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Fisher Cut Bait
When mediocrity is not an option.
Navigating Outsourcing Choices
Accounting and Finance Activities
For the Middle-Market
Currently, I’m advising a client on the rewards and dangers of outsourcing the business’s accounting and
finance functions. Middle-market executives know this topic is important and complicated. My job is to
help the President navigate the complexities and produce an execution plan capable of satisfying the
business’s current and future accounting and finance needs. The execution plan, where the rubber meets
the road, may retain these activities in-house, transfer responsibility to a third-party (outsourcing), or use
a little of both.
My responsibility is to integrate the organization comprehensive needs, in the context of the business’s
current and future competitive aspirations. Doing so exposes specific advantages and disadvantages,
analyzes financial cost and reward trade-offs, and produces a realistic execution plan. My client’s business
is no institutional behemoth; quite to the contrary, currently reporting about $40 million in annual
revenues with six different business units. The business employs seven individuals with responsibilities
dedicated exclusively to accounting activities. Additionally, the business relies on the services of seven
outside consultants. In toto the business is spending about $800,000 per year on accounting – about 2%
of revenues. The business is highly profitable and well positioned to grow aggressively; though at the
moment, is focused on harvesting cash for the owner.
Fisher Cut Bait
OUTSOURCING
ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 2 of 10
My goal for this paper is to offer a brief overview of accounting and finance activity outsourcing that can
aid a middle-market business executive’s decision to adopt (or reject) outsourcing to satisfy their
expectations for improving financial performance.
Sifting through the volumes of opinions, White Papers, Frequently Asked Questions, and other thought-
pieces, produced mostly by service providers, it seemed to me, if I believe everything I read, the market
is composed of only two types of clients: Institutional Behemoths or small Main Street Businesses. The
Main Street Business satisfied with a qualified bookkeeper while the Institutional Behemoth using a very
sophisticated mix. Missing however was the Middle-Market business with growing scale and complexity
but more constrained resources. These businesses need sophisticated results combined with imagination
to tailor approaches to satisfy growing needs but limited budgets.
These businesses, the vast majority of the middle-market, are left with little guidance. So I thought I
would chronical my experiences and thoughts as I help my client navigate the treacherous sea of
outsourcing.
Before I delve into the specifics of outsourcing it is useful to differentiate the business roles of accounting
and finance. These roles are commonly but incorrectly used interchangeably. The accounting function is
responsible for ensuring historical activities are captured, maintained, and reported accurately. The
finance function is responsible for understanding and expressing the meaning of these numbers
particularly with regard to decisions on forward-looking issues. In other words, accounting is responsible
for the integrity of the numbers while finance is responsible for understanding what those numbers mean.
Accounting focuses retrospectively while finance focuses prospectively. Despite these important
differences these two functions depend on one another. Making a decision on outsourcing that will fully
benefit the business requires understanding the differences and the interdependencies of these two
activities.
WHY OUTSOURCE?
The circumstances that motivate my client to seriously consider outsourcing its accounting and finance
activities are not unusual. Many middle-market businesses struggle with the same dilemma. These
businesses want to save money. Most middle-market businesses that I’ve come in contact over the years
share a common characteristic, they constantly seek efficiencies – ways to save money. The desire to
save money seems almost universal, the skill to do so is anything but.
Most middle-market businesses, unlike their larger siblings (institutional behemoths) don’t have the deep
pockets, resources, or in-house expertise to devote to accounting and finance transformation.
Outsourcing is only one of several alternatives available to transform accounting and finance.
Unfortunately, however not all transformation is necessarily constructive. Thus my deliberately
highlighting outsourcing as a transformative alternative deserving careful consideration. Evaluating the
scope of accounting and finance outsourcing shouldn’t be limited simply to saving money but should also
consider the business’s future needs.
Superior business performance requires all business activities function cohesively and collaboratively.
Advanced accounting and finance functions are the glue enabling this cohesion. Using this view, the
expectations of the business’s accounting and finance functions change and with that how
transformational changes are evaluated.
Fisher Cut Bait
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ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 3 of 10
At the onset, there’s a gap between the business’s expectations and its needs. For most, saving money,
now, is the overriding motivation. This is obviously pretty reasonable. But cost savings alone is a weak
metric to rely on; to my way of thinking the more appropriate metric is value. Consider this simple
hypothetical example. One approach promises to deliver accounting and finance services for a price that
is half of the business’s current expenditures. When considered in isolation that is pretty compelling.
Another approach promises to provide intelligence, sophistication, and infrastructure that will allow the
business to double its revenues. The price for these “value-added” services however will be 25% more
than company’s current expenditures. Achieving the new revenues using “value-added” services would
ultimately produce savings of approximately $600,000 per year instead of the $400,000 realized through
using labor savings alone. What’s the right choice? The answer, it depends. If the business’s strategic
trajectory is to harvest cash at the expense of growing scale and complexity the alternative promising a
lower cost is probably the preferred choice. If, however, the business is pursuing aggressive growth the
second alternative may be more appropriate. Regardless, upfront planning and analysis is the only way
to ensure that current and future accounting and finance expectations are satisfied. Relying on chance –
skipping the planning – is a certain path to future disappointment.
DIFFERENT FORMS OF OUTSOURCING
Outsourcing is typically understood to mean transferring the responsibility to implement certain business
functions to an outside party. My audience is middle-market companies that are probably preoccupied
with choices that will affect their business’s profitability and sustainable competitive advantage. For this
reason, I want to broaden the definition of outsourcing slightly. My audience typically does not have
limitless resources to devote to any single business issue. These businesses focus on maximizing rewards
and managing risk within the restrictions imposed by limited resources. I do not purport to offer “Best-
Practices1
” rather my focus is relevance and applicability.
Let me offer this slightly revised definition: satisfying business needs, ad hoc or routine, using contracted
resources under outside control. With that as a convenient definition let me summarize the different
forms of outsourcing middle-market business executives can employ for purposes of constructing an
accounting and finance capability that will satisfy their expectations and needs.
Consultants. Consultants, unlike contractors, are used when specialized skills, expertise, or
experience are necessary. Contractors provide skilled labor. The old saying (actually, I may have just
made it up) consultants charge for what they know, contractors charge for what they do.
