Implementing a sustainable and efficient financial improvement plan is more than just cutting some unnecessary costs. It requires improving operational efficiency, making the best of your assets, maximising sales added value, strengthening risk management, reducing working capital and enhancing governance. This presentation outlines some key areas to be covered by all financial improvement plans.

1. How to improve your financial performance ?
© Bertrand Maes April 2016

2. How to improve your financial performance ?
• Maximise the value of your salesValue
• Make the best of your assetsUtilisation
• Improve operational efficiencyEfficiency
• Reduce costsCosts
• Strengthen risk managementRisk
• Improve controls on cash and working capitalCash
• Enhance governanceGovernance
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3. Value
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• Increase sales efficiency and effectiveness
• Improve your value proposition and your differentiating strategy
• Innovate
• Review your pricing policy
• Identify potential to implement price indexation clause
• Increase customer satisfaction
Maximise the value of
your sales

4. Utilisation
• Headcount:
• Improve utilisation and productivity
• Industrial Assets:
• Optimise industrial footprint
• Increase OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness): Availability,
Performance and Quality
• Implement yield management
• Capital Expenditure:
• Improve the Capex approval and maintenance process
• Consider divesting non-core or loss making assets
Make the best of your
assets
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5. Operation efficiency
•Production efficiency:
•Optimize raw material and energy efficiency
•Implement continuous improvement process:
•Lean / Six Sigma
•Best Practice
•Total Quality Management
•KPI and Benchmark:
•Set appropriate KPI to monitor and improve operational efficiency
•Benchmark units with internal or external references
•S&OP:
•Improve Sales & Operation Planning to ensure lower stock, higher
customer satisfaction and higher plant utilisation (reduce idle time or
excess inventory…)
•Reduce complexity
•Redesign to cost:
•Review how to simplify or standardise products without impacting the
value the proposition
Improve operational
efficiency
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6. Costs
• Reduce unnecessary costs
• Improve purchasing:
• Centralise, Standardise and Rationalise purchasing
• Reduce the number of suppliers
• Improve sourcing and organise tenders
• Review external costs
• Review opportunity to outsource existing activities
• Implement Shared Service Centre
• Ensure proper use of IT and Digitalisation tools
• Optimise Headcounts and increase payroll controls:
• Streamline the use of interim and temporary staff
• Control overtime and bonuses
• Review headcounts and recruitments
Reduce costs
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7. Risk
• Strengthen contract management
• Reduce Debtors risk:
• Improve debtors analysis
• Limit credit risk exposure
• Forex:
• Reduce or hedge foreign exchange risk
• Implement a risk reduction strategy on purchasing risks (commodity
prices,…)
• Insurance:
• Implement appropriate level of insurance
• Employee:
• Reduce risk of employers litigation
Strengthen risk
management
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8. Cash and Working Capital
• Debtors:
• Improve the quality and speed of the invoicing process
• Chase invoices before the due date
• Act quickly on late payments
• Inventory:
• Implement proper Sales & Operation Planning to optimise inventory
levels
• Reduce complexity
• Payables:
• Control payment terms and payment processes
• Cash:
• Improve cash forecast
• Centralise cash and debt management
Improve controls on
cash and working
capital
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9. Governance
• Focus
• Implement quickly and monitor progress
• Create a financial improvement project team working across functional,
BU and geographical boundaries
• Strategic and Financial Planning
• Set realistic targets
• Increase strategic and financial planning and analysis
Enhance governance
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10. How to improve your financial performance ?
© Bertrand Maes April 2016
CFO
Email: bertrandmaes@outlook.com
https://fr.linkedin.com/in/bertrandmaes