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A Hands-On Approach
Our relationship-oriented approach results in successful partnerships
The Pentad Group partners with our clients on all levels. We can either help maintain a stable environment or assist in implementing change. When you work with The Pentad Group you get the whole company, not just one individual. Our team is comprised of hands-on consultants, with an average of 15 years of experience. We solve problems, deliver results and manage all types of financial initiatives. Here are just a few examples of ways in which we have helped our clients:
Project: CFO Interim Support
Client: Software & Services
Company Size: $10 Million
Summary: The Pentad Group was engaged to support a venture-backed start-up during its fiscal year-end, manage the accounting department, prepare for the upcoming audit and assist in hiring
a new CFO.
Key Accomplishments:
- Closed books for each month while engaged and prepared financial packages for investors and Board of Directors
- Introduced and obtained line of credit from leasing company
- Completed budget for upcoming fiscal year
- Wrote job description, interviewed and recommended new CFO
- Made recommendations to organize and streamline monthly closing process:
- Automated invoicing from labor intensive spreadsheet
- Integrated segregated accounts receivable process with accounting software
- Standardized contract reviews and communication company-wide
- Reconciled all accounts and reduced work by external audit firm
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Project: Sarbanes-Oxley Policies and Procedures
Client: Global provider of financial information to institutions, traders and investors
Company Size: $485 Million
Summary: The Pentad Group was engaged to coordinate and develop policies and procedures to assist in the compliance effort with Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX)
for the year 2005. This project focused on documentation effectiveness, which is key to Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance. It also enables the company to gain significant operational effectiveness.
Key Accomplishments:
- Reviewed accounting current practices and develop scope of financial policies/procedures
- Developed strategy and framework for writing policies on the following business processes: general accounting; inter-company financial reporting; internal control; cash and treasury; credit management; travel and entertainment; disbursements; revenue recognition; and other income/expense/assets
- Maintained and updated existing financial policies and procedures incorporating new accounting guidance
- Worked with domestic and international business units to organize, prepare and issue financial policies and procedures
- Coordinated management's review and approval of policies and procedures
- Linked policies and procedures to company's internal intranet SOX repository, known as "Policy IQ," to evidence efficient governance over internal controls
- Published and distributed policies and procedures manual electronically
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Project: Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Year One
Client: Software & Services
Company Size: $50 Million
Summary: The Pentad Group was engaged to develop the entire SOX compliance project plan and execute the Company's Year One Sarbanes Oxley compliance initiative. The project was under the direction of the Corporate Controller. Our consultants worked with internal management to develop the project strategy and worked with the external audit firm to include their requirements.
Key Accomplishments:
- Designed the client's internal control framework and assisted with the documentation of framework, policy and procedures
- Performed a scoping and materiality assessment to determine which locations and cycles were required under SOX
- Created the following documents by interviewing the process owners at each location for each financial process cycle:
- Process lead sheet documents to define the scope of activities within a cycle
- Process flow charts and narratives
- Risk matrix
- Segregation of duty matrix
- Test plans
- Reviewed documentation strategy with external audit firms
- Ensured documentation was representative of operations, assessed process design and developed a plan with management and internal process owners, to remediate any design control deficiencies
- Revised financial cycle documentation as required
- Developed, executed, reviewed and summarized testing plans for all locations for assessment and presentation to external audit firm
- Prepared project summary and presentations for various levels of internal management
- Served as liaison with external audit firm
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Project: Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Years One & Two
Client: A leading global provider of financial and business information to institutional and individual investors
Company Size: $485 Million
Summary: The Pentad Group was engaged in project management and execution of the company's Year One Sarbanes-Oxley compliance initiative. The project was under the direction of the Director of Internal Audit and had been ongoing for five months when The Pentad Group was engaged to become the Project Manager. Our team was engaged to continue in Year Two of the ongoing SOX compliance effort.
Key Accomplishments - Year Two:
- Worked with management and internal staff to respond to the internal control deficiencies identified by the external auditors in Year One
- Revised existing financial process cycle documentation at all locations to update for operational changes made, new cycles or locations
- Created documentation for newly acquired business which was integrated into an existing location
- Worked with the IT SOX Manager to update IT SOX documentation, key controls and testing strategy
- Executed the IT testing plan at all locations
- Reviewed and summarized the IT internal testing results with IT management
- Worked to determine retest plan for operational failures or remediation plan in the case of design failures
- Performed walk-through of all financial process cycles
- Developed, executed, reviewed and summarized testing plans for all locations for assessment and presentation to external audit firm
- Prepared project summary and presentations for various level of internal management, the senior management team and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors
- Served as liaison with external audit firm
- Our consultants continue to work with senior financial management on strategy related to SOX compliance
- Working with internal process owners to train them on the impact of internal controls on their operational activities
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Project: Interim Controller / Accounting Department
Re-Engineering
Client: Non-profit association
Company Size: $1 Million Operating Budget
Summary: The Pentad Group was engaged to assess the current state of the accounting and finance department, with regards to internal financial reporting and the accuracy of transaction processing. Our assessment was that reporting could be streamlined, and that discrepancies in both the financial records and transaction processing needed to be corrected. This resulted in our engagement in both project management and executing a clean-up initiative. All accounts and transaction processing for the previous quarter were reviewed with discrepancies noted and corrected. Procedures for reporting month-end financial results were revised to provide more accurate and timely reporting. The project was under the direction of the Executive Director, with input on financial reporting from members of the Board of Advisors.
Key Accomplishments:
- Assessed accounting functions and documented procedures
- Revised procedures with improved internal controls
- Prepared month-end financial reporting
- Cleaned-up financial records for the fiscal year
- Assumed and execute responsibility, on an ongoing basis, for all accounting functions: cash disbursements; cash receipt booking; invoicing for dues/memberships, etc.
- Modified and developed monthly internal financial reports and other internal management reporting systems
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