To Whom it may concern,
When I was first approached by Cogent Analytics to do a business analysis, I was initially skeptical as I had used another consulting firm in the past several years with mixed results. The previous firm was very thorough and detailed but had provided way too much material way too fast to be absorbed and implemented fully. I was skeptical but I was also interested in having a different set of eyes see what they could find. After expressing my concerns and fears about “drinking from a firehose” again, we agreed that a slower and more measured plan could be implemented that would allow time for us to implement any needed changes but also allow everyone to keep up with their day-to-day duties.
One of the first items that was implemented was a Cash Management System that allowed us to better manage A/Rand A/P. We are now proactive instead of reactive and have actually reduced the amount of late payments considerably. Along with the CMS, Cogent recommended and we have implemented a reorganization of our Chart of Accounts. This reduced the number of accounts by more that fifty percent and gave us a clearer picture of our expenses.
Being a small company, everyone wears a lot of hats here and the lines of responsibility had become blurred. Cogent helped us establish a company organization chart to clearly show the chain of command and also created primary job descriptions for everybody along with performance review guidelines to let all employees know what was expected and how they would be graded at review time. These metrics along with many other Key Performance Indicators will allow us to manage by the numbers instead of going with a gut feeling like we have done in the past.
One last change that was implemented was the hiring of a General Manager. After many hours of talking and working with my Project Manager Matt about the entirety of the business, we came to the conclusion that hiring a GM to run the company would free me up to do what I do best which is working in the fine details of the business.
Overall, I am very happy that I decided to have Cogent Analytics become a partner in improving and making my company more successful and look forward to maintaining that relationship with Cogent’s Lifecycle Management Program in the future to maintain the progress we have made and achieve our long term goals.
Michael Jewell
President