Consultants can serve two very different roles (amongst many others) by serving as either an objective
adviser or to insert sophisticated or specialized expertise surgically. On the one hand is the relationship
between the business leader and the consultant existing to help the business leader objectively navigate
unfamiliar business choices. Alternatively, the business leader may want the surgical expertise to solve
very specific but complicated problems. For example, a business wanting to improve profitability may
determine that it needs to analyze the profitability of its current customer base. The question posed is
pretty simple: “what is the profitability associated with each customer?” Crafting the analysis may be a
bit more complicated and require a sophisticated understanding that can be translated into a useful
1
I don’t particularly care for the concept of Best-Practices. However, I’ll defer my discussion of that topic for
another time.
Fisher Cut Bait
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ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 4 of 10
analysis. For a middle-market business this is probably not routine, more likely used only occasionally.
Or, perhaps the business needs help understanding it present and future capital needs. Both examples
benefit from sophisticated expertise but not encountered frequently enough to justify a dedicated person.
Using consultants or specialists surgically can save money, produce smarter analysis, and ensure valuable
decision. Blending these two may lead the middle-market business to use a consultant in the role of
CFO, until such time as a full-time person is needed.
Cheaper Labor. It is no revelation that domestic labor costs are significantly higher than in other
countries. There are many providers of outsourcing services (offshoring) that employ lower labor costs
to reduce the cost of providing needed services. Third-parties providing accounting and finance
alternatives rely on lower wages, advanced technology, advanced skills, or some combination. One
popular way to reduce accounting and finance cost is to utilize the labor and skills of individuals residing
in lower waged economies. Offshoring accounting and finance activities typically uses labor from China,
India, or Russia. These countries tend to have access to professionals possessing the requisite skills
because they have good educational infrastructure while also having low wages compared to the U.S. or
Western Europe.
Specialized Labor. Some providers tout the ability to provide staff with more specialized skills and
work processes. While oftentimes these firms may be required to pay workers higher wages, improved
productivity and cost-spreading over multiple end-users produces lower individual buyer costs. What we
call economies of scale. Yet another attractive rationale for outsourcing is the possibility of accessing
more sophisticated skills, procedures, and practices. Accounting and finance are both highly technical.
While it is common for middle-market businesses to exist just fine without these more advanced skills it
is typically done so at great cost. Fortunately, for many businesses they don’t miss what they never had.
So the ability to file defensible tax returns and provide their lenders with periodic financial statements is
sufficient satisfaction for many.
There is a seductive appeal to a third-party’s promise of standardized (and written) accounting
procedures, advanced systems and controls, timely financial reporting abled through the use of
standardized reporting templates, and so on and so on. Realizing these possibilities doesn’t come simply
from turning over accounting and finance responsibilities to a third-party, but rather from advance
planning that clearly defines requirements and expectations. A useful parallel, would you consider
building a house without blueprints? I doubt it.
Technology. Few doubt that technology changes the ways business needs can be satisfied.
Effectiveness and efficiencies can potentially be improved substituting technologies for higher cost labor.
Many third-party providers rely on advancements in technology to eliminate many labor intensive tasks
such as data entry, verification, analysis, and reporting. The proliferation of cloud computing, remote
access, and specialized software systems have made major contributions to reducing labor costs and
improving productivity (“bang for the buck”). The attractiveness of employing specialized technology can
seem irresistible but is complicated due to the sheer volume of alternatives, the expense of set-up,
configuration, data migration, as well as the specialized skills required.
Fisher Cut Bait
OUTSOURCING
ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 5 of 10
I’m sure many readers share my experience of spending countless hours trying to get “time-saving”
technology to work properly2
.
Seeking to satisfy and upgrade a business’s accounting and finance capabilities by adopting more
advanced technology, either via a third-party provider or proprietary in-house, is no simple undertaking.
Some systems are designed to do everything while other systems specialize in satisfying very narrow
requirements. Examples include payroll services, processing accounts payable, employee
reimbursements (like travel expenses), and budgeting.
The promise of the paperless office has arrived (I think I first heard that about 30 years ago) and
accompanying this is the replacement of technology for labor. Computer and information technology,
we’re reminded daily, is revolutionizing the way we work and the way we live. What business would
ignore these advancements and not seek to reap the benefits?
Technology can be adopted by bringing the technology in-house or using a third-party. When deployed
in-house issues such as security, reliability, and disaster recovery are the responsibility of the business. If
new technology is adopted via a third-party provider, then the buyer needs adequate (contractual)
assurances that these capabilities are adequately addressed.
Cloud computing is an exciting and powerful advancement for the deployment of changing software
technologies. However, if your lowest-priced provider of cloud services is operating out of his parent’s
suburban home where his single server is hidden in a closet the reliability you need may not be fully
satisfied. And the Level of Service Agreement you required your provider to execute may not be worth
the paper it’s printed on. The cheap price may have unexpected and costly consequences.
No question technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. And with these advancements the cost to
adopt technology has fallen precipitously. However, adopting technology-based services means accepting
trade-offs. There will be significant expenses to set-up and configure, migrate legacy data and new
procedures for ensure that future data conforms to system requirements. New skills requiring training
and time to advance up the learn-curve are unavoidable.
Another hot issue these days is data security. Accounting and financial data is highly proprietary and
valuable; it deserves careful protections. Who owns “your” data once it’s been transferred to the service
provider? Probably want to make sure this is explicitly addressed in any service agreement. Data is a very
valuable commodity and ought not be exploited by a third-party unknowingly. And if you do agree then
perhaps you should be capturing some of its market value.
Separately, unauthorized access is an obvious and important concern – usually perpetrated by hackers. A
specialized or sophisticated service provider may be better equipped to ensure adequate protections are
in place.
Hybrids. Outsourcing is hardly new. There is tremendous competition among service
providers which has resulted in advancements of the services that are offered. Many service providers
offer approaches that have evolved with time. These days it is not uncommon to encounter service
provider proposals that are a mixture of cheap labor, specialized skills, and technology.
2
For those predisposed towards the overly serious that is what is referred to as sarcastic irony.
