Case study details

 

Client: A global manufacturer and distributor, with over 60% market share in its sector

Sector: Telecommunications

Requirement: Outsourced Finance Functions

Region: 30+ countries in North America, Asia, EMEA, and South America

Lead Partners: Art Yonowitz, Partner at RSM in the US

 

Choosing RSM

The client is in over 30 countries across North America, Latin America, Europe, MENA and Asia Pacific. However, not all of the countries have large offices, or are large enough to require a full-time finance team.

Therefore, the challenge was how to deliver essential finance functions competently, as well as cost-effectively. As Art Yonowitz explains “The client did not want to work with numerous suppliers in different countries as this approach would be disjointed, and they wouldn’t get the service they needed. This is why they packed-up all the services into one engagement and came to RSM in the US and the RSM network.”

The core services performed for the client over the last ten years are wide- ranging. They include month-end close, bookkeeping, payroll, expense reimbursement for employees, converting management accounts to US financials, updating the client’s ERP system, local income tax and VAT. In some countries RSM firms also perform statutory audit.

A complex global contract

The services provided by RSM are essential as they enable the client to manage its day-to-day business effectively. However, they are not always straightforward to coordinate or to deliver.

Creating a robust and durable process

Underpinning the entire engagement are detailed processes that were developed by the central team and by the Process Improvement Team at RSM in the US. These continue to be developed and perfected as the client’s business evolves and develops.

To keep things running smoothly, RSM partners from all the key countries attend monthly conference calls to discuss issues, developments and opportunities. Bringing this collective expertise together has considerable benefits for the client, as a recent problem demonstrates: “When the client changed the country they used for importing to Europe, they inadvertently created a VAT problem that we were quickly able to deal with.” Art said.

The value of the RSM network is not only in it providing key services, it is also adding considerable value helping the client overcome the issues and challenges that come with success.