Client Profile – Major Regional City, School Board

The Need:

  • Establish normal accounting operations, implement remediation procedures, prepare for annual audit and comply with statutory requirements for financial reporting
  • All school board employees were terminated and the rehiring process began
  • External auditors were unable to issue an opinion on their most recent Consolidated Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) to the State Legislative Auditor.

The Solution:

  • Completion of audit preparation and obtain clean opinion
  • Prepare CAFR submission to the State Legislative Auditor
  • Complete Internal Audit Diagnostics & Proposal
  • Create Desk Top Procedures
  • Create Closing Documentation
  • Design internal management financial reports
  • Standardize Reconciliation Support

The Results:

  • Client obtained a clean audit opinion after years of deficiencies
  • Consolidated Annual Financial Report (CAFR) submitted to the State Legislative Auditor for all outstanding periods
  • Internal Control proposals implemented and relied upon
  • Desktop Procedures created for key areas of Payroll, Payables and Internal Reporting

Client Profile – Tier One Auto Supplier

The Need

  • Our client, Operating R&D technical centers in the United States, Japan and France, and manufacturing materials and components in 30 wholly owned or affiliated facilities worldwide needed assistance with year-one JSOX compliance
  • Assistance in development of training and the oversight of user acceptance testing for a critical ERP system upgrade in progress at several operating units
  • Direction on IT testing
  • Project scoping, risk assessment, documentation, developing remediation action plans, and an audit test strategy for IT and financial reporting processes

The Solution

  • We deployed a team including the support of a Project Management Office to directly assist in the compliance effort. The Team provided the Client’s North America and Japan based Senior Management valuable insight on how to apply critical lessons learned from the US Sarbanes-Oxley experience to make the compliance effort more efficient and effective
  • Assist in the development, training and oversight of user acceptance testing for an ERP system upgrade in progress at several operating units
  • Provide a full range of JSOX services to the North American subsidiaries including: project scope, risk assessment, process documentation, remediation action plan, and an audit test strategy for IT and financial reporting

The Results

  • Established top-down, risk-based methodologies – a focus driven by our internal controls expertise and thorough understanding of JSOX legislation
  • Quickly documented the control environment and provide up-front insight on critical remediation opportunities so that our client could immediately prioritize and firm up key IT and other internal controls over financial reporting

Client Profile – Insurance and HR Consulting

The Need

  • Post-merger integration of financial and reporting systems
  • Assist client Shared Services team by providing Project Management leadership

The Solution

  • Deploy an experienced project manager to assess project status for the Shared Services Group
  • Develop an updated project plan and establish new target dates
  • Provide resources to support non-shared service teams
  • Training requirements were identified, developed, and  then conducted
  • Stakeholder reporting was established and communications were formalized
  • A central documentation location was established and managed for the client
  • Phase 2 deliverables were documented, work plans developed, and resources identified
  • Policy and procedures were updated and documented

The Results

  • Client Shared Services Group successfully completed all tasks and were ready for transition as planned
  • Supporting documentation was transferred to Client management

Client Profile – Heavy Manufacturing – DOD Contractor

The Need

  • Financial restatement and required SEC filings
  • Revenue recognition deficiencies for government contracts
  • Request extension of filing deadlines for NASDAQ compliance
  • Develop accounting policies and procedures for SEC reporting
  • Interim support for vacancies in key management roles

The Solution

  • Deploy experienced technical and SEC reporting consultants to lead specific initiatives addressing  revenue recognition issues and begin the restatement process
  • Provide experienced interim management support in key roles : CFO, Controller, SEC Reporting Director and Accounts Receivable Manager
  • Develop, plan and then aggressively seek reporting extensions from NASDAQ to prevent delisting
  • Develop accounting policies and procedures to standardize reporting and day-to-day operations

The Results

  • NASDAQ provided the Client with a 180 day extension; this deadline was met and client was not delisted
  • Client successfully restated its financial statements and filed all outstanding SEC Reports

Subsequent to the completion of the restatement and SEC filings, client re-engaged our team to assist with the reconstruction and roll-back of their inventory balances to prior years

Client Profile – Health Care Services

The Need

  • Our Client; a provider of ambulatory surgery and rehabilitative health care services was in the midst of an SEC Fraud investigation and corporate crisis
  • Assistance was needed with a complex financial restatement
  • Engaged by the Client to work with their crisis management firm, external audit, and investigation firms to provide an array of accounting-related services.
  • Client and investigative needs included restatements involving cash, related party transactions, accruals, fixed assets, leases, etc. and Sarbanes-Oxley testing.

