Challenge
A $50 million manufacturing company suddenly faced full-blown operational collapse after a merger. Key staff had resigned during the corporate restructure, customers stopped paying because goods-received notes were missing, and suppliers halted deliveries for lack of payment on invoices.

The CEO knew the books were a mess but couldn’t pinpoint the root cause amid departments blaming one another. Stakeholder pressure was mounting and credit lines were under threat.

Solution
Instead of hiring a full-time director, Empower Capital proposed an hourly-billed, straight outsourcing engagement.

Craig – one of our specialist outsourced CFOs, was deployed into the client’s finance department within days. His first steps were to stabilize the team, surface the core issues, and implement critical processes. His mandate was to oversee completion of the previous two years’ audit to restore compliance and ensure sustainability. Empower Capital also deployed additional professionals to support the effort and plug the gaps created by the wave of resignations.

• Team consolidation: Craig immediately pulled the team together to stem the tide of resignations and to implement appropriate processes.
• Deep-dive audit: Craig oversaw the team to consolidate fragmented records to clean up supplier and customer accounting records.
• Process overhaul: He identified weak reconciliation controls and patched cashflow leaks caused by delayed customer payments.
• Stakeholder alignment: Craig held daily briefings with the CEO, finance team and operations heads to rebuild trust and ensure visibility, whilst creating a bridge between staff and management.

Outcome
Within months, Craig recovered $5 million in unpaid customer funds and preserved the relationship with key clients. Supplier relationships were restored as payments began arriving on time. The CEO gained full transparency into previously hidden discrepancies, avoided crippling losses, and accessed $5 million in funding – thereby preserving the company’s credit lines and sustainability.

• Financial health restored: Cash flow was stabilized, preserving solvency and allowing operations to continue without disruption.
• Financial operations stabilized: the books were cleaned, the audit was closed out, and the finance team’s turnover dropped.
• Leadership confidence renewed: The CEO rebuilt trust with both global head office and internal teams.

Craig’s success opened doors for further engagements—both in embedding full finance teams and as a “foot in the door” for longer-term transformation and Corporate Finance projects.

This case underscores how targeted, on-demand expertise can rapidly diagnose and resolve complex financial breakdowns—turning a collapsing function into a reliable source of strategic insight.