In business, few of us “like” surprises. For a CFO, experiencing an IT failure in the midst of a fiscal year end closing is THE unthinkable nightmare of all nightmares. Yet, as I was deeply engaged in my final fiscal year end closing as CFO of Carolina Filters, Inc. – this is exactly what I was facing.  Our financial applications system was DOWN for the first time EVER!

The “silver lining” within my nightmare was in the very system that experienced this catastrophic event, AND in the software developer who designs and services the software - Knight Integrated Software, in Florence, South Carolina.  When the unexpected event occurred, I posted a request for support on their website customer login portal and the technical support organization exhibited the kind of swift, smooth, urgency a client needs, and hopes for, in a software vendor. The Knight Team identified that my data base had been corrupted, and they uploaded the file to their server for a recovery effort.  Within a 24-hour period, our financial records, comprised of over 15 years of history, were recovered.  My financial organization was able to resume the remaining data entry activities required to close out the fiscal year, and resume posting entries for current period business transactions.

In business, things happen – sometimes not so pleasant things happen along the way.  When abusiness is faced with a critical process interruption, you learn a lot about your organization’s ability to identify and respond to the problem, AND you also learn a lot about a vendor’s ability and commitment to getting your business processes back up and running.  This is one of those experiences where a strategic vendor/business partner exhibits VALUE ADDED!

I’ve been a client of Knight Integrated Software for over 25 years, while I was responsible for running the financial organization for several different companies over this period.  After 45 years in business, it’s comforting to know that INTEGRITY, COMMITMENT, QUALITY, and  SERVICE are still more than just words for some organizations.  These core values are still at the heart of some businesses.  I’m happy to be able to say that Knight Integrated

Software is one of those organizations whose core values mean far more than just mere words, and Carolina Filters, Inc. remains a loyal client!

That’s MY true story.

Larry Ventimiglio

Retiring CFO

Carolina Filters, Inc.