Executive Resume
Martin Mercer, J.D., CPA
7768 South Steele Street Centennial, CO 80122
Phone: (303) 956-2537 Email: mmartinmercer@yahoo.com
Leadership Profile
Executive Leadership, Strategic Business Planning, Financial Leadership, Legal/Contract Negotiations,
Enterprise Transformation, E-Commerce Solutions, Information Management, Business Process Analysis
Outstanding senior leadership executive with an excellent track record for driving revenue and operating
performance in high technology venues. Proven leader with attorney and CPA background having extensive
information technology history. Expertise includes strategic marketing planning, new product development,
organizational development, finance and accounting, legal/contract negotiations, e-business, e-commerce, IT
integration project development. Change agent with the vision and strength to devise and implement successful
strategies and business plans for increasing market share and earnings. In-depth experience includes innovative,
visionary leadership, excellent insight into key industry opportunities and challenges, and superior negotiating skills.
An exceptional motivator and team builder capable of maximizing personnel performance at all levels. Ideal
candidate for president, CEO, CFO, CIO, and COO positions with enterprises seeking a results-proven leader in
enterprise-wide situations needing an innovative strategic marketing vision and immediate, sustainable results.
Authored and implemented an in-house software application that eliminated outside vendor services, cutting costs
by $3 million in the first year, $4 million in the second year, and $6 million in the third year, as illustrated below:
Cost Savings
$6
$5
Millions
$4
$3
$2
$1
$0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Professional Experience
First Assured Warranty Corporation
Greenwood Village, Colorado
Information Technology Director
2001 to present
Spearheaded all IT functions for this provider of extended service warranties offered through car dealerships and via
the Internet. Directed company-wide technology, including server and workstation functionality, website
capabilities, email/anti-virus/anti-spam solutions, user application systems, and software development. Coordinated
proprietary order entry, claims processing and accounting systems, call center operation, sales and claims queue
processes, and efforts toward maintaining a competitive edge in the industry. Initiated a monthly reporting system
for operations and claims reserve evaluation.

Utilized cutting-edge technology to rebuild the internal network and Internet “cyber center” to defend against
virus and hacker attacks. Maintained a 99.96 percent uptime for the internal network and a 99.93 percent
uptime for the Internet cyber center.

Re-engineered proprietary dealer and claims administration applications to optimize dealer contract data entry.

Designed and implemented a new proprietary order entry and claims administration information system in the
object model using VB.Net, SQL Server 2000, and OS Server 2000. The system is completely Internetenabled, utilizing server redundancy and clustering to ensure maximum uptime and unlimited future growth.
Martin Mercer
Page 2
Page Digital, Inc.
Englewood, Colorado
Division Directorships
1998 to 2001
Directed the finance, software development, and e-commerce applications development divisions for this webstore
solutions provider. Oversaw financial compliance and reporting including cash receipts, cash disbursements,
accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and GL. Led a team of 35 programmers in building order entry,
accounting, warehousing, inventory control, and manufacturing software solutions. Led the team that developed the
business-to-consumer and business-to-business e-commerce webstores, including the development team that built
and implemented the Synaro e-commerce webstore system dynamically producing catalogue, shopping cart, and
order status functionality using Java and HTML.

Designed and implemented a webstore online order and inventory system in six weeks, on time and within
budget. Built version 2 of the webstore using Java and HTML as native languages in eight weeks.

Instituted weekly software development and status update meetings, increasing the development team’s
productivity by more than 50 percent. This significantly improved timely deliveries of go-live modifications
and reduced turnaround time for existing customer software development projects.

Built a budget and forecasting system to track and forecast the timing and sources of future revenue and to
manage the expenditure of ongoing operating expenses and development costs.
MDC Holdings, Inc.
Denver, Colorado
Applications Programming Director
1993 to 1997
Managed the senior programmers and business analysts providing programming support services for the ninth
largest U.S. homebuilder. Served as project manager for a company-wide integrated, computerized point of
sale/sales presentation/inventory/prospect follow-up system. Developed a database that quantified critical
information regarding homes built in the Denver metropolitan area and established that there was a statistically
significant relationship between expansive soils and basement complaints, allowing company attorneys to negotiate
a favorable settlement in a class-action litigation.

