C. Lynn Northrup, CPA, CPIM

Training for Profitability

Expanded knowledge of financial management can dramatically increase business profits. Accounting and finance remains a mystery to many small business owners and non-financial managers. Just relying on your CPA isn’t enough. You need to know the right questions to ask and when to ask them.

Financial and business training is the pathway to greater profitability. The trouble with training programs is that they are expensive and time consuming. Imagine an affordable self-paced learning system that will increase your knowledge and skills and get right to the point.

When businesses increase their knowledge and skills it produces greater success. CPA’s can provide an added value service to clients by giving them access to effective training programs. This produces happier business owners that in turn results in faster business growth and greater profitability.

Training for Profitability is a great investment that will produce amazing returns. My vision has been to convert my knowledge and experience into training programs that will help business owners and non-financial managers gain an edge over the competition. The new self-paced education programs are designed to take the mystery out of accounting, finance, and business terminology and skills.

I offer essential accounting, financial management, and basic business skills training courses that are focused on getting results. In addition, I also have created reference tools and resources that will help you manage your financial function more effectively.

Management Tools for Success represent a small investment for a profitable future.

Five Steps to Better Decision-Making

Making good decisions is one of the secrets to success. Application of these five steps allows you to leverage our Management Tools for Success with greater consistency. This systems oriented approach results in better decisions and greater efficiency.

Big decisions should include the following five steps:

1. Define the problem.
2. Clarify your objectives.
3. Develop creative alternatives.
4. Consider the consequences.
5. Analyze the trade-offs.

Defining the parameters of a problem is essential. Dig into the issues and make sure that you are focusing on the right things. Be flexible and evaluate all the parameters of the issue and be willing to shift based on changing circumstances.

You need to understand what your decision should accomplish. It is critical to know your objectives, your goals, and needs. This step will help guide your evaluation of information and the possible alternatives. It is helpful to write down your thoughts and concerns to narrow the focus on questions and concerns. Try to tighten your objectives in terms of the end result and be clear on why they are important.

Having creative and imaginative alternatives is the way to avoiding making past mistakes. There is a tendency to repeat what we did in the past. Making minor changes doesn’t work; you need to develop a range of options that can make a difference. Try bouncing the issue off of others and then try and come up with new slants and perspectives. You just might come up with something new and a better solution.

Take time to think through all the consequences of results from possible decisions. Project yourself into the future and try to imagine each of the alternatives and their impact. Go through an analysis of the possibilities and compare the results and understand how they would affect you. Write down the alternatives so you have a clear understanding of the range of possibilities. Greater clarity in your thought process results from writing down and documenting the array of possibilities.

The last step is evaluating the trade-offs resulting from a decision. You will need to consider all the advantages and disadvantages resulting from the alternative decisions. In some cases you will have a clear idea as to a result and in other instances there will be uncertainty. These are the instances where you’ll have to make some judgments and weigh the different possibilities.

A component of decision-making is to understand your appetite for risk. This is a time when you need to think ahead and have contingency plans. Engaging in serious future thought regarding potential outcomes and results is a key component of any decision-making process. Face the reality of what could happen and think carefully about the outcome. Be ready to deal with things that don’t happen as you imagined and understanding how to react accordingly. Be ready to embrace adversity.

In summary, see the reality of possible outcomes and not just the outcome you want to see and be prepared to deal with them.

Plan to Do Better?

We’ve just finished up paying our taxes for the year. Maybe you had to pay more than you wanted and had to scramble to come up with enough cash for the payment. You might have looked at the numbers and wondered why we didn’t do better. There could be lots of scenarios to the story.

Reality is that many businesses don’t really know how they are doing and wonder how they can do better. This is an all too familiar theme for most small businesses. It is essential for businesses to take time to consider their options.

Here’s some signals that maybe your business could use some help:

• Gross margins have decreased.
• You can’t identify your product margins.
• Profit margins are too low.
• Your cost structure is out of line with the competition.
• You’re borrowing too much.
• You have declining trends over the past few months.

