Raise Your Game for Firm Success:

CHAPTER ONE: FINANCIAL REPORTING
Let’s define some common terms
What to consider in financial management software
Back to basics: accrual vs. cash accounting
Two sets of books: accrual and cash
The ins and outs of financial reporting
What financial metrics do firms track?
How KPIs impact profitability
Managing KPIs for firm success
Where does backlog fit in?
Key balance sheet metrics to track
To share or not to share…

CHAPTER TWO: FINANCIAL TRENDS IN THE A/E INDUSTRY
Revenue continues modest growth
Labor utilization has dipped slightly
Group insurance costs increased modestly
Overhead rates are trending downward
Target DL multiplier has leveled off
Achieved DL multiplier has increased?
Net revenue deficit has turned into a surplus
Net payroll multiplier (revenue factor) increased a bit
Profitability also increased
Return on shareholders’ equity reached an all-time high
…Because it took less time to invoice and collect
Equity per staff has leveled off

CHAPTER THREE: BUSINESS PLANNING AND BUDGETING
The importance of an annual budgeting plan
Your annual budget: the least important part of the business plan.
Adopting a better business planning process

CHAPTER FOUR: COMPENSATION
The importance of human resources
Why compensation matters
Establishing staff salaries
Establishing management salaries
Goals for benchmarking
What about overtime?
How to determine your bonus pool
Bonus distribution best practices

CHAPTER FIVE: PRICING
Understanding the pricing dilemma
Developing a pricing strategy
Pricing government jobs
Determining optimum pricing

CHAPTER SIX: CONTRACTS
Let’s talk about contracts
Ways to define a fee limit
The financial risks of each contract type
The legal risks of contracts
How to manage risk effectively

CHAPTER SEVEN: PROJECT CONTROLS
Understanding “net revenue deficit”
Monitoring projects with earned value analysis
Developing a project review process

CHAPTER EIGHT: MANAGING CASH
The importance of cash flow management
Managing the cash life cycle
Understanding cash-flow forecasting
Overcoming AR problems

CHAPTER NINE: MANAGING OVERHEAD
Determining what costs are overhead
Maximizing return on overhead
Tracking business development return on investment
Seller-doer vs. business development staff
Tips on managing other forms of overhead

CHAPTER TEN:MANAGING MULTIPLE BUSINESS UNITS
Different types of business units
Why not to allocate corporate overhead
Moving away from profit centers

CHAPTER ELEVEN:OWNERSHIP TRANSITION
Ownership transition challenges
Developing a 10-Year ownership transition plan
How one owner cashed out
Who qualifies as an owner?
What’s the right mechanism for OT?
What’s the value of your firm?
Finalizing the buy-sell agreement