Case Studies

Sector: Commercial

Market/Industry: Transportation

Service(s): IT Strategy and Planning, Business Continuity Planning

Challenge: The transportation services organization needed a business continuity plan(BCP). The scope of the BCP included a business impact analysis of the organization's front office and back office operations (Call Center, Reservations, Billing and Finance) and a Disaster Recovery Plan that defines processes and procedures for responding to emergency situations.

Delivery:

• Developed a Business Continuity Framework that provided the underlying components of an integrated continuity and disaster recovery plan.
• Developed Framework included the following sub-components: emergency response framework, organizational framework, communication framework and architectural recovery framework.
• Defined the detailed operating processes and procedures for each of the major areas in scope.
• Provided the detailed steps for implementing and executing an integrated business continuity and disaster recovery plan.
• Developed a Continuity Roadmap to ensure alignment of business continuity development activity with ongoing business and IT initiatives.

Impact:

• A business impact analysis of the organization's front office and back office operations (Call Center, Reservations, Billing and Finance) and a Disaster Recovery Plan that defines processes and procedures for responding to emergency situations.
• In addition, MorganFranklin  also developed a Business Continuity Roadmap that identified the series of initiatives necessary to achieve a high-level of continuity across the entire enterprise.
• Provided the organization with an in-depth understanding of business continuity risks related to current operations, facilities, and systems.

Sector: Commercial

Market/Industry: Financial Services

Service(s): IT Strategy and Planning, Data Management and Business Intelligence

Challenge: In late 2005, a large financial services provider chartered and initiated its Enterprise Data Program (EDP) - a comprehensive campaign to improve data quality and data management. MorganFranklin understood that in order for EDP to be successful, the organization must assess its current data quality and data management condition and identify and articulate a clear strategy and roadmap for improvement.

Delivery:

• Developed the EDP 36-Month Transformation Roadmap designed to guide the long-term vision of the highly complex program.
• Effectively defined program strategy, objectives and organization, and detailed and sequenced the necessary conditions and activities that will allow a successful transition of enterprise data management capabilities from the current state to the target state.
• Employed a CMMI-based maturity model to determine data management capability development targets and allowing the organization to align their data quality improvement strategy to industry best practices.

Impact: The Roadmap has helped the financial services provider standardize its data management governance, processes, and procedures; establish more consistent and reliable data quality and controls; and integrate its data management business and IT infrastructure.

Sector: Commercial

Market/Industry: Government Contracting

Service(s): IT Strategy and Planning, Enterprise Resource Planning, Data Management and Business Intelligence

Challenge: The client's goal was to have all of its core financial processes on a single system that meets its current and future business needs. The client needed to develop a comprehensive conversion strategy assessment that included a fit-gap analysis, training needs assessment, data conversion strategy, process assessment, systems assessment, and reporting analysis. The assessment needed to conclude with a full level of effort analysis and provide options on how to proceed with that balanced time line, cost, scope, and risk.

Delivery:

• Provided overall project leadership for the assessment phase and tactical analysis support for the various workstreams.
• Reviewed the acquired company's existing reporting and business intelligence tools and provided a fit-gap assessment against the client's business intelligence tools, including a level of effort assessment for solving the gaps.
• Reviewed the acquired company's processes and performed a high-level fit-gap and conversion impact assessment by area, integrating this analysis into the training needs assessment.
• Reviewed nine custom applications and interfaces to determine their fit within existing client systems, and where there was not a fit, developed a high-level solution and level of effort to build a solution to meet the requirement.
• As part of the program leadership tasks, MorganFranklin led the analysis team, which included the work completed by both the MorganFranklin and client teams, and consolidated the results into a complete assessment.

Impact:

• By combining our leadership and tactical expertise on ERP, change management, and business intelligence, the client identified all of the gaps, the level of effort by resource type required to complete the project, and a concrete plan to complete the entire project in four months.
• MorganFranklin demonstrated the power and flexibility of its project management, ERP, business intelligence, and change management service offerings by providing resources who possessed the necessary skill sets and could integrate with the multiple entities involved in this implementation.

Sector: Commercial

Market/Industry:

Service(s): Accounting and Audit Support

Challenge: Client needs someone to implement a standardized revenue recognition process and to provide technical accounting expertise in revenue recognition.

Delivery:

• Developed a revenue recognition workflow to ensure all contracts are analyzed and recognized using a consistent, standards-based approach.
• Developed a compact, efficient checklist to identify, document and summarize the individual contracts and revenue recognition treatments based upon identified GAAP and industry pronouncements.
• Provided a technical accounting review of significant, complex contracts and determined the appropriate revenue recognition treatment.