Fisher Cut Bait
OUTSOURCING
ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 6 of 10
OUTSOURCING ECONOMICS
The promise of saving significant sums is a compelling reason to consider outsourcing. Accounting and
finance activities are viewed by most as essential business activities but rarely a source of competitive
advantage3
. Thus there is a common logic that the competences of accounting and finance are critical
but not strategically core and thus should be outsourced. That logic is partially sound but not necessarily
universally true. Thus my recurring caution, don’t let common wisdom, sales pitches, or personal bias
produce short-sighted decisions.
The specialized skills and tools necessary to ensure an effective accounting capability are widely available
and readily scalable. Intuitively, it makes perfect sense that a specialty service provider can satisfy the
business’s accounting needs more efficiently than could otherwise be achievable by a business that can
devote substantially less investment dollars.
A competent third-party provider of accounting services can amortize the cost of high skilled staff,
advanced technology, and a business infrastructure focused on quality over many clients whereas the
investment required by the individual business may be prohibitive.
IN-HOUSE COSTS
Direct costs. It is a pretty straight-forward exercise to determine a business’s direct costs to satisfy its
current accounting and finance needs. Compile the fully burdened4
cost of staffing. Estimate the
overhead expenses such as the cost of providing office space, services like telephones, and personal
technology. Added to this are the use of outside consultants or advisers as well as infrastructure costs
such as specialized software systems.
Hidden costs. Hidden costs can be a bit trickier to quantify but hardly impossible. Executives and
managers oftentimes are required to devote significant time trying to get financial reports or analysis.
Oftentimes, frustration with unreliable or dissatisfying work-product leads executives to give-up and hope
for the best; usually after they’ve already devoted tremendous time trying. Identifying these hidden costs
serves two important purposes. Obviously, when quantified, it is a dollar amount that needs to be
incorporated directly into the current cost of satisfying accounting and finance activities. However, when
these inefficiencies or disappointments are explicitly identified they can then be translated into specific
expectations for the future performance of accounting and finance activities. An important source of
satisfaction with a re-engineered accounting and finance resource is the elimination of previous
disappointments.
Opportunity costs. When businesses get bigger and more complicated, decision-making incorporates
more sophisticated information. This need for improved decision-making requires information only
available from a competent accounting and finance infrastructure. Successfully exploiting business
opportunities oftentimes depend on more than a hunch. Accounting and finance are an essential source
3
I want to point out that while most businesses do not believe that accounting and finance can serve to create a
competitive advantage this premise is wrong. There are many examples of businesses that have used these
functions to build very powerful advantages. Just because a firm doesn’t believe, doesn’t mean it isn’t so.
4
The business’s labor costs are not limited to wages paid to employees. The fully burdened costs include
employer paid taxes, benefits, and transactional costs (such as the fee paid to a payroll service).
Fisher Cut Bait
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ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 7 of 10
of business insights that reveal the merits or risks associated with individual business alternatives. The
absence of reliable and relevant financial information can be responsible for undesirable results.
To illustrate this point, consider the middle-market business that has adopted a growth strategy based on
acquiring other businesses. Acquisitions are complicated. Successful acquisitions even more so. A
business pursuing an acquisitive growth strategy requires very different accounting and finance skills than
a business that is focused on harvesting cash flow for its owners. The absence of an adequate accounting
and finance ability may require a business to forego an opportunity that might otherwise contribute to its
profitability. Alternatively, pursuing certain initiatives, with inadequate financial understanding, may end-
up imposing significant costs.
SERVICE PROVIDER PRICING
Routine or recurring costs. Most providers of third-party accounting and finance services will charge
a fixed service fee probably payable monthly. Much like a subscription fee.
Set-up and configuration costs. Transferring the responsibility for accounting and finance activities to
another party is not free. There are real costs associated with understanding what the business needs to
satisfy its routine obligations and provide adequate management reporting. These costs may be reviewing
and tailoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), harmonizing accounting policies (such as when
revenues are recognized) or engineering the content and style of reports. There are real costs incurred
migrating legacy data or training for new procedures. Changing from one approach to another will incur
a cost. That’s a given. What is not necessarily so obvious is how that cost is recovered.
Some providers of outsourcing services are very transparent and show transition costs explicitly. Others
may bury the cost in an “all-inclusive” fixed charge. Whether transparent or opaque, transition costs are
real and need to be clearly understood. Moreover, a less scrupulous service provider may rely on
shortcuts or unrealistic promises in order to provide, what seems at the time, a compelling price.
Unfortunately, this inevitably results in disappointing service and unexpected costs. It’s tempting to think
that a buyer can hold the service provider to its previous promises. Unfortunately, the buyer needs to
remember that it has entrusted it accounting and financial information in their hands and without the
service provider’s cooperation the business may suffer consequences far greater than disputed amounts.
Changes in the Service Provider’s cost structure. Economics initially favoring the use of a third-
party service provider using off-shore labor rates may change. The economic successes in China are
producing rising wages. Similarly, the rates of currency conversions can affect costs. The laws of supply
and demand can’t be ignored. Global economics is hardly stable and should be considered especially
when cost control is paramount and there is a dependency on off-shore labor.
The good service providers also strive to refresh technology-based tools. Understanding how these firms
do so may avail the buyer of possible future cost reductions or impose unexpected costs.
Liaison. Reliable service providers need to ensure that the buyer has ready access to a
specific individual who can resolve problems. Whether this person is exclusively dedicated to a single
buyer or shared by multiple buyers is strictly a matter of scale. Regardless, there is a cost to ensure that
problems will be addressed immediately and effectively. Don’t underestimate this importance. Problems
are a certainty. The responsiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness applied to problem solving is diverse.
Fisher Cut Bait
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TRADE-OFFS
As the saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” As this idiom clearly implies, outsourcing can
offer reduced costs but will include trade-offs. Sometimes, these trade-offs are unacceptable other times
worthwhile. The goal is to ensure that tradeoffs are clear not hidden. In my experience business
executives don’t like surprises. The only way I know to minimize or eliminate surprises is to do your
homework.
Offshore Labor. Seeking the cost savings promised by cheaper labor rates means that current
accounting and finance staff will be eliminated. This means layoffs. Thus the first important trade-off;
reducing costs by reducing head-count. Another trade-off mentioned earlier is the consequence of
operating in different time zones and relying on different languages.
