long-term plans

· Producing timely dashboards

· Project managing cost reductions

Who are we?

CFO Consulting Partners is consulting firm comprised of CFOs and other senior financial executives. We provide a suite of CFO services and have the experience and horsepower to put your client’s business back on track. We formed our firm in 2006, we are 25 consultants strong and our sole focus is helping companies become stronger.

Please let us know if we can arrange a Zoom meeting with you and/or your team.

For further information on this service, click on the link below for our Turnaround and Restructuring services one pager:

Turnaround and Restructuring Services

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Turnaround and Restructuring Services Managing your business during and after COVID-19

The Turnaround and Restructuring Services group of CFO Consulting Partners can provide its expertise to your crisis management team with a roadmap that can define and identify cashflow and cash management needs. We’ll work with your team to develop agility and improve decision making to address key issues resulting from the Covid-19 crisis. Additionally, our services would include detailed financial planning, an assessment of operations and processes, and assistance in the areas of communications to employees, customers / clients, the board of directors and other key stakeholders.

Our experienced team of senior-level financial professionals can provide independent, objective support to business owners, BODs, CEOs and CFOs on funding, liquidity, tactical execution, and other issues to improve cash flow and financial performance.

Funding and Liquidity

  • Evaluate liquidity position
  • Prepare cash flow projections: best case, expected case, worse case
  • Assess working capital including vendor and customer management
  • Evaluate long term financing for potential loan restructuring
  • Provide introductions to new sources of financing
  • Utilize bankruptcy protection via our legal partners as a last resortTactical Execution: restructure to right size your business
    • Streamline business processes and eliminate non value-added work
    • Evaluate overhead structure including human capital
    • Assess project, product and customer profitability
    • Support renegotiations: contracts, vendor agreements, leases, utilities
    • Identify and implement cost reduction and margin improvement opportunities
    • Develop KPIs and executive dashboards including cash for better decision makingStrategic Assessments
  • Budgets, forecasts and 3 to 5 year business plans
  • Capacity and facility rationalization, location strategy and operating leverage
  • Evaluate information technology platforms and opportunities
  • Evaluate competitive environment and opportunities
  • Guidance on the strategic positioning of your company via M&A activity.
  • Buy-side or sell-side support
  • Introduction to private equity, investment banks, venture capital and wealth manager

 

For more information, please contact David DeMuth ddemuth@cfoconsultingpartners.com or Allan Tepper atepper@cfoconsultingpartners.com, or call David at 609-309-9307 x700

XPX Philadelphia – Considerations in Investment Banking Engagement Letters & Forecasting for 2020 and 2021

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On July 15th, 2020 David DeMuth Co-Founder & Senior Managing Director of CFO Consulting Partners led a discussion regarding best practices for financial forecasting and modeling post COVID 19 for 2020 and 2021. Michael Plunkett of Plunkett Law Group led a discussion regarding key terms and considerations of investment banking engagement letters from a client perspective. Steve Economou provided an investment banking perspective to the discussion.

Newsletter – May 2020

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Subchapter V of the Bankruptcy Code and How This Can Help Small Businesses

The unprecedented crisis brought on by the coronavirus has hit every facet of the economy. Companies that were operating profitably and with robust growth expectations have been decimated by the impact on the health of employees and customers, of stay at home orders and disruptions to supply chains. Federal and state plans to mitigate the impact continue to roll out, but it is clear that the economy will experience devastation not seen since the Great Depression.

In this time of uncertainty, companies must plan for every conceivable outcome. Small companies in particular are especially vulnerable and must assess all tools at their disposal in order to survive.

The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight a new provision of the Bankruptcy Code which can be a lifeline to small businesses. We intend to provide you with an overview of the features of the newly enacted Subchapter V of the Bankruptcy Code so you can understand this alternative as a means to survive the current crisis. The information presented below is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice or opinion, which should only be sought from an attorney.

Subchapter V is part of the federal Bankruptcy Code that came about from a new law called the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 on February 19, 2020. Subchapter V is aimed at small business corporate and individual debtors, and it is intended at reducing the complexities of Chapter 11 by increasing efficiency, lowering costs and easing the plan confirmation process.

Initially, Subchapter V was limited to a person or entity with total debt of less than $2,725,625. The CARES Act raised this amount to $7.5 million; this higher amount will only remain in effect until one year after the effective date of the CARES Act, i.e. March 27, 2021. The one exclusion to Subchapter V is single asset real estate entities.