Designed a sales force office automation solution that contributed $29 million in annual renewable gross
revenue and $6.5 million annually to the company’s bottom line.

Within a two-year period, successfully completed more than 350 project requests and reduced the 200
backlogged inherited project requests to fewer than 30.

Re-engineered the RPG tax-capitalized interest program with favorable and aggressive fully disclosed
assumptions that justified a tax deduction of accelerated capitalized interest, causing the IRS to allow $49
million out of the $50 million in deductions it had previously denied.
Paul Chamberlain International
Beverly Hills, California
Vice President, Financial Fraud Investigation
1990 to 1993
Directed and coordinated financial and computer fraud investigations for this firm dedicated to investigations
involving white-collar crime and financial institution losses. The company is comprised primarily of former FBI
special agents and handles the kidnap and extortion crisis response team for Lloyd’s of London insureds. Performed
security surveys, provided litigation services, prepared investigative reports and criminal referrals for submission to
the FBI, analyzed complex real estate transactions where fraud or malfeasance was suspected, performed statistical
analyses for fraud, and managed the NBA draft background investigation program.
Martin Mercer
Page 3

Performed statistical analyses on automotive loan pools to establish that the loan default rate was dramatically
shorter for loans accepted from specific suspicious automobile dealers vs. the general population of automobile
dealers in the loan pools as a whole. This information pointed federal investigators to specific loan officers and
automobile dealerships, resulting in criminal referrals.

Successfully defended a company owner/partner against allegations of mismanagement by his business partners
resulting in the bankruptcy of his franchised 50-store retail chain. Discovered evidence of long-term
embezzlement on the part of the suing partners and secured countersuit settlement for client.
Employment Prior to 1990
Served in director and manager positions for financial institutions, including Coopers & Lybrand. Spearheaded the
client services functions of a software development company providing corporate tax software to Fortune 500
companies. Oversaw the technical support hotline staff and developed and coordinated the development of regional
user groups nationwide. Provided MIS services for a “Big 12” CPA firm. Created a business plan for the new MAS
emerging business group at Coopers & Lybrand. Directed day-to-day operations, engagement profitability, ongoing
marketing programs, and staff development. Significant accomplishments included:

Significantly enhanced the existing practice by applying forecasting and systems analyses using a variety of
computerized projection and modeling programs.

Authored award-winning computer-based applications used by more than 90 company tax offices throughout
the United States, eliminating the need to use FASTAX to print syndicated partnership tax returns. This
resulted in $3 million in increased net income in the first tax year. Net income jumped to $4 million in the
second year and to $6 million in the third year.
Corporate Legal Expertise
Managed, directed, and coordinated financial and computer fraud investigations. Performed security surveys,
provided litigation services to attorneys in financial litigation matters, represented clients, and directed background
investigations. Law-related activities included:

Preparation of pleadings, responses, interrogatories, and exhibits; preparing for depositions and direct/cross
examinations. Prepared pre-trial documents including petitions, requests for documents, affidavits, notices of
deposition, settlement letters, stipulations, and correspondence to clients/opposing counsel. Attended
depositions, settlement conferences, OSC hearings, contempt proceedings, trials, and sentencing hearings. Incourt trial activities included opening statements, introduction of evidence, direct/cross examination of
witnesses, and closing arguments.

Evidential substantiation of facts in an IRS audit involving $50 million in previously denied deductions.

Analyses of complex real estate transactions where fraud or malfeasance was suspected.

Liaised with local law enforcement and the FBI on cases where prosecutable criminal offenses were likely to
have occurred. Prepared investigative reports and criminal referrals for submission to the FBI.

