In 2012, CFO Systems received a call from a renewable energy company that required immediate assistance. The company’s second set of financial leaders (controller and assistant controller) in a little over three years was leaving the company with a 10-Q SEC filing due in a little over 45 days. Adding to the challenge, their accounting software was archaic and required cumbersome re-keying, and overall company reporting was not where it needed to be to allow the company to grow.
CFO Systems responded to the call with a team of three and immediately began to review and learn the exsting accounting and SEC software to ensure filing deadlines were met. With the quarterly SEC filing completed, the team stepped back and reviewed best practices to simplify the process and generate accurate information that would comply with the upcoming fiscal year end, audit, and 10-K filing. Within the first six months of the engagement, our CFO Systems professionals:
- Completed all SEC filings
- Implemented a new SEC filing software
- Improved the process for generating data through automation
- Created reconciliation reports and redesigned board reporting to include a different P&L structure
- Developed a 60-month forecast utilizing newly determined KPIs
CFO Systems was retained to continue its financial leadership. In 2014, the industry was in crisis after a drought, and a need for debt refinancing was critical. Our team built new reports, introduced the company to other banks, and successfully refinanced the debt. With a positive turn in the market and once-again profitable growth for the company, its leaders paid off $90 million of debt in six months.
CFO Systems continues to work with this client, acting as the CFO for 500 hours a year. In addition, CFO Systems handles the technology, SEC filings, board reporting, and leads the accounting department.