Maybe you need a tune-up:

• Has income declined over the last three quarters/
• Are sales declining?
• Are you satisfied with your overall results?
• Do you have a plan to maintain your rate of growth?

Here’s some signs that things need to turn around:

• Are you starting to lose money?
• Do you have too much inventory?
• Can you recruit new help?
• Do you have too much debt?
• Do you know where you are making profits?
  • By customer
  • By product or service
• Have you lost business to competitors?

Crisis questions might include:

• Can you meet payroll?
• Will the bank lend you more money?
• Have good employees quit?
• Have vendors stopped shipping goods to you?
• Have you had time to think and strategize?
• Have any of your customers who don’t pay on time stopped ordering?

Maybe you just think your business should be doing better and you don’t know why. Whatever the reasons, there are things every business should and could be doing to make things better. My blog post on Biggest Business Problems explains and discusses these issues.

The first thing businesses should do is step back to reflect on what you have done and where you want to go. Businesses fail to engage in “Strategic Thinking” and they fail to effectively “measure their performance” on a regular basis.

These are what I call the Management Tools for Success that are critical for growing and increasing profitability. Business owners need to spend the time and effort to learn about accounting and measurement. In addition, they need to then learn how to apply these tools to making their business more successful.

My goal is to provide business owners with the knowledge and tools they need to be successful. Take advantage of my consulting experience which are offered as resources for businesses on a subscription basis and as toolkits and checklists which can be downloaded from my store.

A good way to get started is with The Guide to Strategic Thinking and The Strategic Thinking Toolkit and creating a plan for Profit Enhancement. The key is doing something rather than just thinking about it. So go make it happen.

New Tools

New teaching and collaboration tools were added yesterday. I am now up and running with Adobe Connect so that I can work and interface with anyone anywhere. This has been in the planning ever since the conversion to the new Word Press web site began, but it is now a reality. This tool enables me to teach and share my knowledge in live webinars.

Business owners can now receive live consulting support through the meeting room capability offered by Adobe Connect. The ability to share files, of any type, combined with virtual communication in the meeting room is exciting. It represents a huge leap forward in my capability to teach, coach, and share knowledge.

My plan is to immediately begin scheduling webinar conference sessions in accounting, financial management, and basic business skills. I’ll record the initial sessions to make sure everything flows smoothly.  These sessions will be recorded and made available on the web site. Once we get past the initial stage, the webinars will be live as well as recorded.

The initial learning conference sessions will be presented over the next few weeks. There will be a total of 14 webinar learning sessions cover the three conference topics. Each session will be recorded and the recording link will be available to those who sign up to participate in the three learning programs. The three topics are:

• Accounting Basics (5 webinars)
• Basics of Business Financial Management (4 webinars)
• Basic Business Skills (5 webinars)

The sessions are described in detail by following the link to the web site.

After these initial programs, we will have an ongoing series of presentations covering a wide range of business topics. We will be providing the latest guidance on managing risk based on COSO’s new exposure draft on Enterprise Risk Management. Other topics will include strategic planning, change management, lean six sigma, and cost accounting techniques.

While specific learning topics will be offered, I will offer one on one coaching sessions on request. In addition, special webinar presentations will be offered on current topics.

The new Adobe Connect webinar and meeting capabilities offer an exciting range of possibilities that I was only able to provide through seminars and consulting engagements. Because I am so excited about the new tools, I am offering a free Accounting Basics for Business eBook to the  first 5 people who sign up for the new learning programs.

The initial presentations will be accessible by the end of next week March 10, 2017.

Business Resources

The New Business Resources offers membership access to exclusive training webinars in addition to some outstanding financial and business management reference material.

These new offerings are exciting. The Reference Guides are a new concept. Business owners can gain access to extensive financial knowledge and reference material just by subscribing for each Guide. There are three Guides offering a full range of guidance and support on managing a financial function:

• Controllership Guide
• CFO Guide
• Cost Management Guide

These Guides provide complete references and directions on implementing and operating a business financial function.

Detailed explanation of the contents of each Reference Guide is provided. The membership fee is $49.95 for a full year (12 months) of access. The material is easily accessed and available when you need reference information or an answer to a question.