Imagine for a moment that you’re paying your accounts payable clerk $30 per hour. If I come along and
tell you that I can employ someone equally qualified for $1 per hour you’re probably going to immediately
fire your accounts payable clerk and sign-up. The differential in labor costs can be substantial. But before
you run to the bank to cash your cost savings let’s consider some of the trade-offs. Obviously, there is the
inconvenience of the time-zone difference. Your offshore accounting department will likely be home
sleeping while you’re working away at your desk. When you encounter a problem, which you will, you
can no longer walk down the hall to resolve the issue. Instead, you’ll need to call your account
representative, hope their English is good enough to placate your frustrations and wait until your service
provider’s workday begins. Perhaps the inconvenience is well worth the reduction in cost, but to think
that there will be no inconvenience is naive.
Enhanced Technology. Improved technology can promise irresistible benefits such as reduced
costs, improved productivity, and advanced transparency. However, adopting a new technology will
require new skills accessible perhaps through training but more often by replacing existing staff. There
will most certainly be a cost associated with set-up, configuration and data migration; a cost easily ignored
or underestimated. Legacy practices and procedures will need to be re-engineered to conform to the
hard-coding of new technology.
Transferring Skills. Relying on a third-party to satisfy a business’s accounting and financial
needs typically means surrendering skills. Reacquiring this skills, should that be required sometime in the
future, will be expensive and burdensome. Many skills required to competently satisfy accounting and
finance needs are readily available and may not be missed. However, there may be specialized skills such
as pricing, production sourcing, or project costing not so painlessly eliminated. Many third-party service
providers will promise seamless replacements or enhancements but at additional cost and perhaps with
less responsiveness.
Loss of Institutional Memory. Middle-market businesses rely on significant institutional memory. Many
procedures and practices have been refined overtime and often without formal review or careful
documentation. There are usually individuals within the organization that have been around long enough
that they can fill-in-the-blanks. Oftentimes, reckless cost cutting can inadvertently dispense with
individuals that knowingly or unknowingly are the custodians of important legacy memory. Choosing to
outsource accounting and finance activities, when performed recklessly, can unintentionally deprive the
business of its important history.
Fisher Cut Bait
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Layoffs. The decision to transfer accounting and finance functions to a third-party
will necessitate changing skills or eliminating redundant competencies. Either way, staffing will change.
When cost savings are the primary objective terminations need to be anticipated. Layoffs are not free.
There are costs incurred to reduce payroll expenses. Some are obvious costs such as severance and
perhaps outplacement services. Other costs are much less transparent such as costs stemming from the
betrayal and abandonment felt by those remaining. The conventional consensus is that outsourcing plans
should remain secret until implementation. This logic suggests that keeping plans secret avoid pre-mature
employee departures and mitigate against possible acts of sabotage. However, in my experience, while
it is impossible to eliminate all these expenses transparency will ultimately produce a lower cost to
change. Thus careful consideration should be devoted to how and when announcements are made as
well as determining who should be involved in outsourcing initiatives.
Seduction of cost savings. The promise of big dollar savings may seriously blind executives to hidden costs
of outsourcing. The purpose in identifying the trade-offs is to alert executives to the very real and likely
costs that will be incurred but are conveniently overlooked.
If the pivotal criteria for pursuing outsourcing is predicated on the belief that spending less money is the
only meaningful criteria, then my suggestion is to go full speed ahead. A business that is exclusively
preoccupied with spending less money is not going to devote the necessary work into understanding what
their getting into and will end up regretting whatever decision they make. So go for it. You’ll be
disappointed with the results but you’ll be disappointed if you don’t. So you have nothing to lose. When
mediocracy is acceptable it is certainly not for me to guide you otherwise.
If on the other hand you believe that this decision is important, complicated and may have many hidden
benefits or dangers, then read on.
Transitions are not free and are not simple. Switching costs are real and unavoidable when
transferring accounting and finance responsibilities to a third-party. Regardless of the particular
outsourcing model, there are hand-off costs. Transferring control of legacy data from in-house systems
to a third-party service provider is more difficult than it sounds; but not insurmountable. There will be
significant expenses involved. The service provider must fully understand what the buyer expects and the
specific deliverables. Moreover, accounting policies must be reviewed to ensure that the service provider
makes accounting decisions consistent with the business’s modus operandi. These are only a select few
of many start-up issues. Satisfying all of these issues takes work and it takes time. That means there is
expense incurred. The buyer may not want to hear this but D’Nile doesn’t make these costs go away.
What happens is that service providers, having encountered resistance more than once have developed
clever ways to hide these expenses. Perhaps the monthly fee is escalated to ensure a profitable recovery
over time. Some suppliers will reassure the buyer not to worry about it and then, at a later date, submit
a bill for service provided outside the agreed upon scope. Conversely, the most transparent will show the
buyer exactly what the set-up and transition costs will be. On the surface the transparent provider will
almost always appear to be more expensive. In reality they will probably be the most cost effective.
In the event it’s not obvious, I’m not a big fan of bait and switch. While most of us resent bait and switch
you gotta ask the question why do so many still use it. Simple. Because it works and many buyers want
nothing more than to hear what’s going to make them happy. I’ll remind you, if you’re management
approach demands solutions without regard to the underlying importance or complexity then I suggest
Fisher Cut Bait
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ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 10 of 10
you call three service providers and pick the cheapest. Just remember, future remedial expenses are the
deferred premium for short-cuts. Albeit a very expensive convenience premium. Or, in simpler terms,
the disappointment and frustration you will experience was the trade-off you accepted for lack of planning
and careful selection.
SUGGESTIONS
The only way to avoid future disappointment and regret is to do your homework. Thorough planning is
the only means I know to produce an effective accounting and finance function. There are a variety of
tools that can be employed. A software developer maybe very familiar with requirements models while
a real estate developer may be more comfortable using cost-benefit analysis. These are just two examples
of tools that may be in common use elsewhere within the business that can provide the framework for a
disciplined evaluation of re-engineering accounting and finance activities.
