Ideas into Action
Leadership is about inspiring, challenging and supporting change; not about being in front. That is our philosophy and it underpins all our work. We are Ideas into Action, and we specialise in business finance training and process improvement. To achieve significant improvements in throughput, quality and capacity, with the same resources, we deploy a five step approach to business process improvement:
- Define the purpose and parameters of the business process. Set strategic objectives;
- Identify and map the Value Streams that make up the service. Link Value Stream measures to the strategic objectives;
- Analyse the variations in customer demand and in service performance;
- Measure the flow through the Value Streams, and identify the waste. Simulate the business process if necessary;
- Work with the Value Stream team to remove the waste, eliminate rework, create pull, and improve the process.
Our Services
Our core services focus on six areas:
- Business Finance Training: We offer a range of training programmes designed to enhance the business analysis, planning, and decision-making skills of accountants and operational managers. Courses include a business finance simulation; B2B Pricing and Margin Improvement; Working Capital Management and Cashflow Improvement; and Preparing a Business Case;
- Business Finance and Decision Making for Directors: Our flagship course provides intensive coverage of the key issues in business finance and decision making, with a focus on using financial information for improvement. The course is highly interactive, with numerous group exercises, and involves making "hands-on" decisions using financial and other business information;
- Throughput Accounting and Management Control: Throughput Accounting seeks to align costs and revenues with the "flow" through business processes. The focus is on increasing profitability and reducing cost by increasing the rate of flow through the whole process. We also offer the Introduction to Throughput Accounting training programme;
- Lean Finance: understanding and improving finance processes in organisations, including financial services, and the accounting function;
- Lean Service: applying the lean philosophy to the specific needs and issues of the service environment;
- Lean Leadership: creating the management philosophy and the organisational culture necessary for sustainable lean success;
- Lean Facilitation: providing the skills and training necessary for successful kaizen, 5S and other improvement activities, and creating a culture of "just do it" improvement;
- Process Simulation and Improvement: applying specific software tools to simulate business processes to aid understanding, guide improvement, and test improvement scenarios. We also offer training in Statistical Process Control for Beginners, Process Improvement and Practical Problem Solving;
We provide innovative and creative approaches to business finance training, process improvement and process modelling. We will help you prepare a plan for implementation that will boost performance by greatly enhancing the skills and behaviours of your organisation’s leaders; and by uniting your staff behind the achievement of improvement goals.
Our Experience
We have over 20 years experience in helping organisations realise the benefits of better planning, more effective communication and improved motivation through training and process improvement. What we do will depend on your organisation, its people and its circumstances, but you can be assured of a friendly and prompt response and an efficient "can-do" attitude. A friendly, no-obligation discussion would be an interesting starting point wouldn’t it?
Articles
Download published articles from the Ideas into Action Team:
Lean Accounting in the Public Sector