Managing Cash Flow

238 Analyzing Non-Value-Added Functions
Through coordinating activities of various areas, the cash management study
process achieves positive changes in these areas simultaneously. The process also
allows such areas to work together in the analysis of present practices and the
implementation of new systems and procedures. In this manner, all areas learn
with less reinventing and change within the same time period.
The cash management study can be a stand-alone project to identify critical
problem areas and provide standardized improvements. It can also minimize the
practice of reinventing good practices that already exist in another part of the
organization. The study can also provide a comparison between the ways in
which different people perform the same task in the same area, or a comparison
of performance across different work units within the company. It can also provide
the knowledge of operations and its effect on company cash flow.
In the review of the accounting function, a number of areas of potential
improvement are identified to make the company operate more economically, efficiently,
and effectively. The implementation of such improvements places the
company in a better position for future growth and profitability and will enable
the company to compete more effectively in the marketplace. Although there are
many other aspects of the company’s accounting practices that can be addressed
for productivity, cash flow, or profit improvements, these materials contain
effective examples of the types of conclusions and recommendations that can
result from such a cash management study. Because each company is different and
each cash management study is different, the resulting findings, conclusions, and
recommendations will also be unique to that study of the particular company.
In the present business atmosphere, with emphasis on customer service,
quality, economies and efficiencies, profit maximization, and cash management,
the cash management study becomes not a one-time, stand-alone project, but an
ongoing process of searching for best practices in a company program of continuous
improvements. The application of cash management procedures is everyone’s
responsibility.
CASH MANAGEMENT
IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY.