CLIENT BACKGROUND
Our client experienced significant growth over the last few years and was fortunate enough to be able to operate on the balance of their bank account. The “run through walls” strategy worked with their initial stage of rapid growth, but as growth started leveling out our client required a more sophisticated approach to data and analytics, which ultimately started through building their finance function.
Overview
As our client grew so quickly and didn’t require it, the finance team was never developed. Financial reporting was done once a year for tax purposes only and had not been used for nearly two years. Additionally, any analysis currently being performed was highly labor-intensive as processes were inefficient.
Our Approach and Results
The team’s tasks included the following:
- Performed an exhaustive clean-up of the previous year’s financial reporting to ensure a large foundation of data to draw from
- Developed consistent, recurring processes used to generate financial reports regularly
- Constructed automated Excel analyses that in some cases reduced man-hours from one day per month to one hour per month, and produced reliable conclusions
- Developed strategies for pricing of products, reducing freight costs, improving commission structures, and extending credit to customers through extensive analysis
- Developed an automated analysis used to purchase large amounts of inventory regularly, and maintain optimal levels
- Trained internal team members to take ownership and operate the automated analyses
