Accounting Process Improvement
If you don’t have the right accounting processes in place, you are, most likely, operating your business based upon incomplete and faulty information. Some symptoms of flawed accounting processes include:
- Your financial department typically takes action reactively, not proactively
- Your financial statements are frequently late and/or incorrect
- Your billings take too long or often need correction
- Your inventory numbers seem ‘off’
- You’re not sure how your business is doing at any given moment
We can help you improve your accounting department by developing new and streamlining existing procedures as well as instilling a highly-disciplined approach to task management. We’ll ensure that your department functions smoothly, that you receive timely, accurate financial information, and that you’re positioned to put it to best use.
Case Study: Rapid Growth Led to Instability
Overview
A private-equity backed rapidly expanding single-family home rental business needed to establish processes and procedures to fuel its growth. Employees worked remotely in various cities throughout the Midwest and were overworked. Receivables were not being adequately tracked resulting in financial statement misstatements and a lack of confidence in the accuracy of the information provided to the Board of Directors. The financial information provided to the CEO was meaningless.
Solution
The CEO was referred to Sutker Moran by an existing Sutker Moran client who he knew.
Once hired, Sutker Moran successfully converted the Company from cash-basis accounting to the accrual-basis and tackled the receivables issue. Sutker Moran secured collection of over $200 thousand in unreported receivables from the parent Company which were previously undetected. Weekly and monthly controls were established to ensure consistent tracking and collection of receivables.
While the Company was exponentially growing, Sutker Moran established consistent, timely procedures for monthly close and created a financial projection that guided management in hiring and purchasing decisions. New KPIs were established to arm the CEO with the information he needed when presenting to the Board of Directors providing all stakeholders the confidence in the financial information they were seeking. Once the company reached critical mass, the private equity firm brought in a W2 CFO. Sutker Moran helped transition to this individual.
Case Study: A Revolving Door Leads to an Interim, then a Permanent Solution to Company’s Financial Management
$100 Million General Contractor
Overview
A $100 Million multi-entity Construction Company found themselves yet again in need of a Controller. Their current Controller, in the role for only four months, quit. This was their fourth head change in the seat in just two years. The financial statements were in disarray, complicated by a general ledger system upgrade that was in progress.
Solution
Referred in by a friendly competitor of the Company, Sutker Moran took over the CFO/Controller role providing full-coverage CFO/Controller services at significantly less cost than a W2 employee. Sutker simultaneously reconciled every balance sheet account while developing and implementing a formal monthly close process. Sutker then focused on the Company’s convoluted WIP projection process. Sutker Moran, first, gained a thorough understanding of the existing process. Then, teamed with the Senior Management Team to reimagine a new formal process tailor-made for the Company’s operations. Armed with meaningful information, Sutker Advisors, as the Company’s CFO/Controller, challenges project managers with cost issues and helps identify operational under-performance.
Case Study: Without Accurate Financial Information, Losses Accumulated
$30 Million Self-Performing Construction Company
Overview
A $30 million self-performing construction company has always lacked the necessary financial information to run their business profitability, especially the status of jobs-in-progress. Without accurate financial information, project managers had difficulty managing their jobs. The Company kept on running through various ineffective Controllers.
Solution
The cost-conscious owner hired Sutker Moran as their permanent CFO/Controller as Sutker could provide full-coverage, high-level CFO/Controller acumen for significantly less cost than W2 employees. Sutker, immediately, focused on the monthly WIP report leveraging their experience to create an accurate, meaningful, but simple report that the project managers could understand and use to manage their projects. Most importantly, Sutker developed processes and painstakingly implemented procedures surrounding the accounting/managing of the projects as well as other operational areas, resulting in a positive cultural change within the organization.
Case Study: One Giant Black Hole
$18 million Global Marketing Service Organization
Overview
A marketing services firm had a vast organization of talented individuals who priced potential opportunities based upon their own experiences, causing disparity amongst the quotes. Furthermore, these estimates were never compared to the actual cost incurred, resulting in uncertainty regarding job profitability and the validity of the estimates, themselves.
Solution
Through extensive interviews and analysis, Sutker developed a consensual, standard pricing template that was used for all estimates. With the estimates’ standardized, Sutker, working with the Company’s IT Department, developed a labor tracking system that mirrored the estimating template, allowing for relevant actual vs. estimate analysis. Proving its value, Sutker became the Company's outsourced CFO.
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