Transforming Management and Board Reporting
The Situation
A $25bn private equity fund controlled a $1.2bn building products manufacturer as well as a distributor, and had recently brought in a new CFO. One of the CFO’s key objectives was to reinvigorate the performance visibility at the Company, including enhancing the existing set of monthly financial, operations reports, and improving internal collaboration and update efficiency. The CFO engaged Accordion to drive the transformation of Company reporting.
Services
Stakeholder Reporting & Strategic KPI Enhancement
Actionable Business Analytics
Budgeting & Forecasting Process Improvement
The Execution
Our Accordion team conducted 1-on-1 meetings with key constituents and end users of each report to assess the requirements in content, format, and process for each report. We then developed a detailed work plan and timeline to guide the process and align key constituents around deliverables and milestones.
- Codified a consolidated monthly reporting calendar for the Company to establish a regular cadence and allow for feedback loops.
- Built enhanced report templates with updated exhibits for the Monthly Executive Management Report and Monthly Board of Directors Report, including:
- Validating and revising supporting calculations used for key exhibits
- Constructing de novo exhibits and analytics for major Company initiatives, including Pricing, Operations Savings, and Procurement Savings
- Working with the Manufacturing Group Controller and Procurement team to establish a detailed process and templates for ongoing tracking of Operational Savings and Purchasing Savings, respectively
- Improved the format for the Month-end Accounting Package, Mid-Month Flash Report and Monthly Departmental SG&A report, including automating the latter report directly from the company’s accounting system.
- Led the development and documentation of a unified approach to Foreign Exchange impact calculations across the various reports.
- Automated aspects of the update process of each report and transitioned reporting tools to Company personnel with any required training, along with Process Indices which provided a summary of responsibilities, update cadence and business logic for all components of each report.
The Results
Working as partners with the Management Team, we significantly enhanced the monthly reporting processes of the Company by aligning all key stakeholders around a set of exhibits and reporting cadence. The validation of supporting data and analyses, and the establishment of ongoing tracking and analytics provided improved visibility into key focus areas for the Management Team and Board of Directors.