Onboarding Reporting and Monthly Close Acceleration for a New Portfolio Company
The Situation
A global PE sponsor focused on accelerating value through operational excellence had recently acquired a security services provider which had grown through a series of acquisitions. Due to a lack of post-merger integration across multiple data sources, systems, processes and teams, the month end close was taking too long and lacked a structured process. As a result, reporting meaningful financial and operating metrics became a highly manual process. The situation was anticipated to worsen by upcoming bolt-on acquisitions which were part of the Sponsor’s primary investment thesis. Accordion was engaged to onboard this portfolio company and bring it in-line with the Sponsor’s stringent reporting requirements. The ask included considerably accelerating month end close and implementing various automated reports to meet the requisite reporting requirements.
Services
Stakeholder Reporting & KPI Development
13-Week Liquidity Forecasting
Financial Statement Close Process
Process & Controls Implementation
The Execution
- Engaged with the company management within forty-eight hours of the deal closing.
- Worked closely with the Company’s CFO, finance & accounting team and other relevant stakeholders to understand the current close process, financial and operational reporting requirements including KPIs
- Stakeholder Reporting: Assessed existing data capture processes, reconciliation and adjustment processes involved in reports currently being used.
- Customized and implemented requisite financial reports required for onboarding including: Weekly flash, 13-week cash flow, Monthly Financial Review, Quarterly Strategic Reviews/ Board Reporting, Lender Reporting.
- Established process index documenting the detail process, data owners, data sources and inputs, update timelines, etc., in order to facilitate efficient future updates.
- Accelerated Monthly Financial Close: Conducted detailed walk throughs of key processes with a focus on process improvement and control enhancements.
- Developed a detailed close checklist/calendar and team close meetings to foster structure, planning, and increased accountability.
- Established methods and materiality thresholds for calculating accruals and estimates.
- Automated processes by leveraging system functionality, resulting in less potential for human error.
The Results
With Accordion’s assistance, the Company achieved two key objectives: a month end close accelerated from 45+ days to less than 10 days, and the implementation of timely and efficient financial and operational reporting to help management and the PE Sponsor understand overall business performance and execute on the investment thesis.