Service Area: Accounting Services: Commercial Diligence
Client Type: Large Cap PE Firm
Service Provider Type: Accounting Specialist Firm
Industry: Financial Consulting
The Need
Commercial Diligence: Accounting Services
A large-cap private equity firm was exploring an opportunity in the Accounting Services space and needed recommendations for a market study provider and a river guide who were deeply familiar with the industry.
The Challenge
Niche Need on a Timeline
The client required a market study to gain insights into the Accounting Services industry and understand factors such as reputation, decision-making processes and key selection criteria. Additionally, they needed a river guide who could provide expertise in areas like tech enablement, broader strategy and growth companies, without a strong emphasis on CPA background. And they needed it all as soon as possible.
How BluWave Helped
Exact-Fit Accounting Specialist
BluWave promptly presented the client with multiple industry-specific resources within a short timeframe. The client engaged the recommended service provider, an accounting specialist firm, which demonstrated extensive knowledge of the space. The service provider worked closely with the client to define the scope of the project and accommodated all requests.
The Result
‘Fantastic’ Service Provider
The market study delivered valuable insights into reputation, decision-making processes, and selection criteria within the Accounting Services industry. With the expertise and knowledge of the chosen service provider, the client gained a comprehensive understanding of the industry landscape.
“The service provider is fantastic. They are extremely knowledgeable about the space and were willing and able to answer our questions throughout. Responsive, thoughtful, thorough. I would absolutely work with them again.”
At the heart of every thriving business lies meticulous bookkeeping. As businesses strive for operational efficiency, they increasingly turn to outsourced bookkeeping services. This strategic shift allows them to tap into a wealth of expertise not readily available in-house and to free themselves from the time-consuming complexities of financial management.
In the face of a rapidly evolving business landscape, maintaining a competitive edge is key. Outsourced bookkeeping strengthens your financial foundation and equips you with the data-driven insights required for informed decision-making. Furthermore, by choosing to outsource, businesses can shift their focus to core competencies, fostering innovation and catalyzing growth.
Moreover, with the ever-changing labyrinth of regulatory requirements and tax laws, having an experienced accountant at your service ensures your business stays compliant. Navigating these complexities alone can be daunting and fraught with risk. An outsourced accountant stays updated with these changes, protecting your business from potential legal pitfalls.
Efficient B2B debt collection practices are essential for maintaining a healthy cash flow and ensuring the growth of a business. In today’s competitive market, many organizations offer generous terms on accounts payable to win over customers.
This approach, however, may not always be sustainable, especially given changing trends and future concerns.
Let’s talk about the importance of B2B debt collection strategies and how partnering with a specialized consultant can lead to improved cash flow and business growth.
The CFO of a telecommunications company that specializes in wireless internet needed help building out its executive team for a new division of its business.
Challenge
Specialized executive search firm needed
Looking to better serve its customers, the CFO sought an executive search firm that specialized in telecom and fiber. They saw a big growth opportunity in their market and wanted to move fast to build out its leadership team.
How BluWave Helped
The Business Builders’ Network
After a scoping call with our research and operations team, we presented multiple executive search firms that were experienced serving fiber optics companies.
Result
Specialized firm engaged to build out executive team
One of our most-used service providers was selected to kick off the process of building out the executive team. They signed on for a three-month engagement to help the telecommunications company hit the ground running with its new telecom ambitions.
Every quarter our team analyzes the projects we work on with our 500+ PE firm clients to get a bird’s eye view of the market. We recently compiled our Q1 2023 findings into our BluWave Insights Report. You can request your copy and our client coverage team will be in touch.
Key findings from Q1 ’23 include:
Value creation activity is at an all-time high, matching Q1 2022.
Human capital remains PE’s primary area of focus at 45% of all Q1 activity, also matching an all-time high.
Technology remains a priority at 11% of all Q1 PE activity.
From a high-level point of view, there are four steps to the machine tool financing process.
1. Apply
You apply for financing from an institution. Whether you’re seeking a few thousand dollars, or millions upon millions, this is the first step.
2. Get Approved
After the financial institution reviews your application, hopefully you’re approved to receive the funds. Some banks allow for pre-approval, which speeds the process.
3. Review and Sign Finance Agreement
After you have the financial institution’s go-ahead for your manufacturing financing, they’ll send you terms to review. If both sides agree, you can sign the papers and move to the crucial last step.
4. Funds Disbursed
Once the ink is dry, the bank should finalize the transaction by giving you the money. Now it’s time to purchase that new equipment to finance your business.
Manufacturing pricing strategies are top of mind for businesses in this transitionary economy. Industrial pricing has becoming more competitive than ever as margins shrink and supply chain problems persist.
“BluWave is seeing an increased number of resources allocated to competitive pricing analysis from our private equity clients and their portfolio companies,” BluWave co-head of operations Keenan Kolinsky says. “Specifically in the manufacturing and industrial spaces, companies are running into much higher costs for production materials, which is putting a dent in their margins.”
