In all my experience, the most consistently tracked item is sales. Most organizations look at it daily (not a bad thing), it’s generally the easiest metric to quantify, and the least subject to manipulation. Wall Street, however, is obsessed with EPS. They could care less if you hit your sales target. If you miss your…

We have discussed the challenges in producing a realistic sales forecast in the past.  Not to discount the importance of the top line, but it is only one driver of an organization’s performance (though a VERY important driver).  I’ve witnessed many organizations that have sufficient revenue, but still lack profitability, hence the problem lies in…

Progress is being made to kill off the annual review in Corporate America, as up to 6% of Fortune 500 companies have officially made the decision to do away with them.   Surveys from mid-2012 were pretty conclusive that annual evaluations are not useful, yet they still continue to exist. Score one for the power…

There has been more than one piece written about asking the right questions.  I do not disagree that this is important.  But stepping back for a moment, what is the real objective?  It’s getting the right answers.   To get the right answers, it does not involve asking some of the right questions, it involves…

Are your employees stealing from you?   You might find that question preposterous, but even so, do you truly know the answer, or feel 100% certain in answering it? Odds are, most people think the answer is no, and hopefully, they’re right. If you think it’s yes, you either have proof, or you might doing…

The horror stories of bad ERP implementations have been well documented.  Annual surveys indicate that new ERP’s never quite measure up to expectations.  Between 50-60% of companies do not realize the benefits expected.  A similar percentage experience material disruptions to their business upon implementation.  Close to 20% are deemed project failures.   The following three…

Conventional wisdom / research says that employee turnover can be very costly to an organization (50% of annual salary and up).  The usual factors that most studies focus on is the costs related to the new / replacement employee:  recruiting, training, and to a lesser degree, lost productivity during the transition.   However, there are other…

Excel is both revered and despised, depending on who you ask. In certain occasions, it can be classified as both by the very same person.   It can be a great tool, as long as it’s used properly. However, to properly use a tool, you have to understand how it functions.   The biggest mistake…

The first rule to remember when it comes to sales forecasting, is that once the forecast is set, it is immediately wrong.  That being said, a sales forecast that is not grounded in reality can produce a boatload of headaches for an organization both in the short-term and long-term.   The eternal optimists love to…

Is the company’s auditor the last line of defense to make sure the financial statements accurately reflect the true financial health of the company?  The answer is almost always 100% yes.   The real question is: Is the auditor doing their job?  As with most professionals, a great majority of auditors are honest and competent. …