Researched records to locate hidden assets of former officers and directors of S&Ls.
Teaching History
Served as an instructor for Santa Monica Community College, El Camino College, and the Becker CPA Review
Course from 1982 to present. Taught many varied courses in the categories of accounting, business law, and
computer science, including accounting theory, fixed assets, inventory, cost accounting, leases, earnings-per-share,
bond amortization, consolidations, fund accounting, taxes, financial statement analysis, auditing, debt financing,
types of equity, contracts, torts, sales, insurance, negotiable instruments, property, secured transactions, bankruptcy,
regulatory and employment law, and word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.
Martin Mercer
Page 4
Education/Licensing

Juris Doctorate: McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento, California, 1981.

Bachelor of Arts, Accounting (Economics): University of California, Los Angeles, 1978.

Certified Public Accountant: Licensed in Colorado, 1982 to present.

Attorney: Colorado State Bar Certified and Licensed, 1981 to present.
Technical Environments
Computer Hardware:
Intel, AS/400, RS6000 platforms.
Application/Web Servers:
WebSphere, WebLogic, Apache.
Operating Systems:
Windows (All), Unix (AIX), OS400, MS-DOS
Networking/Backup:
10/100 Mb Ethernet LAN, Novell LAN using 4 & 16 Mb Token Ring,
Windows For Workgroups version 3.11, NovaNet, Dell PowerVault
128T(LTO)
Languages:
RPG, Basic, Java, HTML, Visual Basic 6, VB.Net, SQL Server 2000
Security/System Monitoring:
CheckPoint Firewall-1, Norton AntiVirus Enterprise
Brightmail Anti-Spam, Saint Security, SiteScope
Applications:
MAS 90, Great Plains, Solomon, Peachtree, QuickBooks and Open
Systems. Payroll: ADP, Ceridian Source 500, and PayChex. Tax
Preparation: Corptax, TMS and TurboTax. Billing Systems: Timeslips
and BSA. Databases: SQL Server, DB2, Oracle. Proprietary
Homebuilding system; Synaro Software, and The APEX Order Entry
and Claims Administration Information System.
Edition,
Publications
The CPA Journal, March 1988, pp. 68-69 titled, “The Bernoulli Box: A Low Cost Alternative to Sharing Data in
Limited Environments.” (See attached article copy.)
"Exceptional leaders surround themselves with talented people and empower, encourage, and focus
them to work toward a common goal. Because of this, these exceptional leaders will nurture and grow
exceptional organizations."
—Marty Mercer, 2005
Published Article
Martin Mercer, J.D., CPA
The Bernoulli Box:
A Low Cost Alternative to Sharing Data in Limited Environments
A Bernoulli Box is a removable hard disk cartridge storage device or to put it another way, diskette drives that
accommodate 10 or 20 megabyte cartridge diskettes. The two advertised and perceived uses of a Bernoulli
subsystem are that it provides a single PC with a virtually unlimited amount of hard disk storage space, and
functions as a backup system that generates ‘working’ copies.
This technology has been applied in a way that allows many PCs to use a single Bernoulli Box for conventional
applications as well as creating access to a common hard disk storage device.
Case Study
A client had a three-terminal, 40 megabyte, Apple III/Corvus Network. They had run out of hard disk space and a
consultant had recommended the purchase of an 80 Megabyte hard disk as a solution to its problems. Since the
system was old, unreliable and could not run IBM based software, a Requirements Analysis was performed to
determine the cost to address its data processing needs in an MS-DOS environment.
Interviews with staff and management revealed that this firm performed three data processing functions:

Word Processing

Electronic Spreadsheet
 Write-up Work
All of these functions needed to be performed by three support staff at separate locations. The word processing and
spreadsheet functions did not require the sharing of data. However, account write-up work was to be expanded, and
management wanted each staff person to be able to perform write-up work on any of their accounts.
Initially, a Local Area Network (LAN) was explored. However, the estimated cost of the network exceeded the
amount of the client’s budget for a system. So the problem posed by this engagement became: How can the three
users have access to the same data source without incurring the cost of the Local Area Network?
Further inquiries regarding the way in which each user needed to share the common data source revealed the
following characteristics:

No user needed to access the same account at the same time.

