Work

What We've Done

  • Sell-Side Due Diligence:
  • Led successful turnaround and sale of a multi-disciplinary, multi-clinic behavioral health company.  Increased gross margin of most significant line of business by 11% by identifying the root cause of underperformance and working hand-in-hand with the client’s leadership team to resolve.  Renegotiated contract with 3rd party billing company, achieving $250k of annual cost savings and dramatic service improvement.  Worked closely with investment bankers and COO to complete sell-side due diligence.

  • Served as the CFO of a private equity-backed healthcare services organization. Restored investor and lender confidence in reported by identifying and correcting material errors in previously-released financial reports.  Created a framework for analyzing and accurately recording revenue and cost of sales.  Built processes to reduce credit risk and improve cash flow.
  • Operations Expansion:
  •  Transformed financial operations of a rapidly-growing managed IT services company.  Reorganized finance and office services / HR teams to ensure greater responsiveness and allow for employee growth and development.  Led reengineering of all financial processes and reduced month-end close cycle by more than 50%.  Transitioned cash basis financials from a series of stand-alone spreadsheets to GAAP basis statements derived directly from the accounting system.  Drove evaluation and selection of cloud-based ERP system.

  • Significantly reduced time required to complete and deliver financial reports to senior management of a $110M food manufacturer that had recently been acquired by a private equity firm. Established integrated process for evaluating, controlling, and accounting for maintenance parts and expiry raw material, WIP, and finished goods inventories.  Drove profitability analysis and pricing strategy to improve operating margins and alignment with strategic objectives.  Recommended restructuring finance team to increase accountability and improve financial results.

  • Led the implementation of a cloud-based ERP with feeds to Salesforce and proprietary database for a global B2B music licensing company. Successfully negotiated with vendor to receive $30k discount and extended payment terms for client.
     
  • Financial Leadership:
  •  Turned around a national event production company and led financial restructuring into two unrelated entities. Restored lender confidence by developing and managing against a rolling 26-week cash forecast.  Reduced close cycle by 80% and payroll costs by 45% by eliminating non-value added tasks, realigning roles and responsibilities, and streamlining workflows.

  • Markedly improved the accounting operations and financial reporting of a fast-growing consumer packaged goods company. Identified cause of excessive customer charge-backs and led team in deploying technology-based solution to avoid future chargebacks, resulting in $50k annual savings.  Recruited and hired permanent Controller.

What Others Think of Us

“Kim is awesome. She helped us get through a very rough patch with straight-forward advice and business acumen. Very detail and facts oriented. She helped us see potential where we hadn’t and further streamline our processes to eliminate duplicity. I’d recommend her to anyone.”
MICHAEL MURPHY, OWNER, EVENT 360, INC.
“Our company was unable to produce reliable, timely monthly reports to our Board of Directors and our lenders; this was driving down confidence in the management team and threatened our liquidity position. Kim uncovered major improvement opportunities in our accounting procedures and policies, as well as training opportunities for our staff. Month by month, Kim improved the confidence we had in our reported results and greatly reduced the time it took to complete these. Kim laid the groundwork for our new, permanent CFO to hit the ground running and provided a roadmap for success. She also provided vital insights into our people that have allowed us to make impactful changes in personnel and training. Most importantly, Kim helped restore the confidence of our investors and lenders.”
CONFIDENTIAL PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTOR WITH 20+ YEARS
“When our business grew to a $50 million corporation we felt compelled to review and improve, where needed, our financial controls. We trusted our financial staff but realized if we ever needed access to outside funding or capital we would be scrutinized on our financial processes and wanted to prepare for that event. Knowing Kim Marren for the last 25 years I was aware of her capabilities and contracted with her to assess and work with our team. Kim’s ability to quickly and seamlessly integrate into the client’s team and analyze a process or the situation to determine flaws or identify areas for improvement is superb. The key is Kim does this in a positive manner so your team buys into the change without feeling threatened by the recommended improvements. That is a hard skill to come by and Kim does it better than anyone I have seen.”
MARC MALIZIA, OWNER AND CTO, RKON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
“My healthcare company was in financial trouble. Kim Marren was referred to me by an advisor and came very highly recommended. When she began working with us we were plagued by billing issues, poor financial reporting, and no profitability. Step by step, Kim turned over each and every stone as she uncovered issues and helped to resolve them. By year one, the company was already performing profitably, and even attracted several potential buyers. Kim was instrumental in providing due diligence information and representing the company as a true professional and with all the answers at hand. Just prior to signing, COVID-19 hit. After losing an initial fifty percent in revenue, each month saw steady gains, and the company continued to strengthen as she pushed the management team to reach ever higher goals. Within five months we surpassed our pre-COVID performance. In fact, the gains in revenue and profitability continued to soar such that a deal became ever more attractive to buyers and we were able to transact in November of 2020. Kim kept her promise to ensure a smooth transition — always remaining loyal, professional, and committed until the last day.”
DAVID MICHAEL, MD, OWNER, NORTH SHORE PEDIATRIC THERAPY
"Due to mismanagement, our branch-based business required significant restructuring. Kim was instrumental in evaluating and improving our back office. She quickly and diligently visited every branch, uncovered key issues and identified significant opportunities to operate more effectively across the finance and HR functions. Her insights and roadmap were effective and clear to understand, and we’re leveraging them to make structural improvements to our people, processes and systems. She is extremely professional, thorough and a delight to work with. I’d recommend her to anyone."
CHIRAG SHAH, VICE PRESIDENT, SUNNY RIVER MANAGEMENT, LLC
“Kim is a trusted go-to source for Accounting, Finance, and Governance. I was lost when my CFO decided to forge a new adventure until we hired Kim as Interim CFO. She is a tenured, expert that rolled up her sleeves to assist in the development of KPIs, governance of spend, and minimizing financial risk. Kim implemented best practices and financial recommendations that set us up for success. Not to mention, she was able to build relationships with leaders/staff to assist me to articulate the vision of our future state. Zenith was lucky to find you and will certainly use your services in the future.”
KIM FIORI, CEO, ZENITH AMERICAN SOLUTIONS, INC.
Previous
Next