Debt Management

Over the past decade or so we have been constantly bombarded with news about private and public projects that have either delivered scope at well over the expected budget or had to reduce scope to even come near to the original budget. Current thinking within project management methodologies only discuss the financial aspects of a project at a high level, leaving the “student” without any real way of working to greater understand the impact of their decisions on the financial results of the programme. In turn, the business case development is usually given minimal time and is a rushed job in the end. Investing in the correct people and time up front to review feasibility and secondly the business case is a must to ensure the total on target delivery of a project.

In the financial climate we are in, where budgets and costs are being cut, the time is now to ensure that whatever funding a company has available, that they invest it wisely – to do that you need to ensure that the project in the end – budget, costs and benefits are comprehensively reviewed.

With this in mind – using the Pathfinder Project Management Methodology as a basis, below are the 10 key steps to successful project financial management

(1) On new projects – invest time creating accurate feasibility studies and business cases, if this is a rushed job – in the end the results will deliver overspends.

(2) Review your project portfolio – are you carrying out the correct projects, are they nice to haves, are they being done for internal political gain – ensure each business case is robust and adds value to the future of the firm – spend time using previous experienced individuals to review and re-review the business case.

(3) Concentrate reviews just as hard on the benefits as the cost. In 80% of projects, once they are in, nobody wants to go back and review if they delivered as promised. So ensure from the start of the project you continuously check that as well as costs being on budget, that changes to your project have not altered your benefits.

(4) Cost cutting is not always the answer – allocate resource to “added value” projects – in today’s world cutting heads is a an easy short term fix, do not throw out the baby with the bath water and leave the firm with projects in-flight with no experience to deliver them. Instead review your project spend and as in (2) concentrate on adding value.

(5) Workforce development – up-skill their financial management knowledge, develop staff in leadership, health and safety, motivation etc – so when you put a non-finance manager in charge of a large project, is it not about time they were given the financial know-how. Don’t leave financial management to chance – develop your workforce.

(6) Break down the project into financially manageable sections. Too many projects work on the basis of a “pot of cash” – spend it as per the budget and if luck is with them, great! Instead take the “pot” and break it down into manageable sections – mapped to your project structure, that way you can see where budgets are by “workstream” and what ones are over/underspending.

(7) “one point of contact accounting” – too many managers will lead to budget overspend – following on from (6) above – The overall programme manager is responsible for the budget in total, at the same time each head of the projects parts should then be responsible for managing their part of the budget. This leads to one finance manager dealing with one project manager, ensuring a consistent relationship.

(8) Deliver focused and meaningful financial reporting to enable accurate decision-making. More is less – agree on what reporting is required from the project at the start and continuously improve until it is what the project needs to manage the programme of work. Because an accountant can deliver 20 pages of analysis a month to each project manager it does not mean that it’s correct – save the trees – minimise the reporting and improve the decision making.

(9) Communication – have a strong relationship between your project and finance manager. Finance cannot be back office, they need to be part of the project team and be seen to be so, and therefore open and honest communication channels lead to no surprises.

(10) Finance should be made aware of all potential risks / issues and a probable cost – if a problem has or may arise warn finance early, finance will be limited to what they can do to assist “after the event”.

The aim of budgeting is to look into your finances in a wholesome manner taking into account your income, expenses, savings, investments and come up with a good plan that successfully meet your needs. Remember that the pursuit of money should not be your major concern but rather, its planning and management in order to reach lifetime goals and dreams like buying a house, educating your children and a comfortable life after retirement.

You must begin by identifying your personal and family goals. Here, look at what are most important and set priorities. Remember to classify these goals as long term and short term and try to reach them.

Analyzing your present financial position is of out most importance. Know how much you earn, your expenses, savings, current investments and debts, if any. Use such information to identify strategies for achieving your objectives. You must ask yourself if you can reduce your expenses and increase your savings.

Many professions today have not realized the power of being engaged in business and have continuously focused on seeking on looking for opportunities of having overtimes in their work schedules in order to enhance their incomes especially in these bad economic times. But investing your income could save you a great deal because with proper planning you can earn more money. This will ease you financial plan. However, you should analyze your investments to see whether they are helping you achieve you goals. Remember that you also risk losing your investment principal.

One has to look for a way of saving on his/her taxes. Identifying the strategies that you could use to reduce on taxes is of absolute import

Invitations are the first glimpse your guests will have of the nature of your event. Your invitation sets the theme and mood for your wedding. When picking out styles of invitations you need to remember the invitation may be the only clue your guest will have in deciding how to dress, what to bring and what to expect of the grand affair you dream your wedding to be.

Working with your Guest List

Make sure you count the addresses and not the guests when budgeting for your invitations. What special arrangements need to be made for your out of town guest? Should you send them their invitations earlier than local guests? The best thing to do is send your out of town guests a “save the date card” which contains information about the wedding as well as information about any special accommodations that have been reserved for them. This card should be mailed out as early as one year before the wedding so that your guests have time to plan and make flight reservations if necessary.

Can I Invite Some Guests to the Wedding but not the Reception?

Yes, this is perfectly acceptable. Your invitation can have a separate card used to invite special guests to the reception.

Sending out your Wedding Invitations

Wedding invitations should be sent out 6-8 weeks before the wedding. The response cards must always be sent with postage. Make sure you have the right amount of postage on the response cards. You should never assume you are putting the correct postage on your invitation. Take one of your completed invitations to the post office and have it weighed. The correct postage will ensure prompt delivery with no postage due. Enclosing gift registry cards with wedding invitations should never be done…your family can get the message out about where you are registered.

Hand canceling your invitations is also a nice touch. It looks nicer and the envelopes tend to not get as damaged in the mailing process. Your local postal worker will frequently assist you with this. During the week mail gets set aside and sometimes misplaced so it best to mail invitations to your local guests on a Thursday. By doing this your guests receive them on a weekend and will be more likely to take the time to read and enjoy the invitation. Send invitations to out of town guests earlier in the week to allow for the extra mailing time. Always include your return address. This will guarantee that you know if your guest has not received their invitation.

Tracking Your Invitation Responses

Often one of the biggest headaches for brides is keeping tracking of who is coming, are they bringing a guest, are their kids tagging along, have they even responded? Atlas offers Invitation Tracking along with our design services. Your rsvp card would return to our office and we track every guest for you. You can receive daily or weekly reports of who is coming, who is not, and who you’re still waiting to hear from without the hassle of trying to keep track of it yourself.

Is it Mandatory to send a Thank You, even though I spoke to them already?

Yes, social etiquette says that you should always mail out a thank you note, regardless of if there was already a verbal thank you. A written thank you note should be sent out as soon as possible after receiving a gift. This is normally within 2 to 3 weeks of receipt. You do have up to about three months to send them all out.

Contact Atlas today and let us take care of all the details of your invitation, envelope printing, and guest list tracking. Email us at contact@atlasdesigns.org or by phone to 561.445.7630. We look forward to helping you Design the Unique Moments of Your Life!