Many third-parties providing outsourcing services have extensive tools, templates, and suggestions to
guide the business leader’s evaluation of outsourcing alternatives. Regardless of the methodology or the
tools re-engineering accounting and finance functions deserves and requires serious and devoted effort.
Author
Andrew C. Harvey
Managing Partner
aharvey@fishercutbait.com
(213) 703-6662
About Fisher Cut Bait
Fisher Cut Bait is a Los Angeles based boutique management consulting firm advising middle-market
businesses seeking superior performance.
www.fishercutbait.com
© Andrew C. Harvey 2016

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Accounting and Fiinance Outsourcing

  • 1. Fisher Cut Bait When mediocrity is not an option. Navigating Outsourcing Choices Accounting and Finance Activities For the Middle-Market Currently, I’m advising a client on the rewards and dangers of outsourcing the business’s accounting and finance functions. Middle-market executives know this topic is important and complicated. My job is to help the President navigate the complexities and produce an execution plan capable of satisfying the business’s current and future accounting and finance needs. The execution plan, where the rubber meets the road, may retain these activities in-house, transfer responsibility to a third-party (outsourcing), or use a little of both. My responsibility is to integrate the organization comprehensive needs, in the context of the business’s current and future competitive aspirations. Doing so exposes specific advantages and disadvantages, analyzes financial cost and reward trade-offs, and produces a realistic execution plan. My client’s business is no institutional behemoth; quite to the contrary, currently reporting about $40 million in annual revenues with six different business units. The business employs seven individuals with responsibilities dedicated exclusively to accounting activities. Additionally, the business relies on the services of seven outside consultants. In toto the business is spending about $800,000 per year on accounting – about 2% of revenues. The business is highly profitable and well positioned to grow aggressively; though at the moment, is focused on harvesting cash for the owner.
  • 2. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 2 of 10 My goal for this paper is to offer a brief overview of accounting and finance activity outsourcing that can aid a middle-market business executive’s decision to adopt (or reject) outsourcing to satisfy their expectations for improving financial performance. Sifting through the volumes of opinions, White Papers, Frequently Asked Questions, and other thought- pieces, produced mostly by service providers, it seemed to me, if I believe everything I read, the market is composed of only two types of clients: Institutional Behemoths or small Main Street Businesses. The Main Street Business satisfied with a qualified bookkeeper while the Institutional Behemoth using a very sophisticated mix. Missing however was the Middle-Market business with growing scale and complexity but more constrained resources. These businesses need sophisticated results combined with imagination to tailor approaches to satisfy growing needs but limited budgets. These businesses, the vast majority of the middle-market, are left with little guidance. So I thought I would chronical my experiences and thoughts as I help my client navigate the treacherous sea of outsourcing. Before I delve into the specifics of outsourcing it is useful to differentiate the business roles of accounting and finance. These roles are commonly but incorrectly used interchangeably. The accounting function is responsible for ensuring historical activities are captured, maintained, and reported accurately. The finance function is responsible for understanding and expressing the meaning of these numbers particularly with regard to decisions on forward-looking issues. In other words, accounting is responsible for the integrity of the numbers while finance is responsible for understanding what those numbers mean. Accounting focuses retrospectively while finance focuses prospectively. Despite these important differences these two functions depend on one another. Making a decision on outsourcing that will fully benefit the business requires understanding the differences and the interdependencies of these two activities. WHY OUTSOURCE? The circumstances that motivate my client to seriously consider outsourcing its accounting and finance activities are not unusual. Many middle-market businesses struggle with the same dilemma. These businesses want to save money. Most middle-market businesses that I’ve come in contact over the years share a common characteristic, they constantly seek efficiencies – ways to save money. The desire to save money seems almost universal, the skill to do so is anything but. Most middle-market businesses, unlike their larger siblings (institutional behemoths) don’t have the deep pockets, resources, or in-house expertise to devote to accounting and finance transformation. Outsourcing is only one of several alternatives available to transform accounting and finance. Unfortunately, however not all transformation is necessarily constructive. Thus my deliberately highlighting outsourcing as a transformative alternative deserving careful consideration. Evaluating the scope of accounting and finance outsourcing shouldn’t be limited simply to saving money but should also consider the business’s future needs. Superior business performance requires all business activities function cohesively and collaboratively. Advanced accounting and finance functions are the glue enabling this cohesion. Using this view, the expectations of the business’s accounting and finance functions change and with that how transformational changes are evaluated.
  • 3. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 3 of 10 At the onset, there’s a gap between the business’s expectations and its needs. For most, saving money, now, is the overriding motivation. This is obviously pretty reasonable. But cost savings alone is a weak metric to rely on; to my way of thinking the more appropriate metric is value. Consider this simple hypothetical example. One approach promises to deliver accounting and finance services for a price that is half of the business’s current expenditures. When considered in isolation that is pretty compelling. Another approach promises to provide intelligence, sophistication, and infrastructure that will allow the business to double its revenues. The price for these “value-added” services however will be 25% more than company’s current expenditures. Achieving the new revenues using “value-added” services would ultimately produce savings of approximately $600,000 per year instead of the $400,000 realized through using labor savings alone. What’s the right choice? The answer, it depends. If the business’s strategic trajectory is to harvest cash at the expense of growing scale and complexity the alternative promising a lower cost is probably the preferred choice. If, however, the business is pursuing aggressive growth the second alternative may be more appropriate. Regardless, upfront planning and analysis is the only way to ensure that current and future accounting and finance expectations are satisfied. Relying on chance – skipping the planning – is a certain path to future disappointment. DIFFERENT FORMS OF OUTSOURCING Outsourcing is typically understood to mean transferring the responsibility to implement certain business functions to an outside party. My audience is middle-market companies that are probably preoccupied with choices that will affect their business’s profitability and sustainable competitive advantage. For this reason, I want to broaden the definition of outsourcing slightly. My audience typically does not have limitless resources to devote to any single business issue. These businesses focus on maximizing rewards and managing risk within the restrictions imposed by limited resources. I do not purport to offer “Best- Practices1 ” rather my focus is relevance and applicability. Let me offer this slightly revised definition: satisfying business needs, ad hoc or routine, using contracted resources under outside control. With that as a convenient definition let me summarize the different forms of outsourcing middle-market business executives can employ for purposes of constructing an accounting and finance capability that will satisfy their expectations and needs. Consultants. Consultants, unlike contractors, are used when specialized skills, expertise, or experience are necessary. Contractors provide skilled labor. The old saying (actually, I may have just made it up) consultants charge for what they know, contractors charge for what they do. Consultants can serve two very different roles (amongst many others) by serving as either an objective adviser or to insert sophisticated or specialized expertise surgically. On the one hand is the relationship between the business leader and the consultant existing to help the business leader objectively navigate unfamiliar business choices. Alternatively, the business leader may want the surgical expertise to solve very specific but complicated problems. For example, a business wanting to improve profitability may determine that it needs to analyze the profitability of its current customer base. The question posed is pretty simple: “what is the profitability associated with each customer?” Crafting the analysis may be a bit more complicated and require a sophisticated understanding that can be translated into a useful 1 I don’t particularly care for the concept of Best-Practices. However, I’ll defer my discussion of that topic for another time.