Impact:

• Improved efficiency of the workflow for revenue accounting recognition
• Improved compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
• Cost-effective review of significant, complex customer contracts

Sector: Commercial

Market/Industry: Government Contracting

Service(s): Accounting and Audit Support

Challenge: Client needed support accounting for their acquisition and performing the related purchase accounting activities, including the delivery of various financial statements and disclosures.

Delivery:

• Gathered supporting documentation and produced an intra-month closing balance sheet.
• Created an opening fair value balance sheet
• Produced predecessor and successor financial statements with comprehensive footnotes
• Researched and/or drafted white papers for technical accounting issues that arise from an acquisition, including amortization/depreciation concerns, transaction costs, and numerous others.

Impact:

• A comprehensive, supported financial package was provided to the auditors in a timely manner

Sector: Commercial

Market/Industry: Communications

Service(s): Legal Entity Management, Accounting and Audit Support

Challenge: The client needed to perform an analysis over a complex international legal entity structure and facilitate the execution of merging/closing any legal entities that are deemed to be redundant.

Delivery:

• Planned, coordinated, and executed the merger, liquidation, or de-registration of more than 20 operating, networking, and holding company entities. This included entities located in Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Ireland, U.K., Slovakia, Hungary, and the USA.
• Liaised with corporate governance, legal, tax, the acquiring entity, and external advisors to ensure all in-country legal, tax, regulatory, customer, and supplier issues were cleared prior to the rationalization.
• Communicated changes in operations and accounting procedures with customers, vendors, and the acquiring entity.
• Prepared closing balance sheets and final tax calculations to support the legal transaction and final external audited balances.
• Liaised with Financial Systems Group to ensure that accounting systems are appropriately deactivated post-accounting migration.

Impact:

• A streamlined legal entity structure that is easier to manage
• A seamless transition process to close/merge foreign entities and still allow day-to-day accounting functions continue without disruption

Sector: Commercial

Market/Industry: Communications

Service(s): Business Process Management, Accounting and Audit Support

Challenge: Manage the fixed asset sub ledger and perform all associated major activities, including asset maintenance (additions, deletions and transfers), calculating and posting monthly depreciation, reconciling fixed assets accounts from sub ledger to General Ledger (GL), and asset verification.

Delivery:

• Provided process and controls improvement support over the fixed assets management process, including the remediation of control gaps.
• Developed a fixed assets process and procedures document to clearly define the required steps.
• Provided staff augmentation for the ongoing fixed assets management process as well as special projects asset impairment, physical inventory, and Sarbanes Oxley 404 documentation.

Impact:

• Complete reconciliation of the fixed assets sub ledger on both a pre- and post-physical inventory basis, including detailed explanations for the differences.
• A clearly defined, streamlined process to efficiently and effectively manage fixed assets.

Sector: Commercial

Market/Industry: Manufacturing

Service(s): Accounting and Audit Support

Challenge: The client lacked a standard method for tracking and monitoring Accounts Receivable (AR) balances that were greater than 180 days outstanding, thereby exposing them to a heightened risk of write-offs.

Delivery:

• Developed detailed Excel workbooks for four separate AR reporting groups: 91-120 days, 121-150 days, 151-180 days, and 181+ days.
• Supported AR tracking using the workbooks for 3 months and provided instructions to the client on how to utilize the functionality of the workbooks efficiently and effectively analyze outstanding AR balances.
• Reviewed and evaluated the collections process metrics and provided benchmarking data to assess how they compared to other leading firms.

Impact:

• Improved financial accuracy and streamlined financial reporting
• Increased transparency of AR balances
• Established a repeatable process that allows the client to track AR balances going forward by using the template and instructions provided

Sector: Public

Market/Industry: Defense

Service(s): Program Management Services, Internal Control Services, Financial and Regulatory Reporting, CFO Act Audit Support, Accounting and Audit Support

Challenge: Designated as a separate financial reporting entity, the client was required to prepare comprehensive subsidiary financial statements and related notes beginning in fiscal year 2006.

Delivery:

• Assisted the client's Accounting and Financial Systems Branch (RFA) in day-to-day requirements.
• Provided support for OMB A-123, Appendix A, Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (ICOFR) requirements and pre-CFO Act Audit services for the course of the project.
• Provided support through developing and presenting briefing, training, and conference coordination, and by generating and revising policies and guidelines.
• Provided program management office support and administrative services.

Impact:

• Enabled compliance with OMB A-123, Appendix A requirements and highlighted internal/external risks to financial business objectives.
• Improved accuracy of financial information, reducing costs and boosting the client's ability to produce auditable, stand-alone financial statements and footnotes in compliance with OMB requirements for sound ICOFR.