The financial challenges that businesses face can be difficult to overcome without the right person at the helm. A fractional CFO or similarly-qualified financial consultant may deliver the results and value to help your organization succeed. Maybe a full-time financial leader does not make sense for your business or you need support while searching for the right individual. In any case, a fractional CFO or similarly qualified financial consultant may deliver the results and value required to help your organization succeed in a fiscally-healthy, responsible, and sustainable way.

What a Fractional CFO Does for Your Business

While a highly organized person may be able to step into an operational leadership position or a persistent and detail-oriented person can excel in marketing and sales, financial leadership is a unique skill set.

Optimizing cash flow, maximizing growth and profitability, and ensuring the financial stability of an organization are just some of the essential services a fractional CFO can provide. However, a full-time CFO can be tough to justify in terms of cost or it may be difficult to find the right individual to not only make the best financial decisions for your company but also has deep knowledge of and experience in your particular industry.

Whatever the reason a full-time CFO may not make sense for you at this point, Encompass has consultants to provide the experience and expertise you need at a fraction of the cost of an in-house CFO.

Specialty Financial Consulting Services

As a provider of financial leadership consulting, Encompass consultants can strategic expertise to help you better understand and outline your financial goals, ensure your business stays on course to achieve those goals, and excel in a competitive industry.

Partnering with Encompass ensures your business will have a qualified representative leading your financial department to satisfy the most essential functions of a financial department. These services include but are not limited to:

  • Financial Strategy, Planning, and Management
  • Financial Analysis, Planning, and Forecasting
  • Financial Regulation and Compliance
  • Accounting, General Ledger, Administration, and Operations
  • Financial Management > Financial Relations and Policies
  • Cash Management – Cash Flow Analysis/Financial Position Analysis
  • Automation and Process Improvement
  • Financial Technology and Solution Evaluation
  • Financial Strategy Alignment in preparation for, as part of, or following ERP implementation
  • Report Development beyond the initial Balance Sheet and Income Statement created in XLConnect
  • Booking Journal Entries as needed to record Reconciliation differences or reclassifications
  • Financial Statement preparation and review
  • Discussions regarding General Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP)
  • Month and Year End processes
  • Clean up old and new accounting issues
  • Account reconciliations and analysis

A modern business requires modern tools to maintain a competitive edge. An ERP solution or other business management system will empower your business to address the needs of financial strategy and stability. Our financial professionals work within these systems daily to ensure our client’s financial goals are aligned with their internal processes, and regulations, satisfy the financial compliance requirements of all jurisdictions in which they conduct business, and are liable for financial reporting and payments to which they are subject.

Partner with an Encompass Fractional CFO or Financial Consultant

If you are ready to have a conversation about the financial leadership needs of your business, we’re standing by to help.

Contact us today to learn how Encompass can help position your financial activities and policies on the path to success.

You can download the financial services summary in a sharable format (PDF) below.

Fractional CFO Services

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


To compete, manufacturers in regulated industries need to be agile and innovate at a high velocity. Epicor® ERP is a leading manufacturing platform for life science manufacturers as it offers the product traceability, system controls, and more needed to respond to your growing business while allowing you to meet regulatory challenges. The availability of critical business systems in the cloud improves your ability to compete. Cloud enables both business agility and the increased speed at which technology is delivered to better meet business needs for innovation. Additionally, the Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for Life Sciences offers a cloud solution designed to reduce the risk of compliance with support for the software validation needs of FDA-regulated businesses.

Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle Benefits

As a Life Sciences Manufacturer, take advantage of the benefits of the cloud with reduced risk of compliance:

  • Stay current in the cloud with an annual upgrade cadence for extended validation testing and documentation.
  • Ensure your business is ready for every upgrade by leveraging customer-proven best practices that minimize disruption.
  • Meet demands for high growth with flexible cloud solutions, easily scalable and adaptive to current and future business needs.
  • Drive strategic business outcomes with an Epicor ERP Cloud system to better align with your organizational goals.

FDA 21 CFR Part 11 Compliance Requires Validation of Software

Companies must validate that the software and systems used to create and maintain electronic records and signatures can ensure the integrity of the electronic results and information. This is done through software validation. The guidance offered by the FDA for software validation is in terms of installation qualification (IQ), operational qualification (OQ), and performance qualification (PQ). The Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for Life Sciences supports IQ documentation on your Epicor cloud solution to supplement IQ documentation for internal systems within your validation plan.

Validation Documentation Available with the Bundle

The Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for Life Sciences supports IQ documentation on your Epicor cloud solution to supplement IQ documentation for internal systems within your validation plan.