When private companies, public companies, and private equity firms and their portfolio companies contact BluWave for help with industrial pricing, it’s because they’re presented with two difficult options.
1. Increase the Price of Manufactured Goods
This may increase margins, but it also means passing costs along to customers.
They end up paying more for the same products, some of which arrive later due to supply chain and sourcing challenges.
2. Keep Prices the Same
In this scenario, customers continue paying the same price for products. The problem? Margins get thinner and thinner as material and production costs continue to rise due to inflation and demand.
There is, however, a best-case scenario that takes both of these choices under consideration when it comes to industrial pricing.
Service Provider Type: Supply Chain Technology Firm
Industry: Waste Management
Need
System Selection & Implementation in Waste Management
A rapidly expanding outsourced waste management company had outgrown its accounts payable automation tool. With a modest-sized IT team, they needed expert help with greater depth and engineering to better handle their growth requirements.
Challenge
Tech service provider to ingrate their CRM with their AP tool
With an IT team of less than 10 people, the VP of Tech asked BluWave for help finding a service provider that could better integrate their CRM with their AP tool. As business continued to boom, they weren’t able to keep up with the transactions and needed guidance on not only getting the most out of the tools in place, but finding something more powerful for the future.
How BluWave Helped
The Business Builders’ Network
The very next day, we connected them with four experienced service providers that have done excellent work for other independent and portfolio companies, respectively. They landed on their top choice – a proven system architecture firm that understands their industry – and we continued to support the company by monitoring the service provider until the project was finished, and beyond.
Result
Connected with a best-in-class IT firm
The IT firm helped the portco reorganize its systems internally, better equipping them to select and implement a new AP automation tool. They were able to better integrate with their ERP and manage ever-increasing transactions more efficiently.
The work product we have seen is very good, both for documentation and quality of expected outputs.
They stayed involved from the discovery phase on through implementation.
The changes all look very good and were completed faster than expected. Additional input on changes were well received and follow up has occurred quickly.
Accounts payable (AP) automation software is a multifunctional tool that assists businesses in optimizing and automating their accounts payable operations. This can involve activities such as processing invoices, matching purchase orders, and reconciling payments. AP automation software has the potential to reduce risk, increase precision, and save time and money for businesses.
AP automation software typically comes equipped with the following functionalities:
Invoice processing: The software can automatically acquire invoices from vendors, extract critical data, and direct them for approval.
PO matching: The software can match invoices with purchase orders to verify accuracy and ensure that the appropriate products or services were received.
Payment reconciliation: The software can cross-check payments against invoices to confirm timely payment and accurate payment amounts.
AP automation software is an advantageous tool for businesses of all sizes. By employing this software, businesses can enhance their accounts payable processes, reduce risks, save time and money, and improve accuracy.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software streamlines business processes by coordinating data flow across an organization. It provides a single source of truth and optimizes operations.
They are used to manage everyday business activities such as finance functions, compliance, risk management, retail, supply chain and HR.
As you might have gathered from the overview above, managing Enterprise Resource Planning data is no easy task.
That’s why so many PE firms seek help for their portcos in this area. Private and public companies often seek outside support, too.
Here are the primary hurdles we hear about on scoping calls where a client needs help extracting data from their ERP:
Lack of internal expertise: This is a common challenge when extracting data from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Outsourcing to a third-party service provider offers access to domain experts with the knowledge and skills to efficiently extract data.
Time constraints: Outsourcing offers a faster turnaround and allows companies to focus on core business functions rather than data extraction, which can be a time-consuming process.
Complexity: Extracting data can be complex, especially if the data is spread across different modules or systems. Experienced service providers who specialize in data extraction can provide a more efficient solution and ensure that the information is accurate and reliable.
Cost: Investing in the necessary hardware and software to extract data from an ERP system can be expensive. By outsourcing the project, companies only pay for the services they need.
Need for specialized tools: Companies may not have access to the necessary specialized tools and software. These same tools will be part of a third-party service provider’s day-to-day toolkit.
Data accuracy concerns: Extracting data from an ERP system requires a high level of accuracy to ensure that the data is reliable and can be used for reporting or analysis. If you leave this to chance, you may end up making important decisions based on faulty data.
Need for customized data extraction: Companies may require customized data extraction from their ERP system, which may not be possible with existing in-house resources. Outsourcing to a third-party provider can provide customized solutions that meet the specific needs of the company.
Compliance and regulatory requirements: The data extraction may be subject to specific regulations or industry standards. Companies may not have the in-house expertise to ensure that the process meets these standards, and can benefit from the provider’s knowledge of industry-specific regulations and standards. This helps minimize the risk of regulatory violations, legal penalties, and reputation damage.
Scalability: As a company grows, the amount of data generated by an ERP system may increase, and the data extraction process can become more unwieldy. There may become a point when companies don’t have the resources to handle the volume of data generated by their ERP system. Third-party providers can offer scalable solutions that can handle larger data volumes and provide ongoing support as the company grows.
