Todd Kimball, on Aug 28, 2018
Consider which of these you believe to be true:
Bill Palmer, on Aug 17, 2018
How do you plan or budget raises for your employees? As you create next year's budgets and update your strategic plans, you also need to take several vital steps.
These include looking at the big picture, understanding and limiting your risk, getting help if you need it, and utilizing a financial planning tool to provide the right raises to retain and attract talent. This may seem like a tall order, but a systematic approach will help your organization achieve its staffing and budget goals.
Nancy Smith, on Aug 7, 2018
An 84-year-old resident of Longview passed away this year, leaving $750,000 of her estate to three local non-profits. Relying on these types of unexpected donations is one way to build up your organization's reserves, but you can't count on these generous gifts.
Case in point is the Anacortes-based conservation nonprofit Pacific Biodiversity Institute, which just closed its doors due to a lack of funding. Whether flush with funds or struggling to keep the lights on, there’s never enough funding for a nonprofit to accomplish every initiative it would like.
Every organization needs to determine how much it requires for Operations, in Operating Reserves, and what can be dedicated to mission-focused initiatives. The answers to these questions are, of course, “It depends.”
The variables that must be considered include seasonality, worst case scenarios, and more. The key to developing a specific answer is knowledge - knowledge of the organization’s current financial state and donation history, as well as the data that is produced from a solid budget and cash forecast.
For those organizations that struggle, a plan must be developed to raise donations and reduce expenses. If you are fortunate enough to have a surplus of reserves additional questions arise. Where do you put those reserves? How should you safely manage them? While the answers vary from nonprofit to nonprofit, there are a solid set of financial best practices to follow and ensure that these questions are answered.
CFO Selections Team, on Jul 25, 2018
The thought of needing to hire a CFO often doesn't come before there is some sign of trouble. Most companies try to operate using the “bank account formula” for as long as possible and then make a change only when the pain becomes too great. “Let me look at my bank account… if I have money, I must be OK!”
Fortunately, this no longer a black and white choice. The most successful businesses are built on a collaborative foundation, and a growing number of companies are embracing the concept of hiring a part-time CFO. Instead of being just a sunk operating cost, this move is now widely viewed as a smart business investment that is delivering positive returns.
As a CFO, one of the common reasons I am brought into a manufacturing organization is to solve the mystery of “Why our sales are growing, but profits low?” Most of the companies I work with have rigorous quoting processes that they assume will protect them financially, but in the end their actual monthly profit margins often fall short of quoted (and anticipated) profit margins.
Before diving into an examination why profit margins lag behind sales growth projections it is important to take a look at accompanying financial reports. These are categories from a simplified manufacturing income statement:
In this article we will discuss materials, direct labor and manufacturing overhead as they relate to gross profit.
CFO Selections Team, on Jul 2, 2018
Top business owners and CEOs know that having a well-run finance department is vital to their company's success. Being able to process and analyze payments coming in and going out is paramount. Likewise, your company's financial team should keep you in compliance with regulations, such as tax laws, and help drive some of the strategic decisions for your business.
But, what is the right size and make-up of a financial team relative to the scale of your business operations? If you are a start-up or small business, should you have a CFO? If you don't, who will handle these essential financial functions? At what point should you start scaling up your financial team. The answers to the questions could have an impact on the success or failure of your business.
CFO Selections Team, on Jun 28, 2018
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position is an important component in the success of any company. A capable CFO takes the time to understand the financial operations of his/her own company, as well as the company’s position in the industry. That knowledge informs vital strategic financial decisions that are often the primary drivers of business growth.
However, the costs associated with a CFO role typically put it out of the reach of many small businesses and startups. Some companies choose to forgo a CFO altogether, opting to let the head of the business make the financial decisions with the help of a CPA, accountant, or other less experienced financial professional. Much like taking a road trip without turn-by-turn GPS directions, this route may result in poor financial management that leads the company astray.
CFO Selections Team, on Jun 26, 2018
We recently covered the cost of tax compliance in this recent article. The costs are a direct result of how companies face a myriad of tax compliance issues, even in the wake of tax reform that is supposed to boost bottom line results. The top ten federal tax compliance issues for businesses haven't changed much in the wake of this reform. These are:
Insights to better understand key performance indicators.
