Cross-Border Complexity: International Accounting Across 14 Subsidiaries

The situation

Manning Global AG is a Munich-based global staffing and managed services organisation. At the time Peak Consulting was engaged, the group comprised three German entities and 14 international subsidiaries across 12 countries, including operations across Eastern and Western Europe. The accounting challenge was significant: intercompany invoicing between entities, local financial statements in multiple jurisdictions, and no reliable process for reconciling accounts across the group.

What we did

Over 18 months, the engagement covered the full scope: coordinating local accounts with accountants and auditors in each jurisdiction, executing intercompany reconciliations, and building a structured group accounting process from the ground up. Partway through, it became clear that the existing German external accountant was not equipped to handle the complexity of the international structure. Peak introduced a replacement firm, managed the transition, and handed over a stable, functioning arrangement. That firm still supports Manning Global five years later.

What made it possible

This kind of work requires fluency in German accounting practices, experience managing local accountants across multiple jurisdictions, and the judgment to know when the existing service providers are not the right fit. It also requires a trusted network of replacements. Peak Consulting's international background — combining deep German GAAP experience with a cross-border operating history — made the engagement possible in a way that a standard German CFO hire would not have.

Also covered in this category: fiskaltrust, an Austrian compliance-software company with operations in Austria, Germany, and France. When approached for that mandate, Peak recognised the French element was outside its direct expertise and brought in Arthur — a French CFO with SaaS and payments experience — as a subcontractor. The client got the right person for the job. Peak remained the service provider and accountability stayed in one place.