Technology/SaaS
Xtivia Financial Systems delivers sales performance management solutions to the financial services industry.
“William, Ed and the team have been invaluable in providing input and, more importantly, help when our Controller, Steve, was working on other projects and could not spend the time needed to work on the modelling tool. William indeed had a leg up because of his long history with the company. But, even had he not been with us previously, we still would have engaged The CEO’s Right Hand to provide us outsourced financial advice and work to augment our existing functions and personnel. We rely on their advice and tactical input just as if they were internal employees. Having the ability to tap them as needed has been critical as Xtiva enters the next phase of its evolution.”
Thomas Moysak, CEO
The Client
Xtiva Financial Systems is a leading provider of sales performance management solutions to the financial services industry. Building upon its roster of leading clients including Ameriprise, AXA Financial, LPL Financial and RBC, Xtiva has become a trusted partner to clients throughout North America. The team has deep experience in both sales compensation and financial services, bringing a unique value add to those firms that are looking to grow their top-line revenues and manage the effectiveness of their sales force.
The Challenge
The CEO’s Right Hand was brought in to provide financial modeling and advisory services to the CEO and the management team. TCRH enhanced the company’s existing forecasting/budgeting tool, provided support for the refinancing of an existing bank facility, and is providing input on raising additional capital on an on-going basis.
The Solutions
As an example of one project that TCRH helped manage, Xtiva had a working capital (receivables-backed) credit facility in place with a commercial bank, but wanted to have more flexibility as well as lower costs. TCRH worked with the Company’s Controller to develop a new bank package, spoke to several other lenders to determine which one would be the best fit, and submit all necessary paperwork, helped negotiate final terms to ensure a successful close. The result: the team was able to significantly increase the company’s capital flexibility and lower the total cost of the banking facility, saving more than 3.5% annually on the total facility cost.
Another example of TCRH project was the overhaul of Xtiva’s internal forecasting tool, XPlan. Originally built over 15 years ago, XPlan is a comprehensive view into Xtiva’s revenues, expenses, financial statements, and more. The tool is used by management and finance to understand historical trends and future cash flow requirements so that management and the Board of Directors can make informed investment decisions. Xplan needed several enhancements that TCRH implemented: a) change to the architecture of the model to greatly simplify the monthly updating process, b) addition of an integrated debt facility (revolver) tab to enable proper calculation of credit facility costs and availability, c) addition of a simple dashboard so that results can easily be viewed including when the assumptions to the forecast are changed, and d) an audit log of changes so that all constituents can determine what changes to the assumptions have been made and why. These changes, and more, have helped improve the dependability of the forecasting process and reliance on the numbers for more accurate budgeting.
The Results
The Xtiva engagement is a perfect example of where The CEO’s Right Hand can add tremendous value to a company that is reinventing itself. We are able to provide expertise and advice on areas for which the company does not capacity to handle on its own. By outsourcing the finance function, Xtiva has been able to leverage the knowledge and experience of the entire TCRH team while spending a fraction of what they would otherwise on a full-time finance staff.
