Solutions

As an INTERIM CFO I’m providing two types of services:

  1. Crisis management and
  2. Special Projects

Crisis management – dealing with unexpected situations, when you quickly need a professional that will master the crisis and brings you safely back onto the other side of the river. This happens mainly when, a key person in your company has left/is sick or was fired. Another case is when something must be completed very quickly, and you have no resources to close the gap. I provide solutions in the following areas:

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  • Accounting,
  • Finance
  • Controlling
  • Reporting
  • Control and compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Control & Compliance
  • Corporate Governance

Special Projects – all nonstandard activities that have to be done in your company (for which you lack the required know-how and/or the qualified staff) – different in each company, below are some examples:

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  • Reorganisation of the accounting and finance departments
  • New ERP implementation
  • Divestment process (preparation for selling a business or only a part of it)
  • Post-acquisition integration,
  • SOX implementation/ assessment/improvement
  • Internal Audit dep’t building / assessment/improvement
  • Organisation of finance and accounting functions in newly established entities
  • Reporting system building / assessment/improvement
  • Building SSC (Shared Services Centre) from scratch
  • Building the control and process culture awareness in the company
  • Building a corporate department (head office) controlling the group of legal entities.

As there are so many different situations, I’m not able to enumerate them all, but whatever problem you need help to solve in the area of accounting, finance, corporate governance, audit, compliance, controls/processes, I’m happy to assist you, and provide a customised solution.

Both types of service, may assist you transform your company into a stronger and healthier business, focused on core activities, not back office issues.

More detailed info about what the interim management really is with a full list of the benefits of hiring an interim manager are here >>

The info about my past deliverables/PORTFOLIO can be found here >>

THE SOLUTIONS I CAN DELIVER FOR YOUR BUSINESS

FD/FC SERVICES FOR PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS
Weather PE has just bought a group of companies and would like to reorganise them, or is not happy with the results of the companies being long in a portfolio and is considering the exit, I can assist them in the following areas:
– achieving required KPIs,
– Increasing the effectiveness of staff,
– assessing and improving the business processes and the controls,
– SSC creation to reduce back office and standardization of procedures,
– Ensuring proper reporting to PE,
– Restructuring to adapt to the changing environment (e.g. cost reductions)
GROUP TECHNICAL ACCOUNTING MANAGER/HEAD
Typical challenges for accounting are as follows: Having the right people with the right skills and organising the workflow to register transactions properly, without delays and errors. Comply with various reporting and filing obligations in a timely manner. Stay up-to-date with regulatory changes. My assistance can cover:
Project
– efficiency verification of: accounting policies and procedures, consolidations, reporting, forecasting and budgeting, chart of accounts etc…
– preparation and implementation of the improvements, to achieve optimal accounting structure/function
– training of the existing accounting staff and hiring new staff members, to boost their efficiency
– Perform “deep dive” reviews of specialized or complex accounting areas e.g., equity-based compensation, earnings per share, hedging instruments etc. to ensure accounting and controls are appropriate
– Ensuring accounting systems are fit for purpose
– Review all newly published accounting standards and best accounting practices and their consequences on Group company accounts interim /replacement
– ensuring proper booking of transactions, providing technical accounting support in line with IFRS, US GAAP and local GAAPs
– preparation of statutory and corporate Reports (monthly, quarterly and yearly)
– consolidation of Group reporting, based on the operational standards and the group’s requirements
– budgeting, forecasting, initiating corrective actions,
– defining accounting policies and procedures
– Provide the accounting and finance team with regular updates and training on new accounting standards.
POST ACQUISITION INTEGRATION
Your company has just closed a deal? Now the real challenge starts. Integrating businesses with different trading relationships, histories and cultures sets substantial challenges. If the acquirer and target businesses are multinational, the scale and number of those challenges multiply. I’m happy to use my expertise to assist you by:
Project
– analysis of the accounting and finance process in the target company – to optimise the future dep’t structure and processes- preparation of the integration plans (accounting and reporting software, business processes, staff)
– integrating the processes in a target company (software implemetation, staff training, processes reorganisation)- ensuring smooth transtion process.
– verification of the processes after integration completeinterim /replacement
– being a part/lead of the acquisition team, to ensure finance and accounting processes transformation is smooth, and quick.
CFO / FD - replacement (critical gap filing)
Departure of critical staff may be unexpected but it always an issue. Before you find a permanent replacement I’m happy to step in and assist you in the following ways:
– Ensuring the finance dept is working as normal, without disruptions
– Ensuring the team is focused on tasks and motivated, not thinking about the reasons for the unexpected dismissal of their manager,
– Making a review of your finance and accoutning functions to identify potential weaknesses, and address them.
– Assisting you in finding a permanent replacement.
– Giving you a peace of mind until the temporary leaver is back or until you find a permanent hire
FINANCE DIRECTOR
– Taking overall control of the company’s accounting and budgeting and treasury function
– Leading and develop finance teams.
– Ensuring that company financial systems are robust and compliant
– Working with senior teams to grow the business, formulating strategies and plans.
– Ensuring that the company policies and regulatory requirements are met.
– challenging assumptions and decision-making as appropriate
– providing financial analysis and guidance on all activities, plans, targets and business drivers.
– Providing leadership to the Board’s Finance and Accounting strategy, to optimise the company’s financial performance and strategic position.
– Contributing/development of the company strategy across all areas of the business
INTERNAL CONTROLS MANAGER
An internal control manager is a company policeman or watchdog . His main duties are to develop policies and procedures, ensure their implementation and monitor compliance. In essence, the internal control manager prevents  company staff from engaging in potentially illegal or unethical activities. Of course well-designed internal controls environment can increase operational efficiency as well. Many companies are engaging the IC manager after big issue had occured, to avoid it in the future.

