Manage Finance JMG

Activity 1A

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Identify an area of business and explain how you could use different forms of current and present financial data to ascertain whether the department made a profit or a loss.

You do not have to use actual figures from your business.

The IT services group shows that:

➢ Cash flow reports indicate that the income of the IT services group has dropped from $10,000,000 in the 2012-2013 year-period to $6,000,000 in the 2013-2014 year-period; a decrease of 40%.

➢ Expenditure reports indicate that, in total, $12,000,000 was spent by the IT service grouping 2013-2014, which far exceeded the budget of $5,000,000

This information is represented in the table below:

The table shows that the IT services group’s expenditure was up $8,500,000 in 2013-2014, whilst income was down $4,000,000.

By examining the previous year’s data, we can see that the IT services group has performed very poorly in 2013-2014 and has made a loss.

The standalone 2013-2014 figures are poor but become much worse when compared with the success of the IT services group in the previous year.

The success of the IT services group in 2012-2013 led to the projected income of the IT services group in 2013-2014 being raised by $500,000, a target that was not even close to being met

Activity 1B

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Using your answer from the previous activity, explain how you would undertake research to review the reasons for the profit or loss.

1. Budgets, forecasts and variations:

to see money allocated, expectations and variances in these totals, such as overspend

1. Cash flow/profit reports:

to see when money is coming in and how much of it is profit

1. Financial/operational statements and reports (e.g. expenditures and receipts, profit and loss statements):

to see money coming in, money spent and how money is spent, as well as

periodic results and statements

1. Market valuations:

to value the business, its stock and its assets.

Activity 1C

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Using your business plan, identify your business’ critical dates in terms of income and resource use and generation.

Taking example; if a big shopping event is coming up, you may want to invest in extra stock in anticipation of the higher volume of sales.

Critical Dates

National and worldwide high-volume sale days in retail:

1. Black Friday

a notion adopted from American tradition. This is the Friday after Thanksgiving and participating stores slash the prices of their items online and in-store, leading to an annual shopping frenzy that often lasts the whole weekend.

1. end of financial year sales (EOFYS):

when retail businesses sell off current stock before new stock arrives (around the month of June).

1. Boxing Day

Boxing Day sales are hugely popular and are part of the January sales, where customers flock to buy discounted items after Christmas.

• ➢ General sale times:

1. such as seasonal clothing changes
2. newly-released items
3. store-specific events

Activity 1D

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Explain how and why you would analyze your business’ cash flow trends.

By analyzing your cash flow, you can see when and where the money comes and goes within your business.

By identifying trends, you can:

➢ Identify times when income increases significantly, such as an event explained in the previous section

➢ Identify times when income falls significantly

➢ Identify steady sales and the average income for these periods

➢ Identify times of increased expenditure

➢ Identify times of low expenditure

Analysing cash flow can help you to identify where your money is being spent and where any overspending may be occurring. This will enable you to take the steps towards managing the business’ finances in a more efficient and economical way.

When analysing cash flow trends, you will generally focus on three areas:

• ➢ Operating activity: o money gained and spent through the operation of the business:
• ▪ business income
• ▪ business losses
• ▪ expenditure
• ➢ Investment activity: o purchase and return of investments, such as:
• ▪ property
• ▪ assets
• ▪ equipment
• ➢ Financing activity: o money used to finance business activities:

Activity 1E

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Which taxes are applied to your business?

➢Company tax

➢ Payroll tax

➢ Goods and Services Tax (GST)

➢ Capital Gains Tax (CGT

Explain each one, including the rates and geographical variations, if applicable.

Company tax is currently (December 2014) set at a flat rate of 30% and is applied at a corporate level. The ATO website explains company tax in full detail. A link to the relevant page is included in the references section at the end of this Learner Guide.

The payroll tax is paid by employers on their employees’ wages. Payroll tax is based upon the employee’s wages and their location. The Australian Government business website (www.business.gov.au )explains payroll tax in full detail. A link to the relevant page is included in the references section at the end of this Learner Guide.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a national tax applied to many goods and services that are sold in Australia. The rate is currently (December 2014) set at 10%. The ATO website explains company tax in full detail. A link to the relevant page is included in the references section at the end of this Learner Guide.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is included in the income tax system and is applied money gained from the sale of an asset. Tax due is added to an individual’s tax bill, as the money gained is considered taxable income. The Australian Government business website (www.business.gov.au ) explains CGT in full detail. A link to the relevant page is included in the references section at the end of this Learner Guide.