The Solution

  • We deployed a combination of Project Directors, Team Leads and Consultants at the Client’s various locations with oversight by an engagement Partner.
  • A blend of experienced CPA’s, Managers, Accountants and Subject Matter Experts included a mix of local and traveling resources to provide our client with the desired skills portfolio and project continuity dictated by the size of this project
  • At the peak of the engagement, our team expanded to unprecedented levels and our management provided coverage 24 hour a day, 7 days a week to meet the Client’s management and advisors needs.

The Results

  • Client management was able to respond quickly to external inquiries, as well as efficiently manage a very large financial restatement and emerge from the investigation and corporate crisis.

Client Profile – Tier 1 Vehicle Component Supplier

The Need

  • Meeting the challenges of a complex Chapter 11 proceeding
  • A partner to team with the Client’s CFO team on corporate internal control remediation issues
  • Preparation of Trustee reports and SEC filings including FAS 123
  • Claims reconciliation, analysis and negotiations resolving liability claims
  • Support for Purchase Accounting and adoption of new FASB reporting requirements
  • Review of Liabilities Subject to Compromise
  • Integration of acquired foreign subsidiary
  • Interim Controllership Support

The Solution

  • A team to support the Client’s CFO team including project management and senior subject matter experts to address internal controls, and Trustee and SEC reporting
  • Client key employee attrition was offset by our SEC reporting team
  • Assure continuity of staff so client could complete its Bankruptcy and SEC reporting needs while achieving its internal control (SOX) remediation objectives
  • Prepared the Monthly Operating Reports for the Bankruptcy Court, 10-Q and 10-K filings and monthly status reports to Client lenders.
  • Provide key team members for Client’s claims reconciliation team and performed in-depth analysis of trade and tax claims, handling the subsequent negotiations to resolve liability issues

The Results

  • Our clients was enabled to successfully meet their objectives and remediate the critical internal control weaknesses, meet its Trustee and SEC reporting deadlines and has emerged from bankruptcy protection.

Client Profile – Tier-1 Automotive Supplier

The Need

  • Our client; A $5 billion Joint Venture between a major automaker and a Tier-1 supplier with the intent to either close or sell a number of manufacturing facilities was in need of experienced staff to execute the divestiture process
  • The Joint Venture firm was staffed to run the daily operations and ensure a continuous supply of quality products, but not to manage the sell-side activities that were required. Due to the temporary nature of the company, attrition had begun to occur among the Client’s salaried personnel in the targeted divestitures.
  • The Solution
  • Build teams to create stand-alone analyses units for operations that had previously been managed as an integrated part of a larger entity
  • Support the sell-side due diligence activities and the collaboration between Client and potential suitors; perform analysis of balance sheet line items of particular interest to the buyers based on the structure of each transaction
  • Prepared 5-year plant forecasts for potential buyers
  • Develop a shared services plan for post-sale operations recommend process improvements

The Results

  • Seamless integration, fast ramp-up and high quality work performed by our teams gave our client the confidence to let our teams lead them through the due diligence process

Client Profile – A Paper and Wood Products Producer

The Need

  • Assist Client’s preparation for transition of the corporate accounting function from offices in Canada to offices in South Carolina
  • During the engagement planning phase; the client filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and under the Trustee’s direction began the restructuring process. Our new priority was to assist with Case Reporting and Compliance
  • Institutional knowledge losses due to employee attrition
  • Focus on the Accounting process, systems, and controls

The Solution

  • Our team was deployed to Canada to assess the requirements and develop a plan for transition
  • Our team refocused on the priorities of the bankruptcy tasks and timetable
  • Technical bankruptcy support resources were deployed to Canada and South Carolina to work with the CFO and Corporate Controller to coordinate the additional reporting and compliance related to the reorganization
  • Accounting related issues including intercompany balance control, integration of accounting and reporting applications, tax management assistance, audit support, treasury management and internal reporting, account reconciliation, and analysis of key account activity and improvements became a primary focus of the team
  • Provide staff and management as needed during the restructuring process
  • Preparation of Statements of Financial Assets, Cash Flows, Monthly Operating Reports, and other related schedules
  • Analyzed current accounts and reports and determine if they would be transitioned to the new organization
  • Prepared InterCompany model to balance Intercompany transactions made after company merger for forty plus business entities
  • Assisted financial systems teams to plan and migrate the accounting and reporting to the new the Client ledgers

The Results

  • The Client emerged from bankruptcy and has successfully reorganized
  • Corporate accounting and reporting functions were transitioned to South Carolina
  • Migration to a single platform was completed