At first glance, the finance and production planning functions in a mid-sized business don’t seem to have a lot to do with each other. They are separated functionally and don’t often communicate with each other directly. Also, production planning reports to an operations director or supervisor while finance reports...
If you own a family business, there’s a good chance that you hope to one day pass it on to your children, grandchildren or other family members. Family-owned businesses have formed the backbone of entrepreneurship in America for hundreds of years, and their success is vital to the ongoing...
We’ve all heard the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” It is often quoted when discussing the importance of diversifying an investment portfolio so it isn’t vulnerable to wild price fluctuations by just one or a handful of stocks. This saying is also appropriate when it...
The 21st century is sometimes referred to as the Digital Age due to the fact that so much of what we do is done digitally. This includes everything from listening to music and watching television to accessing our news, information and entertainment on handheld mobile devices like smart phones...
Most businesses, regardless of their size, utilize policies and procedures as part of their organizational structure. The larger the organization, the more important policies and procedures (or P&Ps) tend to be. However, even small firms can benefit by creating well-defined P&Ps, communicating them throughout the organization, and taking steps to...
In 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) announced the creation of a new principles-based revenue recognition model. This new revenue recognition standard, which is referred to as Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, will replace the current industry-specific GAAP rules with a single...
Los Angeles and Southern California business executives often find that they need a cash infusion in order to take their companies to the next level. In this scenario, they have two primary options for funding: debt or equity. Debt is simply a loan, usually from a bank, that must be...
Some Los Angeles and Southern California business owners and entrepreneurs have been through the process of an organizational turnaround. This topic is especially relevant right now as both the national and California economies begin to finally show some signs of life more than five years after the end (at...
Most Los Angeles and Southern California business owners and entrepreneurs realize that their employees are their most valuable asset. But the management of their human resources often takes a back seat to other business functions that are seemingly more important, whether it is sales, marketing, operations or finances. But companies that...
The first of Sir Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion states that “every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.” The opposite also holds true: Objects in a state of rest tend to...