The advantage of a Subchapter V filing over a Chapter 11 filing includes the following:

There are no fees, apart from an initial filing fee. Also, administrative expenses may be paid over the life of the plan (as opposed to the date of the plan confirmation as with Chapter 11 filings).
Filing requirements are the business’ most recent balance sheet, statement of operations, statement of cash flow and tax returns, or a sworn statement that such documents do not exist.
Subchapter V has no creditor committee, unless the court orders otherwise.
The petitioner will submit the plan to the court and, if it meets certain requirements, it will be accepted by the Court.

Under a typical Subchapter V filing, the chronology of events is as follows:
A status conference will be held in bankruptcy court within 60 days of filing;
The debtor must file a report detailing efforts to reach a consensual plan of reorganization no later than 14 days prior to this conference, and;
The plan must be submitted for approval within 90 days. Extensions may be granted where there are circumstances for which the debtor cannot be held accountable.

The plan will generally be confirmed as long as all disposable income for the ensuing 3-5 years will be used to repay creditors.

If creditors can’t agree on the petitioner’s proposed plan, the Bankruptcy Court Judge may be asked to order the plan approved (a “cram down”). The success of the proposed plan would need to be demonstrated to be more attractive to unsecured creditors than a conversion to a Chapter 7 liquidation plan, which is usually very easy to be made.

A small business owner may continue to operate post filing as a debtor-in-possession and must continue to file the schedules and statements required of all debtors under the applicable section of the Bankruptcy Code. However, the court can strip a small business debtor of its debtor-in-possession powers for cause such as fraud, dishonesty, incompetence or gross mismanagement, either before or after the bankruptcy case or for failure to perform the obligations specified under a confirmed plan. In such an event, a Small Business Trustee would take over the operation of the business.

In summary, the advantages of Subchapter V over a Chapter 11 filing are costs, ease of filing requirements, ability of the owner to prepare the reorganization plan without having the involvement of a creditor committee and relative ease of confirmation by the Court as long as certain hurdles are met.

For business owners who are undergoing challenges, we hope that your firm will be able to successfully withstand the current crisis and be able to return to normalcy in the near future, and that you will not need to consider Subchapter V. However, we encourage you to consider this alternative if it can result in your firm’s survival. CFO Consulting Partners can assist you in seeking legal advice and assistance from our broad network of contacts in the legal field.

Finally, we wish the best to you and your loved ones for safety and continued good health.

The content of this newsletter is meant for general information purposes and is not to be considered legal advice or opinion. As with any bankruptcy or restructuring filing, you need to consult with an attorney to cover your own unique situation and circumstances.

By Mark Sloan, Director, CFO Consulting Partners, msloan@cfoconsultingpartners.com
David DeMuth, Sr. Managing Director, CFO Consulting Partners, ddemuth@cfoconsultingpartners.com

David DeMuth on Exit Planning Meeting Panel

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The NJ Technical and Manufacturing Association has invited David DeMuth to their February 26 Exit Planning Meeting to participate in a Panel Discussion.
Below are the details for the event:
You can’t take it with you, so NOW is the best time to start planning for the day when your business is sold or transferred to new ownership.
Join NJTMA for this informative and motivating panel discussion. Our participating experts all have extensive histories in manufacturing buy/sell transactions:
David DeMuth, CPA, CGMA; Senior Managing Director of CFO Consulting Partners
Michael Givner; President, IMG Business Advisors
Kent Schwarz, JD, LL.M; Partner, Becker Law Firm
Program Sponsors:
Also: New Jersey Business Action Center executive director Melanie Willoughby will describe her agency’s advocacy services for manufacturers navigating the State government.

Date: February 26, 2020
Location: Galloping Hill Golf Course, 3 Golf Drive, Kenilworth, NJ 07033
Schedule:
6:00 p.m. Arrival / Networking
6:30 p.m. Dinner begins
6:50 p.m. Introductions and Announcements
7:35 p.m. NJ Business Action Center – “Navigating the State Government”
8:00 p.m. Transition & Exit Planning – Panel Presentation and Q&A
8:55 p.m. Closing
For further information and registration click here.