  • 4. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 4 of 10 analysis. For a middle-market business this is probably not routine, more likely used only occasionally. Or, perhaps the business needs help understanding it present and future capital needs. Both examples benefit from sophisticated expertise but not encountered frequently enough to justify a dedicated person. Using consultants or specialists surgically can save money, produce smarter analysis, and ensure valuable decision. Blending these two may lead the middle-market business to use a consultant in the role of CFO, until such time as a full-time person is needed. Cheaper Labor. It is no revelation that domestic labor costs are significantly higher than in other countries. There are many providers of outsourcing services (offshoring) that employ lower labor costs to reduce the cost of providing needed services. Third-parties providing accounting and finance alternatives rely on lower wages, advanced technology, advanced skills, or some combination. One popular way to reduce accounting and finance cost is to utilize the labor and skills of individuals residing in lower waged economies. Offshoring accounting and finance activities typically uses labor from China, India, or Russia. These countries tend to have access to professionals possessing the requisite skills because they have good educational infrastructure while also having low wages compared to the U.S. or Western Europe. Specialized Labor. Some providers tout the ability to provide staff with more specialized skills and work processes. While oftentimes these firms may be required to pay workers higher wages, improved productivity and cost-spreading over multiple end-users produces lower individual buyer costs. What we call economies of scale. Yet another attractive rationale for outsourcing is the possibility of accessing more sophisticated skills, procedures, and practices. Accounting and finance are both highly technical. While it is common for middle-market businesses to exist just fine without these more advanced skills it is typically done so at great cost. Fortunately, for many businesses they don’t miss what they never had. So the ability to file defensible tax returns and provide their lenders with periodic financial statements is sufficient satisfaction for many. There is a seductive appeal to a third-party’s promise of standardized (and written) accounting procedures, advanced systems and controls, timely financial reporting abled through the use of standardized reporting templates, and so on and so on. Realizing these possibilities doesn’t come simply from turning over accounting and finance responsibilities to a third-party, but rather from advance planning that clearly defines requirements and expectations. A useful parallel, would you consider building a house without blueprints? I doubt it. Technology. Few doubt that technology changes the ways business needs can be satisfied. Effectiveness and efficiencies can potentially be improved substituting technologies for higher cost labor. Many third-party providers rely on advancements in technology to eliminate many labor intensive tasks such as data entry, verification, analysis, and reporting. The proliferation of cloud computing, remote access, and specialized software systems have made major contributions to reducing labor costs and improving productivity (“bang for the buck”). The attractiveness of employing specialized technology can seem irresistible but is complicated due to the sheer volume of alternatives, the expense of set-up, configuration, data migration, as well as the specialized skills required.
  • 5. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 5 of 10 I’m sure many readers share my experience of spending countless hours trying to get “time-saving” technology to work properly2 . Seeking to satisfy and upgrade a business’s accounting and finance capabilities by adopting more advanced technology, either via a third-party provider or proprietary in-house, is no simple undertaking. Some systems are designed to do everything while other systems specialize in satisfying very narrow requirements. Examples include payroll services, processing accounts payable, employee reimbursements (like travel expenses), and budgeting. The promise of the paperless office has arrived (I think I first heard that about 30 years ago) and accompanying this is the replacement of technology for labor. Computer and information technology, we’re reminded daily, is revolutionizing the way we work and the way we live. What business would ignore these advancements and not seek to reap the benefits? Technology can be adopted by bringing the technology in-house or using a third-party. When deployed in-house issues such as security, reliability, and disaster recovery are the responsibility of the business. If new technology is adopted via a third-party provider, then the buyer needs adequate (contractual) assurances that these capabilities are adequately addressed. Cloud computing is an exciting and powerful advancement for the deployment of changing software technologies. However, if your lowest-priced provider of cloud services is operating out of his parent’s suburban home where his single server is hidden in a closet the reliability you need may not be fully satisfied. And the Level of Service Agreement you required your provider to execute may not be worth the paper it’s printed on. The cheap price may have unexpected and costly consequences. No question technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. And with these advancements the cost to adopt technology has fallen precipitously. However, adopting technology-based services means accepting trade-offs. There will be significant expenses to set-up and configure, migrate legacy data and new procedures for ensure that future data conforms to system requirements. New skills requiring training and time to advance up the learn-curve are unavoidable. Another hot issue these days is data security. Accounting and financial data is highly proprietary and valuable; it deserves careful protections. Who owns “your” data once it’s been transferred to the service provider? Probably want to make sure this is explicitly addressed in any service agreement. Data is a very valuable commodity and ought not be exploited by a third-party unknowingly. And if you do agree then perhaps you should be capturing some of its market value. Separately, unauthorized access is an obvious and important concern – usually perpetrated by hackers. A specialized or sophisticated service provider may be better equipped to ensure adequate protections are in place. Hybrids. Outsourcing is hardly new. There is tremendous competition among service providers which has resulted in advancements of the services that are offered. Many service providers offer approaches that have evolved with time. These days it is not uncommon to encounter service provider proposals that are a mixture of cheap labor, specialized skills, and technology. 2 For those predisposed towards the overly serious that is what is referred to as sarcastic irony.
