Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the "financial back office"?
A. Financial back office includes the essential support functions
such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, procurement
(purchasing), and treasury management.
Q. Does The Hardstone Group provide staff augmentation?
A. We believe that a consulting firm should be held responsible for
delivering results and not just billed hours. As such, we prefer to
assist clients in a team format. If the task requires a team of one,
that is fine, as long as accountability for results is clearly
understood.
Q. What size companies does The Hardstone Group work
with?
A. We work primarily with small to medium size businesses because we
feel that we can provide world class service to these organizations
for a fee that is in line with their overall costs. Since
there is little agreement on what "small-to-medium" means - we
roughly define the range as $25 million to $500 million in annual
revenue.
Q. What is process optimization?
A. Every business process evolves over time. With changes in
business objectives, technologies, and regulatory and competitive
landscape, these processes become inefficient and / or ineffective.
Process optimization involves a thorough analysis and re-design
of the process to make it efficient and effective. It can then be
automated, integrated, and standardized to deliver optimal value to
the business. Some people mistakenly think that "automation is
process optimization" - that is not true.
Q. What's the best way to learn if The Hardstone
Group can assist us?
A. That is as simple as having a conversation with a colleague at
the Hardstone Group.
Contact us via phone or e-mail.
Q. What industry does The Hardstone Group serve?
A. The back office functions we specialize in are fundamentally similar
across industries. The small variations that do exist due to the
specific business segment or
industry, are addressed by business rules that the processes utilize.
We solve business problems related to operating margins and cash
flow, regardless of the industry you are in.