The Controllership Guide addresses the accounting function, financial analysis, and internal control. The CFO Guide deals with a wider range of financial management issues such as debt and equity structure, financing, and levels of financial analysis. The Cost Management Guide provides an abundance of specialized information on cost accounting, cost management, and techniques for performing cost analysis.

Retirement Resources is a great tool for retirees and those considering retirement and is based on my work in the areas of retirement planning and elder care. It provides an abundance of information on a wide variety of retirement topics. There are also links to web sites that I researched during the course of developing multiple study programs and my Navigating Retirement book.

My new eBook Accounting Basics for Business is focused on detailing accounting basics for business owners and managers. The eBook gives them the information needed to understand and utilize accounting systems. Another eBook, Basics of Business Financial Management, addresses financial management and analysis and the use of accounting reports. Based on my experience from teaching MBAs, I created Basic Business Skills outlining the basic business skills needed to cope in today’s business environment.

The store also features toolkits and checklists to assist in managing business financial functions. Check out business tools, retirement resources, and the store. I think you’ll find the information and knowledge to help you achieve success.

Free eBook

Building Business Value© is my new eBook that will introduce you to Tools for Success and the launch of the all new www.northrupcpa.com. We’re giving you this eBook free just for signing up to receive our newsletter.

This new eBook spells out the components of business success using Strategic Optimization. This is the foundation of my Knowledge Center and the content available from the Store.  Along with this great resource, I have created several eBooks, Toolkits, and Reference Guides designed to create success and take you and your business to new heights.

Strategic Optimization is based on seven basic principles that are critical in building a successful business. Building Business Value© describes the following seven steps in detail:

1. Have a Strategy
2. Effective Sales and Marketing
3. Create Effective Processes
4. Measure Results and Progress
5. Have Visionary Leadership
6. Effective Change Leadership
7. Effectively Utilize Technology

While these steps are common sense, it’s amazing how often they get ignored. These steps represent the foundation of every consulting project which I have used to assess a multitude of companies. I think that business owners can do their own self-assessment to get them on the track of increasing the value of their businesses. I have the tools to help achieve that objective.

 The Self-assessment Toolkit is available in the Store. In addition, The Building Business Value Toolkit is also available. Combining these tools with the free eBook gives business owners a significant edge on their competition.

The New Knowledge Center is my focus for the future. Business owners and managers can gain access to Reference Guides and Training that will provide the tools needed to continue to build business value and to increase profitability.

The Building Business Value© eBook provides the foundation for effective utilization of the Tools for Success. The 10 Step Process links Strategic Optimization to the action steps required to achieve business growth:

1. Get to the point of pain experienced by the business
2. Scope out what needs to be done (corrective action)
3. Orient the business to the reality of economic and market conditions
4. Manage the scale of the business to fit current and future reality
5. Structure debt to maximize cash flow
6. Maximize assets to get the biggest bang for your buck
7. Optimize products and services
8. Improve employee effectiveness
9. Improve profitability
10. Change the right processes for the right reasons

Common sense tools and methods represent exactly what businesses need as they face tougher and increased amounts of competition. Tools for Success don’t represent silver bullet fixes, just common sense applications of what can work to make the difference between success and failure.

Businesses need to guard against complacency where they can get trapped into a state of denial and deception regarding the reality of the necessary action steps to get things on track. Conducting an effective self-assessment can be the difference between Success and Failure. The Self-Assessment Toolkit provides a solid framework of instruction on how to conduct an assessment combined with checklists and questionnaires.

Another area where businesses struggle is the development of effective strategic thinking to make the business vision and mission become reality. The Strategic Thinking and Planning Toolkit guides business owners through the process of defining their business future. You gain the tools to ask the right questions such as what business could we be in and what business should we be in? Also, there is the question as to what business shouldn’t we be in? You gain the tools to determine your unique strategic profile and to develop effective value propositions.

The New web site sets direction with Building Business Value©, the Knowledge Center, and eBooks  provide the foundation for developing action plans. With these invaluable tools, you will receive the guidance to determine what needs to take place and the specific steps or actions needed to get there. Use these tools and take your business to new heights and greater profitability!

