Finance for the Non-Financial Manager
Overhead cost reduction
A concentrated day of practical advice and guidance on how to minimise your overheads - immediately yet sustainably, improving the bottom-line without jeopardising the top-line.
20 April 2010
1 Day
-
GBP 699 + VAT
Membership Price: 349.5 + VAT London
9.00 - 9.30
5.00
34369
Why you should attend
As organisations in both the private and the public sectors face the most challenging economic downturn for over fifty years, the pressure to reduce overhead costs increases. While it is always possible to achieve a quick fix, the dilemma for responsible managers is how to reduce overheads in a sustainable way, without a detrimental effect on the development of the business or its service delivery objectives. The more sustainable the cost reduction, the greater the opportunities of growth as the economy recovers.
This intensive one-day seminar has been designed specifically to help you resolve that dilemma. It covers a range of approaches that deliver considerable savings plus a permanent culture change in the approach to the management of overhead costs.
Key benefits
This programme will help you:
- Avoid the dangers of simplistic cost cutting
- Rebalance resources without having to turn the organisation upside-down in the process
- Initiate a successful overhead review
- Implement the necessary changes quickly and efficiently
- Make effective overhead cost management part of normal business
Objectives
The objectives of this programme are to:
- Give you a proven methodology for overhead cost reduction
- Show you how to implement it
- Enable you to achieve a permanent transformation in your cost structure, embedding the appropriate scrutiny and controls that will prevent slippage
Above all, attending this programme will help you and your organisation save money – significantly and for the long term.
Who should attend?
Anyone with significant budgetary responsibilities will benefit from attending this event, particularly:
- Managing directors / Finance directors
- Strategic business unit managers
- Management accountants
Programme
1. Problems of reducing overhead costs
- Difficulty of assessing value for money
- Danger of simplistic cost cutting
- Failure of budgeting systems in managing overhead costs
2. Choosing the right approach to an overhead review
- Radical cost reduction
- Continuous improvement
- A middle way – rebalancing of resources
3. Avoiding cuts to strategically important capabilities
- Understanding the business imperatives
- Identifying where greatest value will be added
- Creating cost reduction plans that support the strategic imperatives
4. Organisation structure
- Designing an organisational structure that utilises managers effectively
- Speeding up communication and decision-making
5. Overhead activity analysis
- Activity data
- Types of overhead activity
- Using activity analysis to identify and cut out waste
6. Value for money analysis
- Costing outputs
- Assessing value to service recipients – both internal and external
- Defining and assessing options for service reduction
7. Process improvement
- Mapping processes
- Identifying process waste
- Practical steps to getting sustainable process improvement
8. Rebalancing resources
- Reducing costs – method changes, process changes, service level reductions
- Improving service – service level improvements, new tasks and services
- Decision-making on rebalancing of resources
9. Avoiding unprofitable products/services and customers
- Identifying the unprofitable products/services and customers in the first place
- Working out what to do with them
10. Purchasing effectively
- Six ways to purchase more effectively
- Ten ways to negotiate keenly
11. Benchmarking
- Ways in which benchmarking can benefit
- Techniques for benchmarking and the pros and cons of each
12. Reducing non-performing assets
- Identifying under-utilised fixed assets
- Reducing working capital
13. Effective implementation
- The value of involving people in identifying change opportunities
- Understanding the psychology of change
- Strategies for taking people with you
- Capturing cost reduction ideas
- Two key models for managing change
- Identifying good performance measures for tracking implementation
- Managing successful implementation
- Ensuring commitment and ownership to sustain momentum
- Making effective overhead cost management part of normal busines
14. Coping with the economic downturn
- How industry is reacting to the downturn
- Some guidelines on redundancies
- Some guidelines on layoffs and short-time working
15. Sundries
- An ad-hoc collection of cost reduction ideas
- Join the Overhead Cost Reduction Club
Seminar presenter
David Baines is a Director of Freeman Baines Consulting. He holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from Imperial College, and an MBA from the London Business School. Over the last 22 years he has consulted extensively in both the public and private sectors. His experience has included overhead cost reduction, activity-based costing, organisational restructuring, performance measurement,product and customer profitability, business process re-engineering and approaches to planning, forecasting and budgeting. He has written several management books covering all these areas, and has recently completed a major survey of budgeting in the UK.
What previous delegates thought about this course
‘Comprehensive coverage of a very important subject matter’
Gary Stevens, Sales and Marketing Director, The Wandsworth Group Ltd
‘Enjoyed the day – having a small interactive group was a benefit’
Neil Garbett, Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation
Multiple booking discount
Booking a 2nd or 3rd place on this event entitles the second and third delegate to a 10% discount. This discount only applies to bookings placed at the same time. For rates for four or more delegates please call our customer services on 0845 833 3212
Promotional opportunities
Are you looking for new ways to promote your company? Kaplan Hawksmere events are an ideal platform to reach your potential customers directly. We create tailor-made packages to suit your company's needs. If you are interested in discussing opportunities (which could include exhibition space, display space or sponsorship of an event, cocktail party or lunch) please call Simon Owen on 020 7960 5663 or email simon.owen@hawksmere.co.uk
In-house learning and development solutions
Tailor-made training for your company.If you have a group of five or more delegates you could benefit from our flexible in-house training programmes. For more information and an initial discussion please call Gary Mee direct on 020 7960 5616 or email gary.mee@hawksmere.co.uk
Continuing professional development
Kaplan Hawksmere events satisfy the continuing professional development requirements of a variety of professional institutions.We are also a registered member of the CPD Certification Service that has independently accredited all our courses. Certificates of attendance will be given to all delegates, so that they may claim appropriate credits in respect of continuing professional development requirements. For further information please visit www.hawksmere.co.uk