The deadlines for the accounts were at different times during the month.

Because of the many staff duties, the timing of access to the shared data source was flexible.
With this information, the requirement of sharing a common data source took on a new look. The shared data
source did not have to be available to multiple users at the same time, but only distinct single users at different
times.
The Bernoulli Box, in its traditional role, met all the needs of this client in a single user mode.
Increased Hard Disk Space
The client was expanding his account base which would increase hard disk requirements substantially. With the
Bernoulli Box, the client would have infinite hard disk capacity and could very economically increase hard disk
space by purchasing additional cartridges.
Published Article
Page 2
Data Security, Backup
The Bernoulli Box offered backup and disk storage features that were particularly attractive to this client:

The ability to store systems of different accounts on separate cartridges was a desired security feature. If
one cartridge went bad, it only affected one account. This would not be the case on a conventional hard
disk.

The ability to have a ‘working copy’ as a backup was attractive to the client because of its immediate
usability.

The fact that there were two cartridge diskette drives provided additional security. If one of the cartridge
diskette drives became damaged, the other drive could be used while the damaged one was out for repair.
This would not be possible with a conventional hard disk.
The only requirement not addressed by the use of a Bernoulli Box was the access by multiple users. This
requirement was met by attaching the Bernoulli Box to a three-station switching device, purchasing Bernoulli Box
control cards for each of the three computers, and connecting the new computers to the switching device. With this
configuration, each one of the PCs could have access to the Bernoulli Box – but only one at a time. A user desiring
access only needed to switch their channel, insert a hard disk cartridge, and type “D:”
The client was pleased with this alternative because it addressed all of its data sharing needs without excessive
additional cost.
A Local Area Network is preferable when the sharing of a common data source is needed. But in a situation where
the cost of a network is prohibitive and the sharing of requirements are limited, the un-traditional application of
removable hard disk technology provided the client with an acceptable alternative.
The microcomputer industry is changing at a phenomenal rate. Advancements in technology are constantly
providing us with new alternatives to managing client’s data processing needs. Sometimes, the correct solution for
our client lies not in that new technology, but rather in proven technology applied in a unique way.
Published in The CPA Journal, March 1988, pp. 68-69.
Key Accomplishment Summary
Martin Mercer, J.D., CPA
Opened New Markets by Designing a New Software System
Situation:
First Assured Warranty was using a proprietary order entry and claims administration system (FAIS) that was
written in a procedural language that did not anticipate the existence of the Internet. Numerous elements within the
system were “hard-coded,” making expansion virtually impossible. As the company grew, the complexity of the
business model increased, and the FAIS system was incapable of handling the ever-increasing volumes and the
changing business paradigm. Being an Internet company, it was crucial that the company be an industry leader in
using the latest Internet technology to gain a competitive edge.
Action Plan:

Prepared and presented a proposal to build a new multi-functional, fully Web-enabled information system that
would provide 24/7 production capabilities, built-in scalability, multi-tasking functionality, expanded fund
distribution functionality, and the ability to substantially increase sales/revenue volumes with only nominal
increases in resources.

Designed the Apex system to operate on a Windows 2000 advanced server operating system using Microsoft’s
SQL server database and its Visual Basic.NET object oriented development language.

Built in the capability for replication, clustering, and load balancing concepts along with redundancy of all
critical mission hardware components to ensure a 24/7 production environment.

Satisfied accounting requirements by integrating the Great Plains accounting system using a SQL server
database to ensure tight integration with our proprietary applications.

Used advanced reporting tools in a data warehouse environment to provide real-time process-based reports
using the production database; provided standard monthly business reports using the data warehouse database
on a separate server. Provided Web-enabled “fashion your own report on the fly,” drill-down reporting using a
separate multi-dimensional “data cube” database.

Converted legacy data from the old FAIS system to the new Apex system. Employed existing users to quality
assure and test the new system.

Successfully went live from the old system to the new system over a weekend with no business down-time.

