Financial Services

Determine capital requirements and structure
This entails extensive financial modeling emphasizing the Balance Sheet and the Cash Flow statement. An acute understanding of the business's sources and uses of capital is the result. A determination as to necessary adjustments to the capital structure is made.

Capital sourcing and related negotiation
This requires contacting appropriate sources with the right information about the business: such as why the capital is needed and how the Company will pay the required cost of the capital. The goal is to get adequate capital, at the lowest possible cost and on the best possible terms, to enable the business to execute its business plan.

Risk Assessment and Management
This normally starts with a review of the current risk management program and the risk assessment that supports the current program. The focus is on whether all risks have been identified and whether appropriate levels of risks have been retained. Ultimately the goal is to sleep at night without throwing money at insurance companies.

Capital allocation framework
Many businesses lack a framework for determining which initiatives requiring capital expenditures should be undertaken and at what cost . The goal is to develop an easy to use fact based assessment process of the expected costs and returns of strategic initiatives without dampening the entrepreneurial spirit.

Treasury management
This starts with ensuring good control over cash and an understanding of the weekly and monthly receipts and disbursement cycles that affect the daily cash balance. The result is to satisfy vendor liabilities within terms, especially when discounts are available, meet payroll without concern, anticipate unusual patterns of cash flow, minimize borrowings, maximize cash balance yield.

Senior lender relationship management
This entails disciplined compliance and proactive communication. The result is senior lenders who are ready to “step up to the plate” and respond positively and quickly to changing business needs.

Manage tax compliance and planning
For tax compliance this means ensuring that the “tax tickler file” is complete and current so that payroll, sales, income and other self remit taxes are scheduled for reporting and payment compliance. This includes coordination with other professionals or service providers to ensure that they have the information needed and that surprises are avoided. This may also include determining the approach to responding to inquiries from taxing authorities including audits.

Benefit plan compliance management
Controls over reporting information to benefit plan providers are crucial to ensuring that the sponsor pays for the right benefits for the right employees based on enrollment documentation. Poor controls in this area can lead to employee relation problems and unnecessary costs due to data errors. We start with an evaluation of such controls. Once controls are satisfactory we often coordinate, in conjunction with other professionals, a comprehensive review of the benefit structure and plans/providers selected

Strategic plan development and execution
The goal here is for facilitate the gathering of the strategic thought that exists in the minds of the business leaders. Some documentation is necessary to facilitate understanding communication and execution. The goal is to be light on documentation and strong on implementation. CFO's are traditionally the organizations facilitators of such activities.