Project Management Solutions
The challenge
One of the nation’s largestsource of funds for mortgage lenders was in the midst of a significantrestatement of its financials from 2001-2004 and Sarbanes-Oxleycompliance. The Company had to undertakean extraordinary effort to simultaneously manage both efforts.
New senior management, a newexternal auditor, other governmental regulatory compliance initiatives, a broadscope and a narrow timeframe all contributed to a very intense effort for thebusiness.
The solution
The Company hired a numberof professional services firms to assist with this effort including RSMMcGladrey’s CFO Advisory Services Group. The Group served as the projectmanagement team for SOX 404 compliance which included:
- Managing the day to dayactivities associated with the SOX project and coordinating activities amongbusiness units, other external contractors, and the external auditor.
- Assisting with thedevelopment and execution of the SOX 404 roadmap.
- Managing project communicationsboth internally and with the external auditor.
- Developing a documentrepository solution and managing the initial setup, training, and maintenanceof the system.
- Assisting with the processby which SOX deficiencies were identified, ranked, and themed into reportabledeficiency categories.
- Leading the effort to definethe requirements of a long-term SOX application and implementing a SOX tool tobe utilized across the organization.
The results
With the assistance of theRSM McGladrey team on the project management of the SOX initiative, The Companyhas successfully:
- Documented all relevantbusiness processes, controls, and IT Inventories required for SOX 404compliance.
- Completed three rounds ofmanagement testing.
- Supported processwalkthroughs and testing by external auditor.
- Assessed, analyzed, andcategorized all SOX related deficiencies.
- Established a SOXorganization with representation throughout the business.
