It is important to strongly advocate your position. I don’t suggest arguing just to be argumentative (we all know people who do that). Rather, be a strong advocate for your position and beliefs. This was brought home to me recently …
Business is based upon facts. Or at least it should be. Anecdotal evidence is fine in order to add some color commentary and improve the depth of understanding but it is no substitute for dealing with the cold hard facts. …
I was in a meeting last year as the new/acitng/interim/fractional CFO for a company. Truthfully, I am not sure how best to describe the role. Major investors had asked me to step in and basically informed management that I was …
There is no surer symptom of an unhealthy business than one that is forced to juggle cash. Quite simply, this means they are running so tight on cash every day that they are making conscious decisions as to who does …
Last month, I wrote “Is Ignorance Bliss?” which was about the effect that a lack of perspective on a company’s financial situation has on an organization. One of the side effects of this is silos within an organization. While the …
There is an old saying, “Ignorance is Bliss?” But is it really? I often see key managers in organizations operating with little or no knowledge of the company’s financial situation. While this may allow them to go about their duties …
Some time ago, I worked with a formula called the sustainable growth rate model. Generally, it takes a company’s profit margins, the amount it wishes to retain for growth (as opposed to pay out as compensation to management or dividends …
The normal process of approving accounts payable is for someone who actually received the goods or services to indicate that the invoice is both correct and that the goods or services were appropriately received. Often, this is often indicated by …
When I walk into a new organization I question every cost that crosses my desk. Why? Because it matters! Every dollar matters and experience has taught me there is a lot of waste out there! Obviously, I question the bigger …
During any given week, I get multiple requests that sound something like this: “Can we spend $2,500 on xyz?” Or, “We need to buy abc and it’s going to cost $12,000.” Well, actually, that last one isn’t technically a request; …
