utworzone przez wooladmin_ | 1 wrz 2025
Back to Profitability as a preparation for carve-out & disposal
- BACK TO PROFITABILITY
- CONTROL REGAIN
Global DMC PLC (Destination Management Company)
– 4th Tour Operator in Europe
- Bring Region back to profitability
- Regaining control over the company operations
- Ensure clean Audit Opinion
Regional CFO – managing 20FTEs
- Financial & Accounting Function
- 5-month delay in purchase invoice booking
- Ineffective accounting department
- Errors in profitability calculation
- No proper reporting or controlling processes
- Qualified audit report in prior years
- Planning, Budgeting & Cost Control
- Delays in budgeting and forecasting
- Lack of purchase price control
- Process & Standardization
- Non-standardized procedures /processes
- Operational inefficiencies
- Leadership & HR
- Lack of qualified finance resources
- Employee morale issues → high staff turnover
- Leadership and cultural misalignment
- Structural & Market Constraints
- Time constraints for turnaround
- Market challenges affecting performance
- Data, System & Workflow Diagnostics
- Reviewed system usage logs and identified bottlenecks in data entry and approvals
- Mapped existing data workflows from source to reporting for AP, sales, and GL
- Identified obsolete master data and duplicated records
- Assessed ERP data quality using simple KPIs (error rate, record age, latency)
- Evaluated gaps in user adoption and training across finance and operations
- Performance & Reporting Assessment
- Assessed existing reporting packs: completeness, accuracy, consistenc
- Reviewed forecast/budget cycles: frequency, ownership, and integration
- Evaluated controlling maturity: variance analysis, cost drivers, planning logic
- Reviewed profitability models for structural flaws and cost misallocations
Financial & Accounting Deliverables
- Cleared AP backlog ¤t invoice booking process aligned to <30 days
- Monthly closing calendar and checklists across all entities
- Fully reconciled balance sheets with documentation package
- Corrected prior-year accounting errors and finalized audit sign-off
- Policy manual for accounting procedures (AP, AR, GL, accruals, cut-off)
DATA Process & Workflow Optimization
- End-to-end review and redesign of data entry and approval workflows
- Updated SOPs for system use (sales order creation,profitabilitycontrol,etc)
- Clean-up of obsolete or duplicated records in key modules
- Revised master data governance rules (naming conventions, hierarchy, categorization
- System health KPIs (response time, error rate, transaction time benchmarks
Operational & Process Optimization Deliverables
- End-to-end process maps (P2P, O2C, R2R) with standardized SOPs
- Initial automation tools (e.g., Power BI dashboards, Excel macros, RPA pilots)
- Quick-win list of process inefficiencies removed or restructured
- Steering committee structure with weekly cadence and action log
- KPI with linkages to operational and financial outcomes
Reporting & Performance Management Deliverables
- Group-wide budgeting and forecasting process (templates,calendar)
- Standardized management reporting pack (P&L, B/S, cash flow, KPIs)
- Monthly forecast with variance analysis and dashboard views
- Rebuilt profitability model with accurate cost allocations
- Controlling procedures implemented across countries
- Operational savings ($2m)
- high performing teams of data processing & accounting
- establishing data driven decision making process
- IT system gaps fixed
- cleaned data in the booking management system (IT),
- recovered lost GM of $1m (identified errors, that have not been recognised previously)
- DATA governance process established
- Resolved stalled (external)audit process; clean audit report issued
- Finance department professionalized & ready:
- for further fast business expansion
- to be able to recognize issues
- to react quickly and adequately for non-standard situations
- Reduction of staff turnover by 20%
- 5 months delay of invoice booking – reduced to 5days (standard time)
utworzone przez ultramartyna | 1 wrz 2025
Back to Profitability + Control Regain
- BACK TO PROFITABILITY
- CONTROL REGAIN
Global DMC PLC (Destination Management Company)
– 4th Tour Operator in Europe
- Bring Region back to profitability
- Regaining control over the company operations
- Ensure clean Audit Opinion
