In The Controllers Workshop, you'll learn...
- What top management really wishes controllers would provide
- Specific actions you can take to instantly create value for your company
- How to implement quick closing procedures … and report last-period results more quickly
- How to quickly and accurately evaluate the financial effects of new plans or directions
- And much more!
Behind the scenes of almost every successful, growing enterprise there’s a great financial manager who’s helping steer the organization by providing not only accurate-to-the-penny financial information, but also thoughtful analysis and insight. These fast-paced two days of training present the best information available on how to manage the multiple responsibilities that are part of a top-notch controller’s job. Learn the latest and best strategies for improving cash flow, controlling costs, communicating with upper management … and much, much more!
WORKSHOP AGENDA
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Master the mechanics of flawless financial management+
- Financial reporting pitfalls
- Valuing projects … where NPV falls short
- How to tap into the undeniable benefits of preparing accurate forecasts
- How to build a team equipped to generate the reliable data you need
- Efficiency check: How to wipe out redundancy, costly errors and omissions and time-consuming double-checks
- Bulletproof your company from any trouble with the “rule makers”: IRS, SEC, FASB
- How to speed up the monthly closing cycle for fresh, meaningful information
- Using plans and budgets as milestones to measure progress
Why traditional balance sheets, income statements and cash flow reports aren’t enough+
- New, nonfinancial measures to be concerned with, including quality and productivity
- How to overcome the limitations of GAAP
- The difference between accurate and useful data
- Do you know the unique key indicators of success for your company?
- 3 types of reports any CEO would be thrilled to get every Monday morning
- Your reports may be properly prepared but still misleading … here’s how to make sure they’re correctly understood
- Are you unknowingly distorting the perception of your business by using facts and figures that are misinterpreted?
Specific actions you can take to protect your organization’s dollars and assets+
- How to establish an ironclad system of internal controls
- Beyond mere accounting … key financial operating areas that deserve constant monitoring
- How technology can help you meet all your company’s information demands
- How to work with management to eliminate excess inventory problems
- Strategies for speeding up your receivables and inventory turnaround
- How to handle customers who stretch payments … without aggravating them
- Your role as cash-flow “watchdog”
How to build relationships that lead to great results+
- Reality check: How do you deal with managers whose results fall short of their goals … or whose spending exceeds their budgets?
- Why you can never know too much about what’s going on in your company
- Project evaluation: How to spot potential pitfalls
- How to become a confidant others trust
- Asking tough questions about past performance
Getting beyond the numbers: Becoming a planning partner+
- Do they see you as just a “bean counter”? Here’s how to redefine your image
- Growing into your new role … your toughest obstacles may not be the ones you think
- The expanded job description of the “new” future-oriented controller
- The distinction between “doing the accounting” and being a controller
- What CEOs really need from their financial managers (hint: It’s not more reports)
Be a powerful controller+
- The hard-to-ignore role personality plays in financial leadership
- Got too much to do? Here’s how to get more time for the important things
- 4 keys to effective controllership
- Reporting after the fact is what accountants do … learn where controllers should focus
- How the very nature of accounting often conflicts with top management’s information needs
- The big shoes a controller has to fill when working with the management team … how to make sure you’re up to the challenge
- How obsessing about precision and accuracy can work against you
Gain top management’s ear+
- Great controllers don’t simply hand over reports … take the next step with insightful interpretation and feedback
- How to respectfully put the brakes on a plan without creating enemies or hurt feelings
- How to avoid the trap of “sounding like an accountant”
- How to anticipate executives’ needs and generate the data they’ll want—before they ask
- You may not have all the answers, but you can ask the right questions
- The numbers look good, but are they right? Hard-won advice on winning and keeping others’ confidence
- Running the company by the numbers or with the numbers—which is best for your company?
- Beware! These 5 financial accounting areas are loaded with interpretation “traps” just waiting to hurt your credibility
- How to be a devil’s advocate without threatening or accusing
If you present it clearly, they’ll appreciate and value your input+
- The “new” rules for getting your story across to time-pressed executives
- Give them what they need: Simple ways to consolidate and organize data
- Avoid the mistakes controllers sometimes make when reporting information to shareholders, investors and other outsiders
- Why many financial reports are difficult for others to interpret
- Closing the language gap between financial people and management
- How to present information “by exception” and avoid the sin of too many details
