An Outside View

During the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re probably too close to your business to see it for what it is, so that’s where Nperspective comes in…..

The person who thought up the word “outsourcing” probably didn’t have temporary CFOs in mind. But Russell Slappey, a CPA and the founder and CEO of Nperspective, has taken outsourcing to a whole new level. 

His company, with four Florida locations including Miami and Boca Raton, is a treasure trove of talent, with interim, project-based and fractional CFOs in the house, as well as a roster of financial advisers. In uncertain times like these, Nperspective’s services have never been more essential—or sought after.

“We’ve had a surge of clients needing help with cash flow forecasting, understanding their financial situation and profitability, helping them with their PPP loans, and now we’re getting into forgiveness calculations and reshaping organizations,” he says. “We’ve actually landed eight to 10 new clients over the last four months. We’ve been helping companies that haven’t been as fortunate as us.” Managing principal Anthony Foscolos, who has a résumé studded with CEO, CFO and COO roles, adds: “It’s a turbulent time,” which means clients need them now more than ever.

If many businesses, large and small, regard the economic fallout from COVID-19 as a break-glass moment, Nperspective can step in to offer calm and clarity. What’s the first thing a company should do to reorganize during a crisis? “Be realistic about where you are, what COVID-19 has done to your business,” Slappey says. “You have to learn to adapt, or perish. You have to be able to make the changes required to survive. PPP loans are temporary, so you have to take that into account. You have to look past that to prioritize which vendors you retain, because there may not be additional government money coming. We’ve been through this in 2007 and 2008, and there are some strategies.”

Foscolos reaches back into the beginnings of evolutionary biology for an analogy. “Charles Darwin looked at who is surviving over time,” he notes. “The seemingly strongest might not be the ones to survive—the dinosaurs didn’t survive.” Then, Foscolos continues, Darwin examined whether the most intelligent species survived, but they came up short as well. “So what is it that creates survival? Those quickest to adapt to change,” he concludes. “We all like to hold on to what we know and knew. But you have to learn to live within that new paradigm. Assess where you’re at because you do need to move and you do need to change.” Now for some practical advice: “It’s critical to have meaningful financial reports as your navigation system. If you’re not dialed into that, you need to start recreating it as fast as you can.”

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