New Reports For Acquired Firm


Obstacle

A privately owned firm faced new financial reporting regulations after being acquired by a publicly-traded company. The required reports are far more detailed, and they lacked both the resources and experience to produce them.


Approach and Solution

In many privately held companies, the owner acts as CFO/Treasurer and COO, but once a company becomes public, or is acquired by a publicly held firm, the increased management and reporting demands require someone with dedicated responsibility.

Public companies face significantly more scrutiny than private entities. The federal government’s Security Exchange Commission (SEC) requires them to complete detailed reports designed to inform current and prospective investors of the firm’s financial health. They must file a 10-Q each quarter, which includes financial statements, analysis of company performance and market risks, specifics concerning internal controls, and more. On a yearly basis, they must complete a 10-K report, which is even more comprehensive. At times, an 8-K is required in order to cover material company events that take place between reports.

Because the acquired firm was a longtime client, Hart Vida & Partners was already deeply familiar with its financial operations. For several months, while the company recruited a new CFO, Hart Vida & Partners assisted the accounting staff in collecting and organizing the company’s financial data in compliance with SEC reporting requirements.

In its position as a trusted advisor, Hart Vida & Partners was able to ease the firm’s transition, training the accounting department for its new operational and regulatory environment. As a result, the first required filings were complete and timely. Procedures were put in place to facilitate future regulatory compliance, reducing the immediate challenges to be faced by the incoming CFO.