NABA Convention
Presented by Jennifer Elder CPA, CMA, CIA, CFF
Business Learning Institute Partner
Presented to NABA Convention
Nashville, TN June 5, 2013
BIOGRAPHY
Jennifer Elder
Jennifer Elder is a CPA, CMA, CIA, CFF, with a master’s in Organizational Leadership. She has worked in accounting and finance for the past 25 years in a variety of industries including manufacturing, residential construction and development, and angel investing. She spent five years in public accounting, seven years as the Accounting Department Chair of a community college, and the previous ten years in the role of CFO.
Recently, Jennifer started her own business, The Sustainable CFO, providing business consulting, on-demand CFO services, and business coaching services. The company’s target market is small and medium-sized businesses looking to improve their bottom-line and overall performance.
In addition to running her own company, Jennifer teaches finance in the Green MBA program at Antioch University New England. She is also a contributing writer for the National Association of Home Builders and TriplePundit, and a frequent presenter for the Maryland Association of CPA's, the Institute of Management Accountants, and the Society for Human Resource Management.
OTHER COURSES BY THIS INSTRUCTOR
Applying Ethics in the Real World Awesome Financial Presentations Better Forecasting Using Backcasting
Ethics: It's Not Just What You Do, but How You Do It! Financial Statements Analysis
Fraud: Detection and Prevention
Lions, and Tigers, and Numbers Oh My! FInance for the Non-FinancialManager Personality Styles in the Workplace
Planning and Implementing the Balanced Scorecard Preparing a Winning Business Plan
Risk Management - Disaster Recovery Planning Smarter Decision-Making
Strategic Skills for Finance
Successful Project Approval Using a Business Case Sustainability Reporting
Risk Management and
Forecasting
J E N N I F E R H . E L D E R
C PA , C M A , C I A , C F F, C G M A , M S
What is
“risk
management”
?
Risk Management
“Reducing
the effect of
uncertainty
on your
Risk Management
Need to know: 1. Organizational Objectives 2. Potential Risks 3. Impact of Risks 4. Mitigate Risks“The first step to
getting what you want
out of life is this:
Decide what you
want.”
How does an
organization
decide
Who has a
“business
plan” ???
(up-to-date!)
Benefits of a Business Plan
Summarize the business model
Establishes goals and sets direction Forces alignment
Establishes performance metrics Prioritizes spending and hiring
• Start the risk
management process with a business plan
Risk Management
Best Practices #1
What are the
parts of a
“business
1 • Mission & Vision 2 • SWOT 3 • Strategic Plan 4 • Operating Plan 5 • Financial Projections
Business Plan
1 • Mission & Vision 2 • SWOT
3 • Strategic Plan 4 • Operating Plan
5 • Financial Projections
Who has
vision,
mission, and
values
statements???
Vision, Mission, Values
Vision Statement
Where you are headed
A statement of what is possible
Mission
Why you exist
Mission Statement
Quality, Engineered, Quickly!
Why have
vision,
mission, and
values
"Every company no matter how big or small, needs a mission statement as a source of direction, a kind of compass, that lets its employees, its customer, and even its stockholders know what it
stands for and where its headed…"
• Develop an awesome
vision and mission statement
Risk Management
Best Practices #2
Risk Management
Need to know: 1. Organizational Objectives 2.Potential risks
3. Impact of risks 4. Mitigate risksWhat are some
ways to
identify risks
???
Identifying Risks
SWOT Analysis Risk AssessmentSWOT Analysis
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL
Tool #1: SWOT Analysis
What do we do
better than
anyone else?
Where could
we improve?
Tool #1: SWOT Analysis
Maintain
Build
Leverage
Remedy
Exit
Prioritize
Optimize
Prepare
Defend
Conducting a Risk Assessment
• Complete for every department and every function
• Involve all levels within each department
Ask All Employees:
• What could go wrong? • How could we fail?
• What must go right to succeed? • What decisions require the most
judgment?
• What activities are most complex? • What activities are regulated?
Ask All Employees::
• Where do we spend the most money? • How do you bill/collect related
revenue?
• On what information do we most rely? • What assets do we need to protect? • How could someone or something
• Understand your risks
• SWOT analysis
Risk Assessment Survey
Risk Management
Best Practices #3
Risk Management
Need to know: 1. Organizational Objectives 2. Potential risks 3.Impact of risks
4. Mitigate risksHow do you
determine the
impact of various
risks
???
Prepare 3 operational forecasts
1. Best Case 2. Worst Case 3. Realistic
Contingency Planning
Forecast for top 3 heat map risks
Impact on results Response plans
• Use Contingency
Forecasting
• Multiple Scenarios • Top 3 Heat Map risks
Risk Management
Best Practices #4
Risk Management
Need to know: 1. Organizational Objectives 2. Potential risks 3. Impact of risks 4.Mitigate risks
Who has a
disaster recovery
plan
???
(up-to-date!)
How Do You Begin?
1. Create a Disaster Recovery Planning Team
2. Create an Emergency Plan
Disaster Recovery Planning Team
all departments all levels
key suppliers key customers
local Gov’t, Red Cross
Emergency Response Plan
What to do when disaster strikes or is about to strike
Immediate responses to mitigate potential & actual impact
Protection – P.D.A.
Shelter Evacuation
Emergency supplies
How do you mitigate damage? How will you stay in touch? What records do you need?
Continuity Plan
Where else can you work from? How will you get work done? Who needs to be back at work?
What do you need to keep working? Who will you provide your materials?
Continuity Plan
Once you have a plan: Communicate to everyone Test
Rehearse
Keep copy of plan off-site & readily
accessible to all
Update every 6 months
• Prepare a Disaster
Recovery Plan
Risk Management
Best Practices #5
1. Prepare a business plan
2. Create an awesome mission
statement
3. Understand your risks
4. Use multiple scenario forecasting
5. Prepare a Disaster Recovery Plan
Risk Management
Best Practices
Jennifer H. Elder
CPA, CMA, CIA, CFF, CGMA, MS
The Sustainable CFO
THE BLI CURRICULA
Strategic conversation reflects the dynamics between the organization and its environment. The closer the language reflects current and potential customer dynamics, the higher the company’s profit potential.
community that enhance learning and foster organizational and executive leadership.
BLI has grown into the largest provider of on-site training in the country. Pam and the Customized Learning Solutions team have grown the business in three core segments – Corporate, Firm and Government.
Today’s business environment demands the need to gain competencies and share strategic knowledge. BLI delivers competency-based curriculum, courses, content, and community to enhance learning and grow intellectual capital for organizational and executive leadership.
These soft skills are essentially people skills – the non-technical, intangible, performance skills that determine your strengths as a leader, manager, and team member.
Great leadership is one of the most valued of all human activities. Modern myth holds that “leaders are born not made,” but leadership is a set of observable and learnable practices - it is the process people use when they bring out the best in others and themselves.
As the business world moves at an incredible pace, keeping up is a key to success. Today’s financial managers must be able to translate strategy to operational and corporate growth.
Many people in the business field cannot communicate effectively and, even more damaging, don’t realize it. Success is not defined solely by a product line or service - it relies on relationships formed and maintained through skillful communications. Your competitors know this. Do you?
Keeping up with technical competencies is a core business requirement for financial professionals. Staying attuned to the latest changes, updates, and regulations are necessary components to staying competitive in an ever-changing business environment.
Harness the technology you use every day to make your business life easier and allow you to work smarter.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