Note: You are responsible for IQ validation documentation and testing of any installed software and devices at their location. Also, as you are responsible for your validation state, Epicor makes our documentation available for review. The following reports are available:

  • Epicor ERP IQ Software Validation Plan (VP): VP-01
  • Epicor ERP IQ Software User Requirements Specification (URS): URS-02
  • Epicor ERP IQ Software Risk Management Plan (RMP): RMP-03
  • Risk Assessment / Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA): FMEA-04
  • Epicor ERP IQ Software Risk Management Report (RMR): RMR-05
  • Epicor ERP IQ Software Functional Requirements (FR): FR-06
  • Epicor ERP Installation Qualification (IQ) Software Validation: IQ-07
  • Epicor ERP IQ Software Validation Summary Report (VSR): VSR-08
  • Epicor Managed Hosting SOC 1 Type II Report
  • Epicor Cloud ERP SOC 2 Type II Report
  • Epicor SOC 2 Bridge Letter

Cloud Elements of the Bundle

The solution is a bundled offering that comprises the following cloud elements:

  • Epicor ERP Public Cloud U.S. Government Option
  • Epicor Public Cloud Validation Environment with Public Cloud Premium for your dedicated validation testing
  • IQ documentation and audit inquiry support in the event of customer or FDA audit
  • Extended validation cloud cadence of one year to provide additional time for validation documentation and testing

Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for life science and medical device manufacturing environments

Figure 1: Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for Life Sciences. Note the solution is available in Azure Government Cloud and that additional environments are available but must be enhanced with a corresponding Premium Pilot Extension to match your solution set.

Cloud Upgrade Cadence for the Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for Life Sciences

Supporting the needs of the life sciences business with a software upgrade cadence that delivers time for added testing is built into the solution. Users will have stages for planning, validation testing, reporting of issues that impact validation, and regression test time for their validated processes. They will also need to test their non-validation processes such as financial transactions. Below is a diagram that outlines a sample cadence for the solution. In addition to a one-year cadence for major releases, the solution will offer a quarterly update that is made available in the pilot environment the month before making it available in the live environment.

Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for life science and medical device manufacturing upgrades

Get Started With Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle

Business leaders balance the pace of business innovation, fluctuating demand, and regulatory compliance requirements when deploying new technology. Reducing the risk of change in these environments provides greater business resiliency with the added benefit that the cloud delivers, including the ability to stay current with technology to drive greater results. Epicor uniquely understands the needs of a life sciences manufacturer with cloud-based ERP. You need the flexibility and control to run your business your way while benefiting from the cloud technologies and business models that fit.

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


To compete, manufacturers in regulated industries need to be agile and innovate at a high velocity. Epicor® ERP is a leading manufacturing platform for life science manufacturers as it offers the product traceability, system controls, and more needed to respond to your growing business while allowing you to meet regulatory challenges. The availability of critical business systems in the cloud improves your ability to compete. Cloud enables both business agility and the increased speed at which technology is delivered to better meet business needs for innovation. Additionally, the Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for Life Sciences offers a cloud solution designed to reduce the risk of compliance with support for the software validation needs of FDA-regulated businesses.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


This month, Encompass joined the ranks of Avalara Certified Implementation Partners. We have been implementing Avalara’s automated tax compliance software and Epicor ERP for years. It was only recently that we made things official.

A big congratulations to our own Leslie Kendall for completing the certification program and earning us a place of distinction among the Avalara and Epicor partner communities. We want to thank Avalara as well for a partnership that continues to grow and develop alongside our respective organizations. We look forward to many more years of empowering manufacturers with business management solutions.

Avalara Certified Implementation Partners

Encompass Solutions achieved Partner status by completing Avalara Solutions certification training for implementation components.

As a Certified Implementation Partner, Encompass is provided the highest level of support for their Encompass-implemented clients. This includes direct access to senior technical resources.

Encompass also enhances the implementation experience through the use of unique project management templates, Avalara implementation best practices, and access to internal tools to address the needs of data migration, tax code mapping, and more.

Customer Benefits

The benefits of being listed among Avalara Certified Implementation are not reserved for Encompass or Avalara exclusively. Customers relying on us for Avalara-related projects enjoy many benefits of the partnership, including:

Confidence – Avalara Certified Implementation Partners pass rigorous training and have access to tools and priority support, so you can be confident when you go live on your automated tax compliance solution.

Customer Experience- Clients benefit from a single point of contact, an expert in their ERP or accounting system, familiar with tier business challenges, and focused on their business success.

