Retail Fixtures

Issue Faced. The Company had recently terminated their CFO. Four of the eight people in the Accounting department were temps. A former employee was managing the department on a contract basis and the most senior person in the department had worked at the company less than two years. Accounts Receivable were deteriorating and the President was anxious about what other problems may exist. The day before ERG arrived, the company overdrew its bank account.

Industry. Retail Fixtures

Location. Salem, MA

Size Of Company. $30M

Who Brought In The Team/Individual. President

Goal Of Assignment. ERG was asked to do a 5-7 day assessment of the department and prioritize ongoing projects.

Actions Taken. Many of the problems were quickly fixable so the assignment expanded to 15 days spread over a month and the following was accomplished:

• Implemented customer statement / dunning letter campaign to address the large number of low $ overdue accounts receivable
• Constructed cash flow model to assist in managing cash
• Developed inter-company sales procedures that eliminated the translation problems that had plagued the Company since setting up its foreign subsidiaries.
• Developed intercompany pricing model to reduce global income taxes.
• Streamlined check preparation procedures.
• Closed prior year’s books in preparation for audit.
• Arranged for bank statement cutoffs corresponding to fiscal month ends.

Resources. One ERG CFO

Submitted By. Douglas Smith