How a 110-year-old general contractor cut costs in half and positioned itself for future growth

About the Client

Kinley Corporation is a general contractor specializing in design builds for schools, assisted living facilities, community centers, and more. Headquartered in Dallas, TX but operating in western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania, they are a full-service contractor and focus on building community relationships as well as construction.

The Challenge

When Jimmy Kinley came on as CEO, he wanted to ensure that Kinley Corp was positioned for future growth. Financial statements needed to be more timely in order to secure bonding for construction projects. With the day-to-day needs to complete overdue statements, leadership within the company couldn’t focus on strategy. They needed someone to step in and provide a line of sight into their monthly financial statements quickly so that they could make informed decisions for the future.

The Solution

Working with Robert Mohr, one of Paro’s fractional CFO’s out of Kentucky, and Jon Gruchy, a fractional controller out of New York, Kinley Corp was able to streamline their month-end processes, complete their financial statements efficiently and accurately, and gain insight into their business. By increasing efficiencies and better utilizing existing talent and technologies, Kinley Corp has cut accounting operational costs in half.

Now, after only six months, Kinley Corp is positioned to increase its bonding capacity and tackle even more projects. Kinley Corp’s bonding company views them as a premier client and the gold standard for financial reporting. Their culture has been reinvigorated by these new opportunities and their ability to capitalize on the increased bonding capacity.

Finding the Right Supplemental Talent

At Paro, we know the importance of finding the perfect talent for a business’ needs. Our advanced matching algorithms let us input key skills and technological know-how to find the right talent quickly. Identifying CFO Robert Mohr from our network as Kinley’s perfect-fit candidate took the Paro team less than a week.

Robert is representative of the Paro network. With 30 years of experience, Robert is comfortable at the helm of both startups and emerging growth companies, domestic and international. He has worked with six public companies, four of which he took public as a senior financial manager or CFO. He describes his personal mission as improving thousands of lives on a daily basis by setting companies up to excel.

The Impact

Within six weeks, Kinley Corp had turned around. “We were pinching ourselves,” Jimmy Kinley said. Year-end close was done, months ahead of its usual lead time. Financial statements were on time. The accounting team received training for the new procedures Robert implemented to ensure success, and Robert was ready to step back and let Jon come in as a financial controller to oversee the day-to-day financial operations.

Enabling Success

After a month and a half of intensive work, Robert gave Kinley the two things they needed for success: first, an easy to understand checklist for month-end; second, a clear and concise balance sheet and cash flow budget. By reassigning responsibilities and ensuring everyone understood timelines and deliverables, Robert ensured the accounting team could manage month-end on time. No longer did the month-end process stretch into the following months.

Collectively, Robert and the Kinley team set a goal: reduce time to complete month-end by 50%. Prior to partnering with Paro, it took the Kinley team 50 to 60 days to complete month-end. Now, they can complete month-end within 30 days, allowing them to finalize the financial statements they need to acquire the bonding and capital they need to finish their projects.

Recognizing Existing Talent

After helping Kinley Corp tighten up their processes and meet their month-end deadlines, Robert brought on another expert from Paro’s network, Jon Gruchy, as a controller. Jon stepped in to handle the day-to-day work and trained Kinley Corp’s current staff with Robert. The two experts uncovered underutilized talent on Kinley’s accounting team. As a result, a critical team member received a performance bonus, a substantial raise and a well-deserved promotion.

For Robert, working with and respecting Kinley’s existing team was very important from the start. “Obviously, I want my clients to be thrilled with the work,” he says. “But it’s more than that. You have to lift up the people who rise to the challenge.”

Confidence: Created

Six months after launching the project with Robert and Jon, Kinley Corporation’s leadership have financial insights that will continue to add value to their business. With Robert and Jon on a retainer, Kinley Corp maintains their access to top talent while keeping costs low. They have more confidence in their financial information, and they’re ready to use it.