STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES

For the past nineteen years we have operated as the part-time, on-site managers of the financial area of one hundred ninety small company clients, as follows:

1. We manage receivables and payables so that cash-in matches cash-out.

2. We oversee the work of the bookkeeping/accounting staff to help produce financial information that leads to better management decisions. However, we do not practice as CPAs and we do not replace the annual review work of a CPA.

3. We help to control an organization's spending by developing budgets and control systems so that all of the managers track their progress and manage more effectively.

4. We analyze product/service costs so management can separate the winners from the losers.

5. We carry the ball with the bank or other funding sources as well as with the insurance agent, the landlord, the benefits planner - negotiating strongly as a member of our client's management team.

6. We provide strategic financial input and perspectives for medium- and long-range company planning to help create predictability and stability.

On average, our client engagement runs for 18-24 months, though several of our current clients have been with us for three years or more. We tell CEOs up-front that our goal is to work ourselves out of a job - that is, to help grow the organization to a point at which we can no longer handle the work on a part-time basis. We then take the lead in identifying and hiring our replacement and in developing a smooth transition.

Presently Financial Managers is working with twelve smaller companies in New England. Though we have plenty to keep us busy, we're always receptive to new business opportunities. Our retainer fee ranges from $2,000 - $5,000 per month against a "menu" of responsibilities agreed upon in advance with the client.