Client: Cannabis Company

Problem: Our client is an organization in the Cannabis Industry that is publicly traded on a venture exchange. Consequently, it operates within a heavily regulated and publicly sensitive environment. As such, the company is faced with protecting its shareholders and the public from financial management errors and fraudulent practices and improving the accuracy of corporate disclosure. This compelled the company to identify the path to meet Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) compliance requirements in advance of listing on a major exchange.

Solution: The team at Nīewe Consulting (formerly Baiame) supported the client in the development of the ICFR roadmap and associated governance, risk and controls structures as the pillars for meeting SOX compliance requirements. This involved identifying the value proposition implementing ICFR, establishing a risk-based prioritization plan for the implementation, as well as the immediate next steps to be taken and the initial breakdown of the requirements for ICFR in the company’s current environment. At the same time, Nīewe began the update of key policy instruments to support the implementation plan.

Impact: The ICFR Roadmap project resulted in increased financial management governance, better risk management and more robust controls within the company and a clear two-year roadmap for the implementation of ICFR.