Leveraged dealer and super-agent relationships to provide the ability to sell First Assured’s products via secure
access to the Apex system over the Internet.
Results:
The project was completed on schedule and the Apex system was implemented within the two-year development
deadline and within budget. The new system has provided the means to expand company offerings into new
markets that had previously not been possible. The built-in redundancy and clustering features allow the simple
addition of servers to handle increased loads wherever needed. Because of the Apex system, the Company has
expanded into offering extended service contracts on motorcycles and RVs and can add new product lines with very
little new development. The new Apex system has allowed the company to add hundreds of dealers to its business
partner group, representing an exponential increase in contract sales with only minimum increases in resources.
Continual implementation of the newest Internet technology pre-empts competition quickly and provides ongoing
exceptional competitive advantage.
Key Accomplishment Summary
Martin Mercer, J.D., CPA
Slashed Costs to Dramatically Improve the Bottom Line
Situation:
Coopers & Lybrand was using an outside partnership tax return preparation service bureau to prepare all partnership
tax returns nationwide. Use of this service was costing the company millions of dollars annually in fees to this
outside vendor, due to “special allocations” and oil and gas depletion schedules needed for the preparation of these
clients’ tax returns. Fees collected in this process were simply being turned around and paid out to the tax service
bureau. It was decided that the company needed to find a means to retain these fees instead of merely collecting
them for this vendor.
Action Plan:

Drafted a plan for the design of a system utilizing Lotus 1-2-3, Basic programming, and custom printing
features to calculate special allocations and produce the oil and gas depletion schedule attachments.

Submitted the plan and timelines to prove that the programs could be built in just 45 days and that working
prototypes could be delivered six weeks after that.

Upon receipt of approval, commenced the design and began the process of building the new system:

Laid out system architecture.

Built all user interface screens.

Programmed all the required functionality.

Prepared the “camera-ready” IRS forms for the printer.

Wrote the operations manuals.

Beta-tested the programs.

Delivered a final-release product for distribution to the company’s 93 offices within 135 days.

Taught training classes on these new tax programs at the company’s annual tax symposium.
Results:
Delivered fully-functional programs to all the company’s locations within four months, eliminating the company’s
dependence on the outside tax service bureau and making it possible to retain fees that had been originally collected
and turned over to the outsourcing vendor. This resulted in $3 million in increased net income in the first tax year.
Net income jumped to $4 million in the second year and to $6 million in the third year. Received an award for “Best
Software Developed” by Coopers & Lybrand for the 1065K-1 Partnership Print Program and the Oil and Gas
Depletion Program.
Key Accomplishment Summary
Martin Mercer, J.D., CPA
Catapulted Revenues with a New Sales Force Office Automation Program
Situation:
One of the nation’s largest homebuilders had 155 model home sales offices in new subdivisions around the United
States staffed by over 300 salespeople who sold Richmond American lots and homes. These salespeople would
assist prospective homebuyers in selecting lots and model types, adding options, arranging financing, and signing
the contract documents for their new homes. This was all done manually–there was no computer office automation
in place. The number of up-sell, cross-sell, and follow-up opportunities that were squandered every day as a result
of not having an integrated office automation solution was enormous.
Action Plan:

Submitted a proposal for automating all 155 sales offices and providing networked computers for salespeople.

Modified a third-party lot/model inventory and pricing software package to be integrated with proprietary
systems. This system allowed for nightly data transfers to and from corporate headquarters, the regional sales
offices, and all the new home sales offices.

Utilized Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11 to build mini-networks in each sales office to ensure that all
salespersons were working from a common inventory database.

Designed an automated contract printing process that cut contract signing time from more than three hours to
less than 30 minutes.

Developed an interface that could call up any offered model on any lot, add options, and arrive at a price within
seconds. Home specifications could be changed “on the fly,” instantaneously adjusting the buyer’s price.

Implemented a follow-up system that gathered information from the prospective homebuyer throughout the
entire purchase process, allowing salespeople to systematically follow up and offer upgrades and improvements.

