Situation

Our client came forth with a list of issues surrounding their financial situation. They are a family owned business with approximately $30 million in annual revenue. The company was facing financial distress and had just come off a poor financial year. Also compared with other businesses their size, they had an inadequate finance department.

Although the company has a reputable and growing business they lack the financial structure and corporate management practices. They were having sales and corporate management consultancy service from a boutique consulting firm but they did not have financial expertise.

The management team clearly laid out the following challenges:

• The company had a poor reporting system.
• They needed additional funding for their new investment.
• They did not have a corporate financial and investment processes.

They initially decided on hiring a CFO but their consultant advised them to check if there is any interim solutions available through Expertera. They presented them an interim CFO with 25+ years of finance experience specifically within manufacturing industry. The interim had worked on similar reporting, financing and process management interim projects in the last 6 years. The decision was taken to bring on the interim CFO capable of sizing up the situation and taking swift action to rectify the situation.

Action

The company lost money in the previous financial year and Turkish economy has worried the management team. After having a couple of meetings with the CEO, they decided that the problem is that the board has poor financial management and they have to negotiate with the banks and the funds for financing.

Once the interim came on board, a reporting structure was created for management reporting, cash flow, sales forecasting was implemented within 2 months. From there, a final reporting structure was implemented in the company’s new IT system in 3 months.

The search for financing began in earnest. A total of 10 meetings with high-level executives were coordinated with the banks within 3 months.  Additionally, 3 meetings were set with investment fund managers within just 1 month. As a result of the quick action, financial and investment processes were revisited and restructured with the board in 4 months.

Results

A new financial reporting system was quickly established. The financial systems were organized in a simple and automatized model, At the end of the process, the company was able to oversee the finance department with a mid-level manager and was able to save $80-100K annually.

A line of credit from a bank was chosen as the best financing option and the company obtained a credit line with a very low interest rate. A framework was then created for investment and financial processes resulting in a better decision making process.

Lastly, the current Finance Manager has improved his capabilities and started acting as CFO, taking on many of the tasks left hanging. The feedback from the client was positive and grateful for the quick and effective action.