Remember to sign up for your copy of our FREE eBook here.

Rethinking the Future

My online social presence has been pretty quiet the past few months as I stopped to re-evaluate the future of my business. The thought process has been focused and intense as I contemplated where to take my 40+ years of knowledge and expertise in today’s busy and evolving business world. It was a much needed process  and I recommend it to every business owner and entrepreneur.

For most, there will come a time when one just needs to stop and decide the best direction as you travel forward in your journey of life. It didn’t seem right to be pumping out blog posts while going through the process of discovering this new direction. So, I decided to rethink the concept of the virtual CFO and Controller in a more focused and intense time of contemplation.

While I think many business owners urgently need the help which I can offer, they first must understand why they need it and to what degree they need it. Therefore, I decided that the best service I could provide to today’s busy business owners and entrepreneurs was to share my knowledge and expertise in a variety of formats and at affordable rates.

I have created easy-to-read and implement booklets, toolkits, and learning programs focused on the two most important aspects of running a successful business; accounting and business knowledge. In addition, I have packaged personal advice developed throughout my 40 years of financial management and executive business experience in accessible, simple and self-paced learning programs.

As you can imagine, it has taken a considerable amount of effort and thought to bring business owners the tools they need to manage their businesses in a variety of formats such as these. But today’s world demands quick and simple solutions,  and as a lifelong learner myself, I realized that the need for what I have to offer is great enough to go the extra mile in discovering the best ways in which I can offer it.

So, I have created several easy to read booklets, and I have been developing self-paced learning programs. The learning programs will be offered in the form of recorded webinars featuring accounting, financial management, and basic business skills. The new products will be affordable and will easily fit within the busy schedules of today’s business owners and entrepreneurs.

In addition to booklets and learning programs, I will be offering an online subscription site which will allow subscribers direct access to exclusive content on a much wider range of business and finance topics and at a more in-depth level of application for their businesses.

As I evaluated and analyzed what I felt should be my target market of business owners and entrepreneurs starting business, I concluded that cost effective knowledge and training was the right direction. The virtual CFO and Controller support is still there for those who need it and want it but this won’t be my primary business focus.

Charting the new course has taken much longer than I had anticipated. But, the resulting products will be cutting edge accounting and financial management information which business owners can use immediately!

The ease of use as well as the ability to gain access to my expertise at a fraction of the cost of hiring a virtual CFO or Controller will be worth the wait! So, please be patient as all these new products are introduced and made available. Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when you can start utilizing my expertise for the success of your business!

Learning

My last post talked about knowledge and the transition process of providing a variety of new offerings and programs. A key element of knowledge is learning and how it is delivered. I have developed new learning programs focused on accounting, finance, and business skills that will soon be available in a self-paced learning format. This will just be the start of my new learning programs.

I have been searching for ways to convert my knowledge base into workable formats that would enable easy transfer for students. My delivery system will include a mix of power point programs, podcasts, video, interactive chat, and recorded webinars. This platform allows students to learn by using a self-paced approach that fits their schedule.

The new learning programs will cover a four week period to facilitate transferring a significant amount of knowledge efficiently over the duration of the program. Students can set their own pace for learning to absorb the knowledge being offered. I started with programs focused on the basic business tools since this is an area where small businesses and employees of mid-sized business need help. These initial programs provide the foundation for continuous learning.

Once the learning platform is launched, I will be offering more advanced programs dealing with financial statement analysis, cash flow management, and the basics of cost accounting. Some knowledge sharing will be subscription based sites. Other more advanced learning topics such as strategy, change, and risk management will be offered in course format. These topics and others will be available as the new learning modules are developed.

The development of the learning programs provides fresh new material and topics to continuously build on the established learning foundation. Students can participate in the learning program at any point with the understanding that new material will become available on a regular basis.

I will also be developing booklets that link to each new learning program. The booklets will provide everyone with a solid supplement to improve their knowledge base. These programs also establish a foundation for participation in coaching programs.

