Background
Robyn and Tim had used a couple of accounting and finance solutions for their start-up but always struggled to see and understand the numbers. They didn't feel the reports truly represented the real performance of the business.
The streaming business model is a bit more complex, the accounting has to be adapted to reflect real performance. Sharpen's founders had questions about how to account for the content they created. It had been expensed previously, but margins were fluctuating too much, and they weren't wrong.
What Cypher Did
Cypher rebuilt the accounting so the financials would finally mirror how the business actually performs.
- ✓Changed the accounting method for content creation to a linear recognition of the expense in the P&L, treating content as an asset on the Balance Sheet and amortizing it over its useful life.
- ✓Reviewed Sharpen's revenue streams and re-strategized the chart of accounts to reflect them, and their associated costs, appropriately, surfacing the right margins each month.
- ✓Cleaned up old balances that had been carried forward on the Balance Sheet and were no longer relevant, fixing inaccurate beginning balances.
- ✓Implemented a new financial tech stack and tech-driven processes to keep everything running smoothly.
The Result
With Cypher on their team, Robyn and Tim could zoom out and focus on what moves the needle.
- ✓The founders could see the big picture and focus on financing, growing the team, and growth strategies.
- ✓They spent far less energy and time organizing and putting together the numbers.
- ✓They understood their financial reports and prepared outstanding investor reports on a quarterly basis.
- ✓Conversations with investors and the team were smoother and clearly supported the Sharpen vision.
- ✓A solid financial foundation is now in place to strategize the next moves with strategic projections.