If your company have to create that function from scratch, before you start looking for a good permanent staff, let me assist you in:
Project
– reviewing of the exisiting business processes and internal controls (from the eficiency and compliance point of view)
– preparation of the processes/internal controls documentation (description, flow charts, test procedures)
– preparation of the efficiency improvement
– smooth improvements implementation
– cooperate with Internal Audit, to ensure, their requirements are met
– hiring the permanent internal control team (training, integration)
– coaching the company staff, to implement a real control oriented corporate culture
interim /replacement
– internal controls testing and small improvements
– ensuring that Internal controls/processes are not compromised
– cooperation with Auditors (to ensure smooth audit)

AUDIT MANAGER/HEAD OF AUDIT
As per CIPFA, the Head of Internal Audit plays a critical role in delivering the organisation’s strategic objectives by:
1 championing best practices in governance, objectively assessing the adequacy of governance and management of existing risks, commenting on responses toemerging risks and proposed developments; and
2 giving an objective and evidence based opinion on all aspects of governance, risk management and internal control.

My 8 years of Audit experience will help you in:
Project
– implementation of the risk based Audit procedures
– creation of the IA dep’t from scratch (procedures, documentation, methodology, planning, etc…)
– bringing the IA dep’t on board from outsourcing companies
– organising the efficient Audit team (recruitment, training, and team integration)
– hiring the internal control team (training, integration)
interim /replacement– performing Internal Audit projects (financial, operational, IT, fraud)
– managing the existing Audit team
– ensuring that existing performance of Audit Dep’t is not compromised
– independent review of the IA dep’t performance (only if required by the Client)

COMPLIANCE/SOX MANAGER
18 years after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has been approved, companies sill have a lot of challenges in dealing with it. the complince with SOX is an issue by the dynamic nature of potential forces. My experience as a Head of SOX implementation for EMEA in a big US PLC, guarantees that folowing steps are done:
Project
– analysis of the existing system of internal controls
– implementation of the SOX compliance system
– design and implementation of the most optimal internal controls
– cooperation with internal and external auditors
– SOX project to SOX process transformation
– SOX staff hiring, training and integration
interim /replacement
– Managing organization’s compliance with the Sarbanes Oxley Act.
– Developing processes to ensure compliance with all SOX requirements.
– Designing and administering internal controls, identifies process deficiencies and recommends improvements.
– develoingp and conducting SOX compliance training for employees.
– Cooperating with both internal and external auditors.
– Staying abreast of changes in SOX regulations to ensure timely compliance.
– Managing subordinate staff in the day-to-day performance of their jobs.
SSC HEAD/TRANSITION MANAGER
SSC are becoming more and more popular, especially in the multinational companies. They enable to reduce costs and standarise the control/process environment. But establishing a good SSC and make a good transitions of processes from local entitites to the SSC –  it is always a challenge. The challenges I’m happy to take to asisst you are as follows:
Project
– business processes analysis (R2R, O2C, P2P, payroll, taxes)
– target organisation plan – creation of the SSC (for various processes)
– transition of the processes to SSC
– processes optimisation
– SSC team integration
– creation of the quality control and continuous improvement department – process documentation and testing to finalise the transformation
interium/replacement
– quick replacement of the exiting manager (dismisal or long leave)
– managing the SSC team, to ensure optimal performance
– continuous performance verification, using KPIs
– ensuring the SSC performace in not challenged
– SSC performance analysis and depending on the results, the PROJECT steps implemented (see aside)
RESTRUCTURING/TURNAROUND
Turnaround management does not only apply to distressed companies, it in fact can help in any situation where direction, strategy or a general change of the ways of working needs to be implemented. Therefore turnaround management is closely related to change management, transformation management and post-merger-integration management.

Usually restructuring requires not easy steps, like cuts in the not profitable activities, followed by the cuts in the staff. For the existence of the company, it is extremelly important to make restructuring properly, without long pain, which may lead in demotivated staff.
Project
– efficiency performance analysis for all departments of the organisation,
– identification of the key risks and success factors, for proper strategy building
– restructuring plans preparation (minimum, optimal, maximum) with actions, costs and savings calculations
– restructuring process implementation
– ensuring smooth transformation process
– verification of the restructuring results

REMARKS:

  • All above packages reflect the types of work scopes requested so far by my clients.
  • All proposed services may be customised, or grouped in consistent packages, easily adjustable (merged, aligned, extended) to fit in the specific requirements.
  • Type of engagement drives a scope of work, and approach to be chosen. Temp projects differ significantly from the replacement types of engagement, from the perspective of stakeholders management, decisiveness, and the authority delegated to me for the whole project period. Project packages are focused on the change of existing situation, while interim are focused onto maintaining the existing situation, when current process owner hadA left the company (temporary or permanenty) for whatever reason.
  • All the above services may be provided locally, regionally or globally, (maps of my global experience https://woolstreet.co.uk/about)