Improving Your Profits: Identifying Cost Cutting Opportunities

Overview

Part of one’s duty as a CPA working in industry is to safeguard the assets of the organization. Cost cutting is one way to preserve assets and maintain a company’s competitive position in the industry. However, what keeps us from ridding our organizations of unnecessary costs? In this course, we will look at the factors that prevent our companies from being as streamlined as they could be. By using statistics and survey data, we will attempt to show how to better negotiate and navigate budgeting and contracting decisions. We will also discuss financial statement analysis techniques, benchmarking, and cash flow management in an effort to better cut costs and maintain the long-run viability of an organization.

Objectives

List behavioral biases that prevent companies from being streamlined

Identify techniques that may be used to make cost cutting a part of the company's culture and business strategy

Describe techniques that may be used to discern whether additional headcount is necessary

Demonstrate vertical and horizontal financial statement analysis

List key considerations when benchmarking against competitors

Describe contracting and negotiation techniques

Discuss the business cycle and how cash flow management changes during each stage

Highlights

What keeps companies from becoming streamlined?

Behavioral biases

Information processing biases

Emotional biases

How to deal with behavioral biases

Connecting behavioral biases to cost cutting

Creating a culture of cost cutting

Rules of thumb for cost cutting

Managing headcount

Post-COVID common areas of excess cost

Budgeting techniques

Budget variances

Benchmarking

Common size financial statements

Horizontal analysis

Negotiation and contracting techniques

Cash flow and the business cycle

Designed For

CPAs, CFOs, and Controllers looking to improve profitability by streamlining expenses for their own organization or for their clients

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of budgeting

Preparation

None

Notice

By registering for this program and, accordingly, receiving the eMaterials, you’re acknowledging that you understand both the copyright restrictions on your eMaterials and the CTCPA cancellation policy.

Fees

Credits

Level

Code

Vendor

Fields of Study

Leader(s):

Curtis Quickel

Leader Bios

Curtis Quickel

Curtis is an individual practitioner in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Since 1998, he has traveled the US teaching Continuing Professional Education courses to thousands of CPAs for the AICPA and others. Before establishing his own practice, he worked several years in industry as a Corporate Controller. After 9/11 Curtis spend 9 years on Active Duty with the US Army completing three combat tours to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. In 2013 Curt retired as a Lieutenant Colonel with a total of 33 years of Active and Reserve service. He is a Past President of the Central Chapter of the Arkansas Society of CPAs and Past Chairman of the Industry and Commerce Committee. Curt is also a past recipient of the Arkansas Society of CPAs Outstanding CPA in Government Award.

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