  • 6. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 6 of 10 OUTSOURCING ECONOMICS The promise of saving significant sums is a compelling reason to consider outsourcing. Accounting and finance activities are viewed by most as essential business activities but rarely a source of competitive advantage3 . Thus there is a common logic that the competences of accounting and finance are critical but not strategically core and thus should be outsourced. That logic is partially sound but not necessarily universally true. Thus my recurring caution, don’t let common wisdom, sales pitches, or personal bias produce short-sighted decisions. The specialized skills and tools necessary to ensure an effective accounting capability are widely available and readily scalable. Intuitively, it makes perfect sense that a specialty service provider can satisfy the business’s accounting needs more efficiently than could otherwise be achievable by a business that can devote substantially less investment dollars. A competent third-party provider of accounting services can amortize the cost of high skilled staff, advanced technology, and a business infrastructure focused on quality over many clients whereas the investment required by the individual business may be prohibitive. IN-HOUSE COSTS Direct costs. It is a pretty straight-forward exercise to determine a business’s direct costs to satisfy its current accounting and finance needs. Compile the fully burdened4 cost of staffing. Estimate the overhead expenses such as the cost of providing office space, services like telephones, and personal technology. Added to this are the use of outside consultants or advisers as well as infrastructure costs such as specialized software systems. Hidden costs. Hidden costs can be a bit trickier to quantify but hardly impossible. Executives and managers oftentimes are required to devote significant time trying to get financial reports or analysis. Oftentimes, frustration with unreliable or dissatisfying work-product leads executives to give-up and hope for the best; usually after they’ve already devoted tremendous time trying. Identifying these hidden costs serves two important purposes. Obviously, when quantified, it is a dollar amount that needs to be incorporated directly into the current cost of satisfying accounting and finance activities. However, when these inefficiencies or disappointments are explicitly identified they can then be translated into specific expectations for the future performance of accounting and finance activities. An important source of satisfaction with a re-engineered accounting and finance resource is the elimination of previous disappointments. Opportunity costs. When businesses get bigger and more complicated, decision-making incorporates more sophisticated information. This need for improved decision-making requires information only available from a competent accounting and finance infrastructure. Successfully exploiting business opportunities oftentimes depend on more than a hunch. Accounting and finance are an essential source 3 I want to point out that while most businesses do not believe that accounting and finance can serve to create a competitive advantage this premise is wrong. There are many examples of businesses that have used these functions to build very powerful advantages. Just because a firm doesn’t believe, doesn’t mean it isn’t so. 4 The business’s labor costs are not limited to wages paid to employees. The fully burdened costs include employer paid taxes, benefits, and transactional costs (such as the fee paid to a payroll service).
  • 7. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 7 of 10 of business insights that reveal the merits or risks associated with individual business alternatives. The absence of reliable and relevant financial information can be responsible for undesirable results. To illustrate this point, consider the middle-market business that has adopted a growth strategy based on acquiring other businesses. Acquisitions are complicated. Successful acquisitions even more so. A business pursuing an acquisitive growth strategy requires very different accounting and finance skills than a business that is focused on harvesting cash flow for its owners. The absence of an adequate accounting and finance ability may require a business to forego an opportunity that might otherwise contribute to its profitability. Alternatively, pursuing certain initiatives, with inadequate financial understanding, may end- up imposing significant costs. SERVICE PROVIDER PRICING Routine or recurring costs. Most providers of third-party accounting and finance services will charge a fixed service fee probably payable monthly. Much like a subscription fee. Set-up and configuration costs. Transferring the responsibility for accounting and finance activities to another party is not free. There are real costs associated with understanding what the business needs to satisfy its routine obligations and provide adequate management reporting. These costs may be reviewing and tailoring Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), harmonizing accounting policies (such as when revenues are recognized) or engineering the content and style of reports. There are real costs incurred migrating legacy data or training for new procedures. Changing from one approach to another will incur a cost. That’s a given. What is not necessarily so obvious is how that cost is recovered. Some providers of outsourcing services are very transparent and show transition costs explicitly. Others may bury the cost in an “all-inclusive” fixed charge. Whether transparent or opaque, transition costs are real and need to be clearly understood. Moreover, a less scrupulous service provider may rely on shortcuts or unrealistic promises in order to provide, what seems at the time, a compelling price. Unfortunately, this inevitably results in disappointing service and unexpected costs. It’s tempting to think that a buyer can hold the service provider to its previous promises. Unfortunately, the buyer needs to remember that it has entrusted it accounting and financial information in their hands and without the service provider’s cooperation the business may suffer consequences far greater than disputed amounts. Changes in the Service Provider’s cost structure. Economics initially favoring the use of a third- party service provider using off-shore labor rates may change. The economic successes in China are producing rising wages. Similarly, the rates of currency conversions can affect costs. The laws of supply and demand can’t be ignored. Global economics is hardly stable and should be considered especially when cost control is paramount and there is a dependency on off-shore labor. The good service providers also strive to refresh technology-based tools. Understanding how these firms do so may avail the buyer of possible future cost reductions or impose unexpected costs. Liaison. Reliable service providers need to ensure that the buyer has ready access to a specific individual who can resolve problems. Whether this person is exclusively dedicated to a single buyer or shared by multiple buyers is strictly a matter of scale. Regardless, there is a cost to ensure that problems will be addressed immediately and effectively. Don’t underestimate this importance. Problems are a certainty. The responsiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness applied to problem solving is diverse.
