Veritas CFO Financial Guidance for Profit and Growth

by Mary Lou Jay

SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED trucking companies face many of the same financial challenges as their larger counterparts, but they can lack one important resource – a chief financial officer to help them remain profitable. Matthew Clark founded Veritas CFO as a way to enable these companies to get the CFO expertise that they need on a part-time, as-needed basis.

Clark attended the University of Georgia, earning a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in accounting as well as an MBA. Before starting Veritas CFO, he worked for one of the big four accounting firms and then for GE on the industrial side, which provided exposure to trucking and manufacturing.

Clark sees his company filling a need for trucking companies that bring in $5 million-$50 million in revenue and need assistance with concerns about cash flow, budgeting, planning and growth, but who don’t need the services (or the expense) of a full-time CFO.

“Most of the time when companies reach out to me they’re struggling with profitability or cash flow,” Clark said. “Sometimes it’s because they have a specific problem they need help with, and neither the CEO and/or the owner of the business nor their team have the expertise or the bandwidth to tackle that project.”

Clark’s goal is to help his clients improve their return on invested capital, increasing profitability and maximizing cash flow. He enjoys seeing the impact of his work on both the business and its owners. “Small and medium sized businesses are typically owned by a single individual or maybe two people. So when I’m helping improve the financial operations of the company, I’m also helping indirectly to improve the personal wealth of the owners, since most of their wealth is tied up or attached to the business,” he said.

Clark notes that the expertise of a CFO can assist trucking companies in managing their company effectively during times of fluctuating rates. “In good times, like during the pandemic when rates were high, increased revenues or high revenues can hide or offset any bad operational or cost decisions that are made. But when rates are down or coming down, those bad operating decisions and cost structures become more apparent and more critical and they need to know how to get their cost structures back in line,” Clark said. He also helps his client companies find ways to increase cash flow during this time.

Clark has performed a variety of services for trucking companies. He has analyzed financial statements to look for ways to reduce expenses. He has prepared financial packages and performed due diligence for owners who want to sell or acquire a business. He has helped companies work with banks to line up working capital financing and for major asset purchases like tractors, equipment and real estate. He has benchmarked companies’ cost structure per operating mile to measure how they compare to industry standards and then to help them reset the baseline cost structures if necessary.

Clark said he works with a select number of clients so he can provide the premium CFO services that they need. They are primarily trucking companies in Georgia. He says there is a real need for this type of service in the state; there are about 25,000 trucking businesses in Georgia, and about 90 percent of them have 20 or fewer trucks.

When companies have grown to the point where a full time CFO makes sense, usually after they’ve surpassed the $50 million in revenues mark, Clark will assist them through the transition. “I’ve helped companies look for and hire a full-time CFO either from my CFO network or I have put them in touch with recruiters who can help,” he said.

GMTA has provided Clark with the opportunity to keep in touch with the industry on many levels. During his six years as a GMTA member, he has built many good friendships, benefited from the association’s educational sessions and enjoyed fun activities like golf events.

He says that GMTA is the voice of trucking in Georgia, and actively supports its lobbying efforts. “I had the opportunity this year to go down to the Capitol with Nathan Goolsby (GMTA’s chief revenue officer) and talk with some of the state legislators and try to get them to repeal some of the outdated laws that are on Georgia’s books,” he said. It was an experience he hopes to repeat in the coming years.

At a Glance
Veritas CFO

Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
Founded: 2016
Background: Matthew Clark founded Veritas CFO to give small-to-medium-sized trucking companies access to the services of a chief financial officer without having to hire one full time.
GMTA member: 6 years
Why GMTA matters: “GMTA is the leading proponent of the trucking industry in Georgia. The educational opportunities that GMTA offers, like the lunch and learn seminars, give me a better understanding of the operational side of trucking companies. At the Annual Leadership Conference, they’ve got great speakers where I can learn more about the business and the industry.”

Matthew Clark, Founder Veritas CFO