Integrated the company’s system with that of its sister financing company so homebuyers could be pre-qualified
for a home loan and salespeople had the capability of up-selling within the buyer’s financing limits.
Results:
The pilot system was put in place within six months, with a final release a year later. The new automated system
reduced the necessary paperwork by a factor of 10, freeing salespeople to concentrate on selling and following up on
prospects in their databases. Automation of the 155 sales offices and integration with the homebuilding inventory
system as well as with the mortgage company resulted in a combination of increased sales due to productivity,
savings from homebuilding mistakes due to the misreading of handwritten work orders, increased up-sells, and
increased mortgage sales due to cross-selling. Annual renewable gross revenues grew by $29 million and $6.5
million was added annually to the company’s bottom line, as illustrated below:
Net Income Increases
$7
$6
Millions
$5
$4
$3
$2
$1
$0
1996
1997
Key Accomplishment Summary
Martin Mercer, J.D., CPA
Development of the Synaro Webstore at Page Digital, Inc.
Situation:
Page Digital was an enterprise software provider that sold and supported business software for order entry,
accounting, warehousing, inventory control, and manufacturing. The company was using older technology that had
no Internet components and which had no capability for integrating an online webstore. One of Page Digital’s
clients was desirous of building a website with e-commerce capabilities within a six-month timeframe. Existing
competitors did offer this client e-commerce solutions in addition to their enterprise software options. It was evident
that, in order to stay in business, Page Digital would need to bring Internet services into its family of solution
offerings.
Action Plan:

Built a design team and collaborated to lay out a prototype webstore system that could be fully integrated with
the company’s back-end inventory database. Features would include webpages that were dynamically
generated depending on what selections the customer made, the capability for instantaneous Internet purchases,
an order status checking system, and dynamic generation of the “look and feel” of client companies’ sites
coordinated with their own branding.

Selected Lotus Domino as the platform upon which to build the webstore system; given the short timeline, it
would be advantageous to modify existing functionality versus building from the ground up.

Developed a project plan outlining all necessary tasks and identified milestones for on-time project completion,
making sure to coordinate the webstore progress with the non-Web modifications and overall system
implementation and training.

After meeting the initial goal of delivering a webstore for the first client, the system was marketed to other nonwebstore clients. In the interests of staying contemporary, assembled a team of programmers to continue
making enhancements to the system.