Regional CFO – managing 20FTEs
- Financial & Accounting Function
- 5-month delay in purchase invoice booking
- Ineffective accounting department
- Errors in profitability calculation
- No proper reporting or controlling processes
- Qualified audit report in prior years
- Planning, Budgeting & Cost Control
- Delays in budgeting and forecasting
- Lack of purchase price control
- Process & Standardization
- Non-standardized procedures /processes
- Operational inefficiencies
- Leadership & HR
- Lack of qualified finance resources
- Employee morale issues → high staff turnover
- Leadership and cultural misalignment
- Structural & Market Constraints
- Time constraints for turnaround
- Market challenges affecting performance
- Data, System & Workflow Diagnostics
- Reviewed system usage logs and identified bottlenecks in data entry and approvals
- Mapped existing data workflows from source to reporting for AP, sales, and GL
- Identified obsolete master data and duplicated records
- Assessed ERP data quality using simple KPIs (error rate, record age, latency)
- Evaluated gaps in user adoption and training across finance and operations
- Performance & Reporting Assessment
- Assessed existing reporting packs: completeness, accuracy, consistenc
- Reviewed forecast/budget cycles: frequency, ownership, and integration
- Evaluated controlling maturity: variance analysis, cost drivers, planning logic
- Reviewed profitability models for structural flaws and cost misallocations
- Financial & Accounting Function
- 5-month delay in purchase invoice booking
- Ineffective accounting department
- Errors in profitability calculation
- No proper reporting or controlling processes
- Qualified audit report in prior years
- Planning, Budgeting & Cost Control
- Delays in budgeting and forecasting
- Lack of purchase price control
- Process & Standardization
- Non-standardized procedures /processes
- Operational inefficiencies
- Leadership & HR
- Lack of qualified finance resources
- Employee morale issues → high staff turnover
- Leadership and cultural misalignment
- Structural & Market Constraints
- Time constraints for turnaround
- Market challenges affecting performance
- Data, System & Workflow Diagnostics
- Reviewed system usage logs and identified bottlenecks in data entry and approvals
- Mapped existing data workflows from source to reporting for AP, sales, and GL
- Identified obsolete master data and duplicated records
- Assessed ERP data quality using simple KPIs (error rate, record age, latency)
- Evaluated gaps in user adoption and training across finance and operations
- Performance & Reporting Assessment
- Assessed existing reporting packs: completeness, accuracy, consistenc
- Reviewed forecast/budget cycles: frequency, ownership, and integration
- Evaluated controlling maturity: variance analysis, cost drivers, planning logic
- Reviewed profitability models for structural flaws and cost misallocations
Financial & Accounting Deliverables
- Cleared AP backlog ¤t invoice booking process aligned to <30 days\\
- Monthly closing calendar and checklists across all entities
- Fully reconciled balance sheets with documentation package
- Corrected prior-year accounting errors and finalized audit sign-off
- Policy manual for accounting procedures (AP, AR, GL, accruals, cut-off)
DATA Process & Workflow Optimization
- End-to-end review and redesign of data entry and approval workflows
- Updated SOPs for system use (sales order creation,profitabilitycontrol,etc)
- Clean-up of obsolete or duplicated records in key modules
- Revised master data governance rules (naming conventions, hierarchy, categorization
- System health KPIs (response time, error rate, transaction time benchmarks
Operational & Process Optimization Deliverables
- End-to-end process maps (P2P, O2C, R2R) with standardized SOPs
- Initial automation tools (e.g., Power BI dashboards, Excel macros, RPA pilots)
- Quick-win list of process inefficiencies removed or restructured
- Steering committee structure with weekly cadence and action log
- KPI with linkages to operational and financial outcomes
Reporting & Performance Management Deliverables
- Group-wide budgeting and forecasting process (templates,calendar)
- Standardized management reporting pack (P&L, B/S, cash flow, KPIs)
- Monthly forecast with variance analysis and dashboard views
- Rebuilt profitability model with accurate cost allocations
