Public companies are held to a higher standard and its important to have strong internal controls and procedures to ensure that these standards are met. Executives and Board members face high personal risk in such settings.
Bill 198 Compliance/ Sarbanes Oxley
We provide consulting services to ensure you are in compliance with Bill 198, as required by the Ontario Securities Commission for all publically traded companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). We use the methodology as prescribed by 2013 COSO framework and COBIT 5 for Information Technology.
Policy and Procedures
Accurate, easy to read policies and procedures are essential for an effective organization. Whether it is to help train new employees, retain corporate knowledge in the event employees depart, or just providing a better understanding of processes for all employees within the organization, having these documents will enhance the company. We can help design, document and implement key policies and procedures based on your company’s needs. Having documented numerous business processes, and evaluated policies and procedures, we can perform the assignment in an efficient manner and minimize disruption to your current staff.
Expense Analysis
Are you paying too much for products/services? Or paying for things that your organization doesn’t require? We can help perform analysis to help you identify those costs that don’t provide any value to your organization. A qualified 3rdparty observer can identify expense items which might not be so obvious to individuals entrenched within the organization.
In larger organizations, a particularly effective method of controlling expenses is to perform periodic Expense Report reviews. The purpose of this is to have an independent 3rdparty review submitted and approved expense reports to ensure they are in compliance with documented policies and procedures. The review also has a positive psychological impact as it will make employees less inclined to test limits as they know their reports will be reviewed on a periodic basis.
Internal Controls
We can help implement key internal controls to ensure the achievement of the organization’s objectives in operational effectiveness and efficiency, reliable financial reporting, and compliance with laws, regulations and policies.
Key processes to implement controls over include:
- Governance
- Revenues
- Human Resources
- Payables
- Receivables
- Cash
- Treasury
- Capital Projects
We have access to an exhaustive list of controls and will implement those that apply specifically to the Company.
Staffing
Growing organizations must remain cautious of their staffing levels. Employees only have so much time and brain power in a day to process information. Based on the growth of your business and your personal time commitments, it might be time to bring on additional employee(s). We will analyze your current business structure and make recommendations on whether an employee should be hired and whether that should be a part-time or full time employee(s). There are several government programs available (assuming you qualify) that can subsidize this hire. A simple example is provided below and may apply to your current situation:
An employee that was processing 200 invoices in a week, is now processing 400 invoices. The quality of the employee’s work will decrease as a result of the increase in volume, and the Company will suffer financially. Invoices may no longer be paid on time which may result in a financial penalty to the Company and affect your relationship with a vendor, or potentially fraudulent vendors being paid as the employee did not have time to vet the vendor. Alternatively, the employee may no longer to follow up on delinquent customers who have not paid you on time.
In addition, we can help you with the hiring process. Please refer to the Recruitment Tab.
Assist with your Accountant/Auditor
We are happy to help provide you with a second opinion on your current accountants/auditors. We can provide you with market analysis to help negotiate lower fees, identify certain tasks that can be performed in house and find ways to reduce the amount of time they spend on your premises.
We can help you prepare your year-end work papers to minimize interruptions to your staff and save time.
Project Management
Are you planning a capital project? We can provide guidance on best practises to ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget. We can implement rules that will make the best use of management’s time. For example, management need not be involved in every decision. Less significant decisions can be farmed out as appropriate, leaving management to focus on their current jobs. However, for significant decisions whether they are “financial” or “milestone” based we will ensure that management approval is obtained. We will establish policies to ensure management is informed on a timely basis to ensure the project is running smoothly and keep a log of issues noted along the way with respect to cost/time, which can be used when performing subsequent projects.
Other
Other services we offer may apply to your Company, please refer to the Private Company tab. Examples include: Cash Flow Management, Financial Analysis and Non-Financial Success Indicators.