Once the business-to-consumer module had been completed, focus was directed toward a business-to-business
system and successfully met a go-live deadline for IBM in servicing such large clients as Coca Cola and AT&T.
Results:
Successfully met the go-live deadline for the initial client, whose webstore is still growing to this day. The webstore
design served as a model and is now in its fourth or fifth incarnation. In January 2004, Page Digital, Inc. was
purchased by Island Pacific, Inc. (IPI) and is now one of the leading multi-channel software systems for retailers,
cataloguers, wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers. This design has enabled its owners to perform hundreds
of installations each year.
Executive Insights
Martin Mercer, J.D., CPA
Leadership in a Competitive Market
Leading by Example
Woody Allen was quoted as saying, “80 percent of life is just showing up.” He was right. Good leaders are
“present” in their lives and others can depend on them to thoughtfully and predictably accomplish whatever goals
have been set forth. If they also manifest presence and charisma and can engage and energize the organization and
its people, these exceptional leaders will nurture and grow exceptional organizations.
Team Spirit
Good leaders are not micro-managers—they recognize that it will only lead to organizational dependence. In such
an environment, employees do not think for themselves but, rather, determine how their leader wants something
done and execute the requested task accordingly. They learn not to think, not to solve problems, and not to take any
ownership or incentive. When talented employees are respected, valued, and carry ownership for the success of the
business, amazing things can happen. Within a team, creativity and the free flow of ideas can result in unique
approaches that might otherwise never be tried. “Two heads are better than one”—how much better is a team?
Motivation and Appreciation
Mom always said, “You will always get more with honey!” There is more to this advice than meets the eye. Mom
ran her own business and worked harder than anyone in her employ. She was always gracious, treated people with
respect, and was fair and caring with her employees. The result was that her employees respected her immensely
and had a loyalty and commitment to perform for her that was uncommon. This holds true in any business; the
leader who lives a life of high integrity, carries a strong work ethic, demonstrates respect and compassion for others,
and rewards workers for their efforts will surely garner loyalty, respect, and hard work.
Stay Ahead of the Wave
With an eye to the “bottom line,” many companies have historically paid as little as possible for information
technology needs. Today’s information environment is so incredibly complex that there is no longer a middle
ground for investing in new technology. Companies must now stay on the cutting edge just to survive. The only
course of action in this information age is to adopt and embrace new technology to gain competitive advantage and
generate additional revenues. The company with an eye to the future and being on the vanguard in embracing new
technology can triumph in today’s highly competitive marketplace.
The 3 T’s—Talent, Teamwork and Technology
An old adage states, “The team with the best players wins!” There is truth to this in business as well as in sports.
However, this adage does not provide enough guidance. A leader who can assemble a talented team, get them to
work well with each other, and who implements new technology as a strategic revenue-generating and resourceleveraging tool will inevitably rise above competition.
Executive Insights
Martin Mercer, J.D., CPA
Building an Executive SWAT Team
Essential Components
What do you get when you combine a rainmaker, a bean-counter, a computer geek, and an Indian chief? No, not the
business version of the Village People. Rather, you have an executive SWAT team that can quickly turn around a
company that is in desperate need of reorganization and revitalization. A small group of talented experts skilled at
rapidly deploying processes, systems, and new technology can transform a stagnant, outdated, and lethargic
company into a high-growth player in its particular industry. This will quickly add value for a company’s
stakeholders and will create opportunities for stock offerings, acquisitions, or a company sale.
Accomplishing Quick Turnarounds
The team must consist of individuals who are skilled in their respective areas of expertise, work well together as a
team, and who welcome the challenge of adapting their skills and tools to new environments. This team will build
portable processes and systems, anticipating that they will be used for subsequent turnarounds, thus increasing the
speed at which turnaround strategies can be implemented. The basic process would then be fine-tuned to build a
specific game plan for each project, implementing a comprehensive system of information management, financial
controls, and revenue generation to quickly change the direction of the company to one of high growth. Each new
project affords the team insight into improvements and upgrades that will streamline its turnaround strategies.
Who Can Use One?
The executive SWAT team can be utilized by companies with growth potential but which are lethargic in responding
to new business opportunities. Other potential clients could include boards who are not happy with company’s
direction and want a rapid reorganization and revitalization of operations, venture firms or investment groups that
have purchased a controlling interest in a company that needs revitalizing, and chief executives who would like to
quickly upgrade systems and processes to respond to market pressures.
Scalability and Reusability
Most companies end up trying to fill their information management and financial compliance needs with “shrinkwrapped” software when available and proprietarily developed software when prepackaged solutions are not
appropriate. If a company requires that software be developed, it must bear the full cost of development. What if
software functionality could be developed in a way that it would apply to almost any company’s needs? The
development costs could then be shared among the recipient companies. Suddenly, custom software applications
can be utilized to gain a competitive advantage in a very affordable manner.
It Can be Done!
Object oriented design (OOD) in software development delivers on the promise that if you build functions in a
generalized way and call for their use, that those functions can be used by any and all requestors regardless of their
particular circumstances. This is very effective in an integrated application, but can be effectively extended across
diverse companies. For example, credit card processing functionality can be built in a general enough way so as to
be useful across the board with minimal modification. By extending the object oriented design concept to a business
model, business and accounting systems and processes can be utilized in a way that they can be applied to many
companies with very little additional development cost. Anti-virus, anti-spam, information management, and
reporting solutions can be easily applied across companies. Even revenue-generating processes can be applied to
many businesses. In short, find out what works, why it works, generalize it, and apply it to many companies sharing
the cost of the superior development.