- Controlling procedures implemented across countries
- Operational savings ($2m)
- high performing teams of data processing & accounting
- establishing data driven decision making process
- IT system gaps fixed
- cleaned data in the booking management system (IT),
- recovered lost GM of $1m (identified errors, that have not been recognised previously)
- DATA governance process established
- Resolved stalled (external)audit process; clean audit report issued
- Finance department professionalized & ready:
- for further fast business expansion
- to be able to recognize issues
- to react quickly and adequately for non-standard situations
- Reduction of staff turnover by 20%
- 5 months delay of invoice booking – reduced to 5days (standard time)
utworzone przez ultramartyna | 1 wrz 2025
Back to Profitability + SG&A reduction
- BACK TO PROFITABILITY & LIQUIDITY
- OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT
- SG&A/BACK OFFICE COST REDUCTION
Global Engineering PLC (PE-backed) €8b, 50kFTEs
MENA region €400m revenue, 2500 FTEs
- Bring Region back to profitability and to positive CF
- Significantly reduce SG&A (and other back office) costs
MENA Regional CFO – managing 125 FTEs: (SSC, Finance, Procurement, Legal, IT in all 8 countries)
Middle East & North Africa – MENA:
- UAE
- Saudi Arabia
- Qatar
- Kuwait
- Egypt
- Bahrain
- Jordan
- Tunisia
- Net loss in majority of countries
- regional SG&A > 14% vs target < 10%
- overoptimistic budgets
- negative BCF – poor cash management
- many low (negative) GM% projects
- no proper collection / credit control
- absence of structured reporting
- non standardized procedures across region, compliance risk inefficiency
- Stakeholder resistance to change
- High expectations from new PE owners for rapid EBIT / BCF improv
- Low employee morale amid restructuring / performance pressure
- Currency devaluation /inflation pressure (EGYPT)
- Tight timelines imposed by turnaround objectives
- Projects/sales portfolio analysis
- low/non profitable projects repair plan
- changing mgmt. mindset onto bottom lines (GM/ EBIT/BCF) not only top line
- building regional controlling function
- monthly meetings with countries GMs FDs & operations management
- proper (meaningful) reports to address other managers needs
- R2R, P2P, O2C process improvements
- FSSC creation + centralization
- Strengthen the control on planning + monthly forecasting
- Stronger control over AR collection
Financial Stabilization & Performance Management
- Revised & realistic budget for the region, aligned with operational capacity and PE expectations
- Standardized monthly P&L reporting, (GM, EBIT, BCF tracking across countries)
- Regional financial dashboard with KPIs on GM%, SG&A %, working capital, and project-level profitability
SG&A & Cost Optimization
- SG&A cost review by function with FTE analysis & savings opportunities
- Cost-to-Serve model for shared functions (HR, Finance, IT)
- Overhead benchmarking & reduction action plan (to make SG&A toward <10%)
Commercial & Project Profitability Control
- Portfolio analysis of projects with low/negative gross margin
- Corrective pricing actions and exit strategies for non-viable contracts
- GM% calculator & project profitability review tool for commercial teams
Cash Flow & Credit Control
- Regional collection plan and credit control framework
- Cash Management dashboard – weekly visibility on collections, disbursements
- Weekly CF forecasting template/procedure implemented
- BCF improvement roadmap for whole region
- EBIT improved +€15M (from -€7M to +€8M)
- Overall GM improved, from 13% to 18%
- G&A (Admin costs) reduced by €2,5 M/year
- G&A reduced to 11% of sales and savings c.a. 1.5M/year on staff and €1M other savings.
- BCF improved by +€20M
- Regional SSC set-up, Back-office centralization
- SSC creation, (P2P, R2R, O2C), for 8 countries, KPIs
- accounting processes centralized, documented
- finance personnel reduced by 55FTE (-35FTEs in finance, -10FTEs in procurement and -10FTEs in others) from original 125 FTEs
- Improved sales/projects portfolio
- Reduced low GM projects (contract renegotiation or resigning from non-profitable projects
- Efficient process of forecasting/month-end reporting
- Involved operational managers in monthly performance meetings
- Better forecasting quality (lower month-end variances)
