With meaningful missions in their hearts and important tasks on their desks, our clients come to Altruic Advisors seeking accounting expertise to help move their organizations forward. Our firm’s CFO Solutions service brings a solid financial framework to these organizations through proven accounting processes and accurate reporting goals from the first moment of the engagement.
The first few weeks of our relationship with your organization is crucial in building a solid foundation. We take the process of onboarding new clients very seriously. We have learned that investing in this initial phase of financial analysis, process documentation, and accounting alignment will pay off in the long run. Adjusting to new systems and procedures can take time, but in the end, it will allow your organization to easily access valuable decision-making information.
Phase One
In the first phase of the onboarding phase, we will learn about your existing accounting processes and customize our tools to fit your day-to-day financial operations. As we build new processes for accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll, we will listen to your needs and find ways to increase efficiency. This means you can spend less time on accounting, and more time fulfilling your organization’s mission.
Phase Two
The second phase of the onboarding process is spent reviewing your most recent financial statements, reconciling accounts, and analyzing potential shifts to produce more useable data. This can mean anything from small changes to a complete overhaul of your chart of accounts. We may create classes for tracking grant and cost centers, or make adjustments to align the books to the most recent audited financial statements. By analyzing your current Statement of Financial Position and building audit-ready schedules for each line item, we also prepare for a smooth transition into our systems.
Phase Three
The last phase of the onboarding process consists of closing the books and producing your financial statements for the first time. This is where we clarify account codes and reporting needs, iron out any wrinkles, and ensure that all systems are set up to function smoothly going forward. We will ask many questions during this phase, and often produce several drafts of financial statements for review. This phase sometimes feels like running the last few miles of a marathon, but this extensive preparation pays off by producing complete and accurate reports to build on in future periods.
We know that many nonprofit organizations seeking our firm’s accounting services are already dealing with a backlog of issues that need to be addressed. These clients often begin a CFO Solutions engagement needing immediate financial statements, which makes the onboarding process feel like a delay. However, taking the necessary time to work through these steps is the only way for our team to provide your organization with accurate financial information. During the onboarding process, we build proper communication channels, develop more efficient processes, and cultivate positive working relationships. With this strong foundation built, we can all approach the rest of the engagement with clarity and confidence.