SUPPORTING BUSINESS EXPANSION

A specialist distribution company had been growing for many years and the senior finance employee had left the business.  A temporary resource was visiting to provide monthly management accounts but there was no reporting against budgets or any forecasts.

The company had recently carried out a review of its operations.  This included deciding to replace a CRM system and un-connected accounting software with a new integrated CRM-ERP system.

We were asked to review the current accounting operations and assess the proposed new CRM-ERP system to check it could be made to work effectively.  We implemented new processes around expense capture and reporting, and simplified the document handling processes (reducing waste in both time and paper). We built a new monthly reporting pack to provide feedback of performance against budget and forecasts for the year, incorporating improvements such as accruing for quarterly commission payments on a monthly basis to reduce the volatility of the P&L report.

We participated as the Finance lead in the new CRM-ERP implementation, which also included introducing a completely new nominal ledger structure that reflected the business structure.  Working with a small in-house team we assisted in developing new data structures, data mapping to bring the old CRM and accounts data together, stock processes and some specific customised tools around foreign currency and pricing.  We provided training to the Finance team prior to roll-out.

After the go-live date we ensured that the processes were working as intended and produced additional reports as required.  We then identified the permanent need for a part-time Financial Controller and assisted with the recruitment of a suitable new employee.