Activity 1F

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

About your current financial management software, give all the pros and cons you can think of.

Advantages

➢ It meets your needs

➢ It is better than your current software

➢ It is easy to use

➢ It is worth the price.

Disadvantages

➢ Hard to use

➢ Out of date

➢ Incomplete

➢ Too expensive

➢ Not going to be updated and maintained

Summarise whether you think the software is suitable for both your current needs and future needs.

Managing finances overall

1. Maintaining the general ledger
2. Managing financial accounts
3. Segmenting income and expenses
4. Recording transactions

5.Managing bills

6. Creating and managing budgets
7. Monitoring investments
8. Creating reports – transaction, budgeting

and management

9. Calculating the value of the business

Activity 2A

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Give an example of how you could use previous financial data to determine the allocation of resources.

For example:

• ➢ Service in a bar o resource: human resources.

Bar staff have been complaining that they are understaffed, even though there are three of them working on the bar on an evening.

To assess their complaints, you must consider the following:

➢ Unfamiliar with the department: you may dismiss their claims, as there are three people being paid to work the evening and another staff member would be a waste of money

➢ Familiar with department: you would realise that even though there are three members of staff, the bar can get five-deep all the way around with punters yelling for service. This is because it takes a lot of time to mix cocktails and pour stout. An additional pair of hands would help keep business flowing when staff are tied up preparing drinks

➢ Under-allocation of resources: staff are way too busy and cannot serve customers fast enough, meaning that both customers and staff are unhappy. Staff are under significant stress, which means that there is a high turnover of staff, which wastes money and time on training

➢ Over-allocation of resources: if there are too many staff, unengaged staff may loiter around the bar looking bored and getting in the way. This can give customers the impression that the bar is not as busy as it should be and that it is poorly managed

Explain the figures and how you would allocate resources accordingly.

Past financial data may reveal that there was a high staff turnover, increased use of sick days and walk-outs. It may also reveal that there are many customer complaints and the bar has not been hitting its income targets.

These targets are achievable if the staff can serve the required number of customers and drinks; if staff were happier in their work, they may be less inclined to walk out, use sick days and leave.

Identifying these problems and allocating the additional resources can mean that targets are met, customers are happy, and staff stay on.

Activity 2B

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Identify a new item you could add to the budget in your business. Estimate the costs of the new item and how it would be included within the budget.

For example, if you wanted to buy a motor vehicle for your business, you would have to estimate costs associated with:

➢ The initial purchase

➢ Tax

➢ Insurance

➢ Fuel

➢ Consumables, such as tyres

➢ Maintenance

➢ Repairs.

You need to estimate both upfront and ongoing costs.

The cost associated with new items in a budget may be:

➢ Initial cost

➢ Running costs/fuel

➢ Maintenance.

When new expenses are proposed, you will need to do two things:

1. Work out the cost of the new item,
2. Determine a budget for the item

Activity 2C

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Give an overview of the organisational policies and requirements you need to adhere to when you are preparing budgets.

These organisational requirements may be:

➢ Financial analysis assessments

➢ Financial management manuals

➢ Legal and organisational policies, guidelines and requirements

➢ Occupational health and safety policies, procedures and programs

➢ Price and exchange parameters

➢ Quality assurance and/or procedures manuals

➢ Recording and filing systems

➢ Internal control procedures

➢ Reporting requirements

➢ Standard financial analysis techniques

Policies to adhere to

➢ Delegated authorities

➢ Limits on volumes and types of financial transactions

➢ Reporting and timing of duty, excise and other overseas government charges (as a prepayment setup or by a periodic settlement basis)

➢ Reporting periods

➢ Taxation and payment timings.

Activity 3A

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Write a plan detailing how you would circulate newly-written budgets to managers and explain any additional information they need to know, such as reporting requirements and financial delegations.

Create your budget and include year-to-year actual expenses and annualise this information for the full current year. Add in any step-costing, bottlenecks and expected funding limitations for the up-coming budget year. Obtain the revenue forecast and validate this with the appropriate person(s).

When you have produced and verified a budget, you will need to circulate the information to relevant managers and supervisors so that they can enforce them and use them for their own department budgetary requirements.