Time to Value – ​Implementing a tax compliance solution can be time-consuming and risky. Avalara Certified Implementation Partners are trained to accelerate your time to value while minimizing your firm’s time commitment.

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


Proactivity is vital to improving quality management. With real-time visibility into quality and compliance—at every step and across all stakeholders—an organization tips the scales from reactive to proactive. Epicor Advanced Quality Management (AQM) acts as your intelligence gateway into global performance—delivering the objective, truthful information you need on all things quality.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


Dexter Magnetic Technologies offers superior magnetic solutions for products ranging from aerospace radar systems to nuclear magnetic-resonance imaging machines, hearing aids, and pacemakers. The company’s philosophy of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction has earned it a solid reputation as the original architect of magnetic technology.

Founded in 1951 as Permag Corporation, Dexter has grown to be a full-service manufacturer and designer of complex magnetic assemblies for a global customer base, including the U.S. Department of Defense, medical device companies, and others that require exacting documentation and certification of parts and finished products to comply with regulatory requirements such as ITAR.

Challenges

  • Improve on-time delivery by reducing lengthy quality control document search and-retrieval times and refining manufacturing execution.

Solution

  • Epicor® ERP functions:
    • Finite Scheduling
    • Available-to-Promise
  • Epicor® ECM (DocStar®)
  • Epicor® Data Analytics (EDA)
  • Epicor® Quick Ship

Benefits

  • Achieved company-wide goal of improvements in on-time delivery with an investment of less than $50,000.
  • Reduced time needed to search and retrieve all necessary documentation for packing and shipping from 10,000 employee hours to less than 3,000 annually.
  • Leveraged Epicor ERP functionality for improved business intelligence and more efficient planning and scheduling.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


Imagine what you could do with instant, accurate machine data and process information directly from the machine. Even depth and dimension are within reach with the help of a manufacturing execution system (MES). Medical parts, supply, and equipment manufacturers use MES for real-time production monitoring and analysis to improve throughput, boost quality, and reduce scrap. You can achieve more capacity with the same machines and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)—working more efficiently and profitably. This white paper highlights four ways to boost your performance with the right manufacturing execution system.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


As an automotive parts or components manufacturer, you may be both encouraged and challenged by a growing number of trends in the automotive marketplace. From disruptive trends in product developments—such as electric vehicles, advanced assistance and safety capabilities, and driverless vehicles—to trade tariff increases, regulation changes, and higher interest rates, it’s apparent that change is in the air.

Production trends show that the manufacturing of most motor vehicles is on the rise—at least for SUVs, crossovers, pick-up trucks, and commercial trucks. Conversely, production is down for cars and medium-duty trucks. Ford surprised some when it announced scaling back significantly on its car offerings, continuing production on only two car models to focus more attention on its SUVs, crossovers, trucks, and commercial vehicles.

How these trends will shape the future of the automotive industry and the manufacturers that supply them remains to be seen. As an industry insider, you know that multiple factors can add up to affect the automotive industry in complex ways. New trends and the risks, opportunities, and challenges associated with them were examined recently during a presentation hosted by Today’s Motor Vehicles1 and sponsored by Epicor® Software. Read on for an overview of what’s shaping today’s auto vehicle industry.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


The Food and Drug Administration’s Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 Part 11 (FDA 21 CFR Part 11) helps streamline compliance with a wide range of FDA regulations by supporting FDA-regulated industries in their efforts to submit necessary documentation in an electronic format. In particular, 21 CFR Part 11 provides regulations that enable manufacturers to use electronic records and signatures in a manner equivalent to paper-based records and handwritten signatures.

This regulation specifies that to use electronic records and signatures, companies must meet four conditions. They must validate the software and systems used to create and maintain electronic records, provide secure access to those records to maintain confidentiality and data integrity, hold individuals accountable for their electronic acts about electronic documents, and ensure that electronic signatures cannot be repudiated. However, the FDA does not specify how companies must address these requirements—rather it provides a set of guidelines based on common sense and good workflow processes.

This whitepaper describes the requirements for FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliance at a high level and discusses how Epicor enables FDA-regulated manufacturers to fulfill these demands. Because Epicor builds the necessary capabilities into its products, implementation is fast, easy, and comprehensive.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


American manufacturers need to stay current if they wish to remain successful. Positioning yourself for growth means looking to the future and gaining efficiencies through new technologies. That’s why this question may be the most important one for your business— are you a future-ready manufacturer?

Before you can adequately answer that question, you and the members of your organization need to know the answers to these three questions.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.