  • 8. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 8 of 10 TRADE-OFFS As the saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” As this idiom clearly implies, outsourcing can offer reduced costs but will include trade-offs. Sometimes, these trade-offs are unacceptable other times worthwhile. The goal is to ensure that tradeoffs are clear not hidden. In my experience business executives don’t like surprises. The only way I know to minimize or eliminate surprises is to do your homework. Offshore Labor. Seeking the cost savings promised by cheaper labor rates means that current accounting and finance staff will be eliminated. This means layoffs. Thus the first important trade-off; reducing costs by reducing head-count. Another trade-off mentioned earlier is the consequence of operating in different time zones and relying on different languages. Imagine for a moment that you’re paying your accounts payable clerk $30 per hour. If I come along and tell you that I can employ someone equally qualified for $1 per hour you’re probably going to immediately fire your accounts payable clerk and sign-up. The differential in labor costs can be substantial. But before you run to the bank to cash your cost savings let’s consider some of the trade-offs. Obviously, there is the inconvenience of the time-zone difference. Your offshore accounting department will likely be home sleeping while you’re working away at your desk. When you encounter a problem, which you will, you can no longer walk down the hall to resolve the issue. Instead, you’ll need to call your account representative, hope their English is good enough to placate your frustrations and wait until your service provider’s workday begins. Perhaps the inconvenience is well worth the reduction in cost, but to think that there will be no inconvenience is naive. Enhanced Technology. Improved technology can promise irresistible benefits such as reduced costs, improved productivity, and advanced transparency. However, adopting a new technology will require new skills accessible perhaps through training but more often by replacing existing staff. There will most certainly be a cost associated with set-up, configuration and data migration; a cost easily ignored or underestimated. Legacy practices and procedures will need to be re-engineered to conform to the hard-coding of new technology. Transferring Skills. Relying on a third-party to satisfy a business’s accounting and financial needs typically means surrendering skills. Reacquiring this skills, should that be required sometime in the future, will be expensive and burdensome. Many skills required to competently satisfy accounting and finance needs are readily available and may not be missed. However, there may be specialized skills such as pricing, production sourcing, or project costing not so painlessly eliminated. Many third-party service providers will promise seamless replacements or enhancements but at additional cost and perhaps with less responsiveness. Loss of Institutional Memory. Middle-market businesses rely on significant institutional memory. Many procedures and practices have been refined overtime and often without formal review or careful documentation. There are usually individuals within the organization that have been around long enough that they can fill-in-the-blanks. Oftentimes, reckless cost cutting can inadvertently dispense with individuals that knowingly or unknowingly are the custodians of important legacy memory. Choosing to outsource accounting and finance activities, when performed recklessly, can unintentionally deprive the business of its important history.
  • 9. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 9 of 10 Layoffs. The decision to transfer accounting and finance functions to a third-party will necessitate changing skills or eliminating redundant competencies. Either way, staffing will change. When cost savings are the primary objective terminations need to be anticipated. Layoffs are not free. There are costs incurred to reduce payroll expenses. Some are obvious costs such as severance and perhaps outplacement services. Other costs are much less transparent such as costs stemming from the betrayal and abandonment felt by those remaining. The conventional consensus is that outsourcing plans should remain secret until implementation. This logic suggests that keeping plans secret avoid pre-mature employee departures and mitigate against possible acts of sabotage. However, in my experience, while it is impossible to eliminate all these expenses transparency will ultimately produce a lower cost to change. Thus careful consideration should be devoted to how and when announcements are made as well as determining who should be involved in outsourcing initiatives. Seduction of cost savings. The promise of big dollar savings may seriously blind executives to hidden costs of outsourcing. The purpose in identifying the trade-offs is to alert executives to the very real and likely costs that will be incurred but are conveniently overlooked. If the pivotal criteria for pursuing outsourcing is predicated on the belief that spending less money is the only meaningful criteria, then my suggestion is to go full speed ahead. A business that is exclusively preoccupied with spending less money is not going to devote the necessary work into understanding what their getting into and will end up regretting whatever decision they make. So go for it. You’ll be disappointed with the results but you’ll be disappointed if you don’t. So you have nothing to lose. When mediocracy is acceptable it is certainly not for me to guide you otherwise. If on the other hand you believe that this decision is important, complicated and may have many hidden benefits or dangers, then read on. Transitions are not free and are not simple. Switching costs are real and unavoidable when transferring accounting and finance responsibilities to a third-party. Regardless of the particular outsourcing model, there are hand-off costs. Transferring control of legacy data from in-house systems to a third-party service provider is more difficult than it sounds; but not insurmountable. There will be significant expenses involved. The service provider must fully understand what the buyer expects and the specific deliverables. Moreover, accounting policies must be reviewed to ensure that the service provider makes accounting decisions consistent with the business’s modus operandi. These are only a select few of many start-up issues. Satisfying all of these issues takes work and it takes time. That means there is expense incurred. The buyer may not want to hear this but D’Nile doesn’t make these costs go away. What happens is that service providers, having encountered resistance more than once have developed clever ways to hide these expenses. Perhaps the monthly fee is escalated to ensure a profitable recovery over time. Some suppliers will reassure the buyer not to worry about it and then, at a later date, submit a bill for service provided outside the agreed upon scope. Conversely, the most transparent will show the buyer exactly what the set-up and transition costs will be. On the surface the transparent provider will almost always appear to be more expensive. In reality they will probably be the most cost effective. In the event it’s not obvious, I’m not a big fan of bait and switch. While most of us resent bait and switch you gotta ask the question why do so many still use it. Simple. Because it works and many buyers want nothing more than to hear what’s going to make them happy. I’ll remind you, if you’re management approach demands solutions without regard to the underlying importance or complexity then I suggest
  • 10. Fisher Cut Bait OUTSOURCING ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Page 10 of 10 you call three service providers and pick the cheapest. Just remember, future remedial expenses are the deferred premium for short-cuts. Albeit a very expensive convenience premium. Or, in simpler terms, the disappointment and frustration you will experience was the trade-off you accepted for lack of planning and careful selection. SUGGESTIONS The only way to avoid future disappointment and regret is to do your homework. Thorough planning is the only means I know to produce an effective accounting and finance function. There are a variety of tools that can be employed. A software developer maybe very familiar with requirements models while a real estate developer may be more comfortable using cost-benefit analysis. These are just two examples of tools that may be in common use elsewhere within the business that can provide the framework for a disciplined evaluation of re-engineering accounting and finance activities. Many third-parties providing outsourcing services have extensive tools, templates, and suggestions to guide the business leader’s evaluation of outsourcing alternatives. Regardless of the methodology or the tools re-engineering accounting and finance functions deserves and requires serious and devoted effort. Author Andrew C. Harvey Managing Partner aharvey@fishercutbait.com (213) 703-6662 About Fisher Cut Bait Fisher Cut Bait is a Los Angeles based boutique management consulting firm advising middle-market businesses seeking superior performance. www.fishercutbait.com © Andrew C. Harvey 2016