When other departments produce their own budgets, ensure that these are checked for errors and for comparing to the identified bottlenecks, funding and step-costing constraints.

Obtain capital budget requests and validate these before forwarding to senior management/CEO with any comments or recommendations you may have.

Budgets cover the whole business’ expenditure and are generally segmented into different departments.

Reporting requirements

Your organisation may have reporting requirements in place to communicate information about budgets. For example, managers purchasing assets or arranging maintenance and repairs would need to report their expenditure so that it is accounted for and the budget adjusted.

At the end of the year, managers should be invited to give feedback on their budgets, especially if they under-spent or over-spent significantly. Managers who have gone over budget may appeal for a higher allowance for the following year.

Activity 3B

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Identify five different ways staff could misappropriate company funds and suggest a resolution for each.

Petty cash

Petty cash should be controlled through a request or receipt-submission system, not just handed out to staff. A request system requires the staff member to request money for a given purchase.

This can prevent:

➢ Staff helping themselves to cash

➢ Staff claiming money for their own personal purchases, such as lunches

➢ Staff making bogus claims for cash reimbursement

➢ Staff buying unnecessary items with company money

➢ Large amounts of money being spent

➢ The budget being overspent

Cash control

Actual cash in the business should be tracked and controlled. Tills should be issued with a standard float and cash should be counted when the till is closed, to ensure that no money is missing. Many retail premises use a cash room or safe to store money in once it has been taken from a till and has been counted. For added security, from both staff and customers, some organisations use suction tubes that send money to a safe place away from the checkout.

Refunds

Staff responsible for issuing refunds should always require that the customer produces a valid receipt with their item. Many organisations have barcodes on the receipt that they can scan and additionally require that customers sign for their refund and provide their name and address. This is because it is possible for staff to issue themselves false refunds. If an organisation does not use thorough checking and recording procedures, there is nothing to stop a staff member helping themselves to refund money.

Recording transactions

The best way to avoid misappropriation of funds is to record all transactions; if money vanishes that has not been used for a transaction, then it is unaccounted for and will be classed as either lost or stolen. Either way, the business has made a loss.

When a customer or staff member buys an item, this will be recorded electronically and paper confirmations – namely receipts and invoices – will be issued as a further record.

Every transaction the organisation makes will be recorded in this way or similar, whether the organisation is buying or selling.

Activity 3C

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Explain your organisation’s use of ageing summaries, in terms of accounts payable and receivable, where applicable.

Ageing summaries show the status of unpaid bills in accounts payable. They clearly state what a business owes, to whom it is owed and how much is owed. It includes current and previous billing periods and shows the total amount (and total amount owed to any vendors). This keeps an account of the bills that a business needs to pay and should be maintained effectively when looking at the finances of a business.

Accounts receivable that have not been paid when agreed are highlighted and are generally categorised into groups, depending on how long the payment has been outstanding.

These categories may be:

➢ 1-30 days overdue

➢ 31-60 days overdue

➢ 61-90 days overdue

➢ 91-120 days overdue

➢ 121 + days overdue.

This allows you to see which customers are late with their payments and initiate the appropriate action.

Your accounts payable that are overdue can also be organised in this way, allowing you to prioritise payments and manage your finances in a more effective way.

Activity 3D

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Give an example of a contingency that could occur at your workplace and explain how you would revise the budget to deal with it.

Contingencies can occur at any time in any business; the best way to deal with contingencies is to have measures in place to handle situations you know can happen and to be sensible when dealing with the unknown

TTaking this as the Natural disaster as our Contingency of our business

Ways to deal with it

If a major contingency occurs, then you may need to adjust the department’s budget.

This contingency means that:

➢ Income will be lost

➢ Expenditure will be over budget

➢ Staff will be surplus to requirements.

In this instance, you may have to adjust the department’s budget to make allowances for the significant expenditure, the lost income and the staff’s wages. Your organisation may have a procedure in place that details how the budget should be revised.

In this instance, you may have to adjust the department’s budget to make allowances for the significant expenditure, the lost income and the staff’s wages. Your organisation may have a procedure in place that details how the budget should be revised.

Examples of budget revision may be:

➢ Adding an extra category to the budget to accommodate the reparation expense and adjusting the income targets for the rest of the year

➢ Writing up another budget to cover the department from the day the organisation reopens, detailing amended income and expenditure targets and predictions.

