CFO Consulting Case Studies

$75M manufacturer required temporary help to improved cost accounting and inventory management processes.

Solution

Cowen Partners provided a CFO with significant manufacturing experience to work hand in hand with leadership to address poor inventory management, imprecise understanding of product costs, and delayed financial reporting.

Issue

$600M ecommerce retailer’s Corporate Controller gave two weeks’ notice and reached out to Cowen Partners for a solution.

Solution

Cowen Partners was able to quickly provide an experienced Interim Corporate Controller who had Big 4 experience, was a CPA and had a background in ecommerce, tech, tax, and international finance. Because of the ability to quickly place a consultant there was overlap with the outgoing controller which allowed a much smoother transition with ongoing projects while managing a 15-person team.

Issue

$20M family owned fabrication company lost their controller without notice and only days until payroll was to be processed.

Solution

Cowen Partners worked with the president and owner to provide a manufacturing experienced interim consultant within days. In acting swiftly, the consultant was able to run payroll without any delay or disruption for employees. The consultant was also able to identify and improve on internal controls structure, account reconciliation processes, reduce AR collection time, and help select a new accounting software.

Issue

Established commercial real estate developer wanted to upgrade to the latest Yardi Voyager ERP platform and did not have the expertise to do so.

Solution

Cowen Partners provided an experienced Yardi ERP implementation expert who was onsite within days and completed the project in four months

Issue

$500M non-profit required interim help to mitigate a number of accounting weaknesses identified by its auditors and wished to have the audit completed much more efficiently than in the prior year.

Solution

Cowen Partners provided an experienced internal audit CFO consultant and a senior level CPA to identify and mitigate internal control weaknesses over financial reporting while also developing an internal control manual for approval by the Board of Directors. Cowen Partners also properly scoped the needs of the company and by placing two consultants the accounting processes were streamlined to be more efficient, pre-audit workpapers were prepared in advance of the auditor arrivals and final drafts of the financial statements were provided on a shortened timetable.

Issue

$1.4B bank lost both their CFO and Controller within months of each other.

Solution

Cowen Partners immediately provided a renowned CFO who was able to complete a finance wide deep dive to gain a complete understanding of the needs of the company Upon completion of the process review, the onsite CFO identified the need for an experienced Controller with strong internal controls and SOX experience to help prevent fraud and streamline financial reporting.

Issue

$50M dental group lost their CFO and needed an interim CFO.

Solution

After review of the client needs, Cowen Partners determined it was prudent to provide an experienced healthcare CFO with a strong background in technical accounting and a manager level CPA. These consultants were able to help improve cashflow, reduce costs, shorten AR, and renegotiate with vendors.