challenge
The client, a publicly traded leader in the consumer benefits space with $500 million in annual revenue, had delayed filing its annual 10-K report due to disagreements between auditors and management — and the situation went from bad to worse when the CFO and general counsel resigned shortly thereafter. Worried that errors would result in a restatement of financials from previous years, the client needed a seasoned CFO to step in immediately.
Key challenges included:
- navigating the financial restatement process
- stabilizing the finance organization — and curbing a high rate of turnover
- assessing structure and talent associated with internal accounting and control functions
Caught between a rock and a hard place, the client turned to Tatum for support.
solution
Tatum immediately got to work addressing the client’s most urgent pain points. Our multipronged approach included providing stability and leadership for the client’s finance group, rebuilding relationships with external auditors and introducing transparency and controls around key finance decisions. Specifically, we:
- hired a new CFO and VP of accounting
- rebuilt the monthly CFO package distributed to the CEO
- strategically reorganized the client’s finance function
Taken together, these changes began to pay dividends right away, not only reducing costs but facilitating communications among stakeholders.
outcome
The talent experts at Tatum brought on board an accomplished CFO to provide stability and leadership during a period of tremendous stress and change. Highlights of the engagement included:
- lowering costs by more than $200,000 through a redesign of the client’s finance function
- creating a financial restatement template
- introducing new channels to improve communications among key stakeholders
- providing hands-on temporary resourcing assistance to stabilize the client’s finance function
With office locations across the U.S., Tatum can mobilize resources and deliver local talent solutions — and we can do it faster than our competition. Connect with us today to find out more.