- A Letter to Our Youngest Daughter - The Value of a Cup of Coffee
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- I started this note as a letter to our youngest daughter. We had just finished an errand to fix her car. What a good feeling to check off one of our weekend to dos. A friend recently told her about a new coffee trailer nearby. We drove over to check it out. The parking lot with the trailer had a number of other “food carts” in it. They work like this. You park your car, walk up to order at one of the trailers and then your order will be delivered to your car. This order and delivery system combines Portland’s food cart chic with drive-in like service.
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Take Assessment Watch Video- What Are Bankers Good for Anyhow?
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- Enjoy this series of shorts on Cash and Bankers from Jim. Time is the most expensive and elusive capital that businesses have. Often it’s spent on the wrong things, or wasted on big things that could have been exploited sooner and cheaper. What all businesses need is a time accelerant—and all have just that available to them but few see it.
- Don’t Miss the Danger Signs: How to Monitor Your Risk Controls
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- As advanced as an Internal Control Plan can be, it is not self-sustaining. Independent and/or ongoing evaluations are required to determine if each component is functioning effectively, and to allow deficiencies to be addressed in a timely manner. Monitoring is the process of comparing what you would expect to what actually happens. Within the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) framework, that takes place in three stages:
Governance & Controls – structure and controls.
Transaction Recording – systems, transaction processing and closing the books.
Reporting - efficient, timely and accurate information for decision making and meeting compliance requirements.
Accounting
Business Planning - provide the financial roadmap for the company with supporting analytics.
Financial Forecasting - integrate the company’s current performance relative to budget with the real-time business environment.
Investment Analysis - the framework to analyze new opportunities as they present themselves.
Finance
Cash Management - the discipline to ensure cash is available to operate the business normally.
Funding - Planning for and raising funds to meet the needs of the business.
Risk Management – Identification and mitigation of key business risks.
Treasury
Self-Awareness - Internal.
Team Building - External.
Strategy & Culture – Motivate people to follow you.
Leadership
Four Pillars of Executive Expertise
CFO.University is built around the Four Pillars of CFO Success. These Pillars are supported with Core Competencies. Our framework allows you to master your role as a senior financial officer. The Four Pillars are made up of:
Accounting – Governance & Controls, Transaction Recording and Reporting
Finance – Business Planning, Financial Forecasting and Investment Analysis
Treasury – Cash Management, Funding (Capital Raising) and Risk Management
Leadership – Self Awareness, Team Building and Strategy & Culture
