Restoring Financial Integrity in a High-Growth Data Center Organization

Business Challenges

• A change in senior accounting leadership created an opportunity to reassess financial controls, revenue recognition processes, and documentation standards across a rapidly expanding organization.
• Multiple incomplete system implementations — NetSuite, Coupa, and Procore — created data integrity issues that prevented reliable reporting and left the team dependent on external support.
• An understaffed finance function was stretched by rapid national and international growth, with personnel managing multiple responsibilities and the team at risk of further attrition without process improvements.

Key Outcomes

• Established standardized revenue recognition processes and a construction-revenue model aligned with operational realities, providing external auditors with clear, documented governance over a critical control area.
• Reduced close cycle time and improved operational transparency through Floqast deployment, formalized checklists, and monthly finance-operations meetings that aligned reporting with business activity.
• Stabilized the finance function by eliminating critical personnel gaps through structured hiring and onboarding, reducing workload pressure and creating a sustainable operating model.

Project Overview

A rapidly scaling data center operator faced a critical inflection point. Explosive growth across national construction projects and international operations had outpaced its financial infrastructure. When senior accounting leadership transitioned, it surfaced the need for immediate stabilization: a senior-level interim finance leader who could strengthen controls, modernize broken processes, and rebuild the team for sustainable growth.

Business Challenge

The company’s rapid expansion created gaps in financial governance. A failed NetSuite implementation, combined with incomplete integrations across Coupa and Procore, left data integrity compromised and reliable reporting difficult. The finance team needed to strengthen controls around revenue recognition, particularly important for a construction-focused business, and establish clear, documented processes that would satisfy both internal stakeholders and external auditors.

The accounting team itself was stretched thin. Personnel were managing multiple roles simultaneously, and the organization risked losing institutional knowledge without process improvements and additional staffing. Balance sheet reconciliations had fallen behind schedule. Revenue recognition lacked a formalized model tied to operations. These governance gaps needed to be addressed to support the company’s continued growth under investor and auditor scrutiny.

The Approach

We deployed a senior interim controller embedded on-site, providing hands-on operational leadership while building sustainable processes. The engagement focused on three parallel workstreams:

Planning & System Stabilization

A diagnostic assessment of systems, processes, and staffing identified the root causes of data integrity issues. NetSuite implementation challenges were addressed through a structured remediation plan. IT systems flow documentation mapped data movement and identified integration gaps across NetSuite, Coupa, and Procore. Rather than remaining dependent on external consultants, the team built internal system capability, developing power users within the accounting function who could own system health independently.

Process & Close Discipline

Close checklists were refined and Floqast was deployed to formalize the close process, providing visibility into task ownership and workflow status. For revenue recognition, a key control area, an Excel-based model was developed in collaboration with operations and finance teams. Monthly meetings between the two functions validated results and adapted the approach to operational realities, ensuring revenue recognition remained anchored to operational truth.

Personnel & Capability Building

A structured hiring plan addressed critical staffing gaps, with involvement in the interview process to ensure candidates fit both technical requirements and collaborative culture. Balance sheet reconciliations were transformed into core monthly responsibilities with defined ownership. These changes reduced workload pressure and stabilized the team for sustainable growth.

The Results

• Established clear revenue recognition governance by implementing formalized procedures and a construction revenue model aligned with operations, providing external auditors with documented control over this critical area.
• Achieved timely financial reporting and balance sheet accuracy through Floqast deployment and structured reconciliation schedules, eliminating backlog and establishing reliable monthly close discipline.
• Improved operational decision-making by establishing monthly finance-operations meetings where financial results and revenue models were reviewed collaboratively, enabling faster identification of issues and data-driven business decisions.
• Stabilized the accounting function by filling critical personnel gaps, reducing workload pressure through process efficiency, and positioning the company for continued growth with a sustainable team structure.
• Built internal system capability by developing power users within the accounting team and establishing formalized close processes the team could own and maintain independently, eliminating dependency on external consultants.
• Transformed close discipline through formalized workflows, clear task ownership, and visible status tracking — shortening cycle time and reducing errors.