Virtas Partners was engaged by a leading cannabis company for a multi-phased engagement to build out and lead its FP&A department amidst rapid growth and ahead of closing of a significant merger.
Client Background
The company approached Virtas about the need to build out an FP&A function as its business was rapidly growing and as its management prepared for a significant integration. The company did not have the organizational capacity and experience to build out the function and execute critical and immediate finance priorities.
The company needed an advisor that could quickly assess its finance needs and deploy a multi-phased build-out of the function. This required an immediate development of a driver-based budgeting model and the creation of budgeted financial statements for the next fiscal year. It was critical that this process align stakeholders, ask the right questions, and quickly synthesize large datasets to deliver clear financial projections.
Scope of Services
- Build out a live, fully functioning budget model with business drivers to flow through sales, costs, and financial statements
- Work cross-functionally with department leaders to determine key themes and gather / challenge assumptions
- Develop meaningful KPIs in the organization by leveraging newly implemented business intelligence data from Tableau
- Bridge operational growth plans with commercial sales forecasts to illustrate wholesale versus retail sales potential
- Complete re-mapping of chart of accounts to enable seamless data flow as accounting systems change over
Significant Milestones
- Aligned stakeholders on the approach of annual business planning with extensive interview and documentation process
- Worked independently and scheduled targeted meetings when necessary so that the business was able to maintain seamless operation with minimal disruption
- Built standalone Excel models of all working components with streamlined assumptions schedule for user inputs across all three financial statements
- Consistently drove clear and transparent communication throughout the organization with sound project management and stakeholder meetings to review work products
Value to Client
- Build out of FP&A function with no disruption to business
- Execution of critical finance tasks
- Understanding of forecast financial results for key business decisions
- Ability to summarize and communicate business themes
- Enable seamless delivery of a clean budget package to the acquiring company