Cost reduction and enhanced planning are hot-topics in the current economic climate. Doug Guess, CFO at Servigistics made some interesting comments in Finance Week on how bringing simple home-truths into cost management can deliver significant value back to shareholders and the business.
During boom times sales and revenue growth are the key concerns. As the market has cooled (dramatically) the need and opportunity to re-examine your businesses underlying cost-base presents itself there is an opportunity deliver huge savings, but you need the information upon which to base these decisions and to ensure that whilst reducing costs you are not hampering your ability to make the most of an economic bounce-back in the future.
There are two fundamental and complementary concepts at play here:
- Cost & Profitability Analysis; and
- Scenario-based Planning;
Effective cost and profitability analysis provides the baseline information of your current world upon which to take immediate action. Scenario-based planning ensures that when making forward-looking plans you have catered for all eventualities across your industries variables - cost of capital, price of materials, cost of labour, energy prices etc.
We are running a series of Essential Business Breakfasts covering this and other Business Essentials topics in the coming weeks and months. Why not register to attend and find out more?
- Take unnecessary costs out of your business quickly - introducing Oracle Hyperion Profitability & Cost Management (HPCM)
Tuesday 24th March 2009 - Central London - Planning in uncertain times - Breaking out of Excel Hell
Thursday 23rd April 2009 - Central London
Feel free to contact Polly Daghorn on 01483 418 628 or Polly.Daghorn@altiusconsulting.com to secure your place.
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