We’re excited about offering the new learning programs which will be available soon. Promotional one time offerings on the new courses will be offered in the near future, so stay tuned.

Knowledge

My last blog post dealt with change. Well, I’m taking my own advice and making  major revisions to my service and product offerings. The big change is providing greater access to me and the knowledge I can share with you. These exciting changes will help to increase your profits and grow your business.

I’m still going to be available as a virtual CFO and controller. However, I will be offering new affordable learning courses in accounting, finance, and business skills. These courses will be available in self-paced learning formats so you can proceed at your pace and on your schedule. The format will allow direct interaction with me to answer your questions.

In addition, I have created new booklets and will be revising older content to provide you with greater amounts of information to help you solve business problems. This information will be available in booklet form, new self-paced learning courses and subscription web sites. The subscription web site resources will be a new way for me to share my knowledge and to provide you with access to specialized business information.

I have a number of training programs that were delivered in seminar fashion. Some of these programs will be converted to self-paced learning courses and others will be available through subscription sites. The subscription program will allow access to a variety of knowledge resources.

Another new feature that will be offered will be group coaching sessions using virtual webinar capability. Coaching will cover accounting and financial management topics in addition to strategic business areas. The group sessions will make coaching more affordable in a sharing environment. The webinar format allows me to provide knowledge on a more personal basis that can be accessed on demand to fit your schedule.

Individual virtual coaching sessions will also be offered to individuals demanding more personalized service. The coaching sessions will be tailored to fit specific needs and preferences. Scheduling will be arranged to fit individual client needs.

I will continue to provide virtual CFO and controller services to businesses utilizing cloud based accounting, analysis, and planning tools. These tools allow me to provide financial management support to businesses anywhere in the world.

My primary focus on my web site will be CFO, financial management, accounting, and business topics. Other areas of my expertise such as retirement, estate planning, and elder care will be available in booklets and on subscription web sites. This will bring greater focus to clients and with more effective access to information. I’m always available through e-mail and telephone if clients have specific questions or issues.

The changes are underway and you will start to see the new direction over the next few weeks. I am excited about these changes and the opportunity to provide you with the special knowledge that will help your businesses to grow faster and become more profitable.

Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions.

Making Changes

I was asked “when do you know when to make changes?” I have some thoughts about changes and when to make them. Change is difficult, complicated, but still possible.

First, you have to feel the need for change before you can want to make the change. This is tough because you are trying to substitute new, unfamiliar behaviors, for old comfortable behaviors. You might be feeling the need for wanting to make changes, but it seems exhausting and over whelming to get things going. This is when you have to overcome your ego and face your fears.

Facing your fears takes courage, lots of it. You have to look in the mirror and deal with current reality. It boils down to the process of dealing with the elephant in the room. Change is a process that you feel. It is an invisible emotion laden process which is why courage, commitment, and considerable effort are absolute necessities for making change happen.

Change is a process. You’ll instinctively know when you need to take action. Whether it’s a personal or a business change, you have a vision of your existence and what you want to achieve. You have a purpose and a standard for what needs to be accomplished. This provides the basis for how we improve and determines what work needs to be done. These soft skills tell you the problems that need to be solved.

From this starting point you need to buckle down and face the reality of moving to something different. It will take more than just measuring, monitoring, and planning what needs to happen. At this point, it is a matter of just doing it and taking action. I hope this deals with the question of when to make change.

The first step after beginning the process is making sure you’re doing the right things. From doing the right things, you need to move to doing things better. Here’s where you are focused on creating improvement. Creation evolves into innovation and doing things different and better than your competition. It is often copying best practices or eliminating unnecessary steps.

It might sound crazy that you are trying to accomplish things that can’t be done or seem impossible. But in reality this is exactly what you need to do. You’ll never do it if you don’t begin the change process and then keep it moving forward. As I write this, I am reflecting that this is exactly what Blue Ocean Strategy is all about. It is doing something different and better than what others are doing.

Change is essential for success. It takes effort and courage to tackle the impossible. But, you will never achieve the impossible if you don’t initiate the process of change and just do it!