CFO Consulting Partners Reaches Its 14-Year Milestone

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In 2006, David DeMuth and Allan Tepper formed CFO Consulting Partners. We focused on addressing the senior-level accounting and finance needs of companies whose accounting firms could no longer adequately address these needs due to independence issues. Eric Segal joined the partnership in 2009 to extend its capabilities to Financial Services and Insurance. Our firm began by providing fractional CFO services and that continues as a core service today. Over time, we added new capabilities including: M&A buy and sell-side services, private equity services, management and supervision of assurance processes, finance and accounting process improvement, finance transformation, SEC, regulatory and BOD/internal reporting.
Over the years, we built expertise in a broad range of industries, including banking, FinTech and other financial services businesses, business services, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, real estate and nonprofit.
As we reflect on what we have achieved since our inception, some notable accomplishments stand out:
  • We have developed significant expertise in helping companies achieve their business and accounting & finance goals, including buying and selling businesses, raising capital, strengthening internal controls, improving cash flow management and developing growth plans.
  • Clients have benefited from our all-senior-level financial management team who have “been there, done that.” Our people have held CFO or Controller positions in large and small companies, most are CPAs from major firms and have advanced degrees.
  • Clients have been aided by our firm-wide team approach to problem solving. Clients have access to the expertise of all of our team members to diagnose and solve problems.
  • Clients have prospered from having a boutique firm that moves quickly and has the depth of knowledge and experience to meet their needs.
  • Finally, we are proud to say that our clients recognize us as the “go-to” firm for CFO services provided to the community banking industry.
As we celebrate our 14th year, we want to thank our clients, referral sources, partners and team members. We simply wouldn’t exist without your support.
We look forward to continuing to serve the needs of small and midsized companies, and we are proud of the benefits we offer to our clients.

 

Thank you.

 

Allan Tepper, Sr. Managing Director, CFO Consulting Partners
(646) 650-2028 x701
 
David DeMuth, Sr. Managing Director, CFO Consulting Partners,
609-309-9307 x700
 
Eric Segal, Managing Director, CFO Consulting Partners
609-309-9307 x702

CFO Consulting Partners is a Proud Sponsor of XPX New Jersey- It’s all about the people! How to Enhance the Management Team

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The New Jersey chapter is growing and welcoming professional advisors who help business owners plan for a successful exit. As we continue to examine many of the different planning considerations and decisions an owner needs to face, our members participate in this interactive discussion. We welcome your attendance at our next meeting.

Most professional investors say that they would rather invest in a mediocre company with a great management team than a great company with mediocre management. In this session, we will explore the challenges investors and owners face with their management teams. What ways can owners identify the additional management needs of the company? Is the team that in place capable of taking the organization to the next level?

Our discussion will be led by Terry Gallagher of Battalia Winston and focus on when the shareholders of the business realize that the existing management team of the business is not capable of moving the company to an attractive sale prospect, and an outside executive is needed to be brought in to build the company to the point where it can be sold. Terry’s experience will allow him to discuss different situations where the business owner has faced this situation, and how an executive search firm has helped the business owner.

This highly interactive session will allow for participation by attendees in a collaborative format. As an association of experienced advisory professionals for business owners and their companies, we are all focused on delivering the highest level of subject matter expertise to our clients and we would value your expertise and insights.

We invite you to join us for this exciting event and for the entire series this year!

To make it easy to remember, we’ll always meet on the 3rd Wednesday morning of each month through June 2019, so please set up a recurring calendar appointment now so you won’t miss an XPX breakfast!

About Terry:

Terry Gallagher joined Battalia Winston in 1991 and focuses on recruiting CEO’s, Presidents, Division General Managers, CFO’s, CIO’s, Board Directors and all C Suite Executives for Fortune 500 as well as Middle Market Companies and private equity firms as well as Partners, Practice Leaders and Rainmakers for consulting firms. He has consulted for a broad range of industries including: Industrial Products, Insurance/Financial Services, Professional Services, Technology, Business Services, Consumer Goods and Healthcare. He served on the Americas Board for the Association of Executive Search Consulting Firms for seven years and the Advisory Committee for the National Association of Corporate Directors New Jersey Chapter. Recognized by Business Week as one of the World’s Most influential executive search professionals, Terry is a thought leader regarding executive recruitment and retention, organizational effectiveness, management development and succession planning.

When: 

Wednesday, May 15, 2019
8:00 AM  – 10:00 AM:
 
Location:
The offices of Fox Rothschild LLP – 49 Market Street,
Morristown, NJ 07960
Pricing:
Non-Members:
Same Day Registration/Walk-in Fee: $90.00
Regular Fee: $75.00
Early Bird (through 5/12): $60.00
Other XPX Chapter Members:
Regular Fee: $70.00
Early Bird (through 5/12): $55.00
XPX NJ and Tri-State Members in good standing are complimentary, so Join Today!

Parking Suggestions:

Ann Bank Parking Garage
41 Bank Street, Morristown, NJ

OR

DeHart Street Parking Garage
14 Maple Ave, Morristown, NJ

 

Please join us in May! You may find registration information here.

For questions regarding the event, please contact me at ddemuth@cfoconsultingpartners.com.

We are a proud sponsor of XPX. XPX is a multi-disciplinary community of professional advisors who work collaboratively to help owners build valuable businesses and assist them in preparing and executing a successful transition. Learn more...

We are a proud member of FINACA. FINACA is a nationwide network of independent finance and accounting consulting firms focused on delivering exceptional client service. Learn more...

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