Activity 3E

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Give an example of how you could use an audit trail to identify a discrepancy in budget allocations.

A properly-maintained audit trail can be used to identify discrepancies in the financial history of the business

These discrepancies may be:

➢ Absence of auditable trail

➢ Expenditure report mismatches

➢ Inappropriate authorisations

➢ Incorrect payments

➢ Incorrect report formats

➢ Unreconciled cash flows and operating statements

➢ Variances from budget and phasings

Discrepancies between budget allocations and actual spending will be revealed by the audit trail. The audit trail can identify both under spending and overspending by department, allowing you to make informed decisions about future budget allocations.

Activity 3F

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Identify three areas of compliance you could monitor in your workplace and explain how you would ensure that regulations are being adhered to.

Budgets

Budgets are calculated and published for a reason. Overspending and underspending can be problematic and may mean that the relevant department is not contributing to the business’ current and future objectives. Budget anomalies should be queried and investigated.

Review the budget(s) with senior management and look at any constraints or limitations caused by issues with the funding.

Reporting requirements

If staff are required to report on issues or at times, then you need to ensure that they adhere to these requirements and report accordingly. Missed reports can mean that processes requiring them stall or are delayed, while late reports can be forgotten, lost or incorrect.

Spending rules

If staff are required to seek approval or submit a request when purchasing items, then they must abide by this requirement; this prevents unauthorised spending and helps to manage business and departmental finances.

Activity 4A

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Identify a report used in your workplace and list all your organisation’s specifications here, including format and style.

For example, if a department was reporting on its quarterly budget performance, the report may contain:

➢ A top sheet with an overview

➢ A sheet giving budget allocations and actual figures

➢ Several pages of printed audit trails showing transactions

➢ Notes from the department manager

Using the example of the report on the quarterly budget given above, the writer may need to use the following formats:

• ➢ A top sheet with an overview: o a pie charts
• ➢ A sheet giving budget allocations and actual figures: o balance sheet
• o spreadsheet
• o cash flow statement
• ➢ Several pages of printed audit trails showing transactions: o audit trails
• o spreadsheets
• ➢ Notes from the department manager: o financial report
• o plain text
• o operating statement.

Activity 4B

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

How are significant issues in statements highlighted for priority attention in your workplace?

These significant issues may be:

➢ Cost structures

➢ Internal controls

➢ Losses and returns

➢ Profitability

➢ Statutory obligations

➢ Suppliers and markets.

Where there are issues with any of the above points, the issue will need to be put forward for review, so that decisions can be made. You may be able to detail your recommendations on the report so that they can be considered.

It is important to make these issues clear in statements or reports, as they can be overlooked, especially if the report will not necessarily be read from cover to cover.

Any issues with the business’ finances are important and must be acted upon, for the sake of the business.

Activity 4C

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Explain how you would use each of the following to determine the financial viability of the organisation:

How able the business is to meet these obligations and goals will define its financial viability. Organisations that cannot meet these needs can be classed as unviable and may be closed; if you can’t pay your staff what they are owed and cannot generate enough income to pay your bills, then the business may be in serious trouble. Financiers may not want or be able to bail the business out. In this instance they are generally sold or closed.

Recommendations

By examining the types of recommendations above, you can create a report that determines and explains the business’ financial viability. This may be completed as part of the annual summary.

Where you discover that there are issues, you should plan with the relevant department to adapt the business plan and objectives to overcome these issues as a matter of urgency. Revising goals and objectives to focus on increasing profitability and reducing debts at an early stage can bring the business back to a healthy state of viability once more

Activity 4D

Complete the following individually or in a group (as applicable to the specific activity and the assessment environment):

Outline here how you would evaluate the effectiveness of your organisation’s financial management processes.

When evaluating your financial management processes, you may need to ask and answer questions, such as:

➢ What went well?

➢ What didn’t go so well?

➢ Did the process help you detect problems early on, before they became major issues?

➢ Did any major problems occur within the business that could have been prevented?

➢ Can the process adapt to match the organisation’s needs as it grows and develops?

➢ Do the processes allow you to manage the business’ finances effectively?

➢ Can the process be improved?

Your organisation may have its own criteria for you to use when evaluating the business’ current financial management processes.

When evaluating the processes, you need to be honest and strict; if an element of the process is outdated or problematic, you need to identify this and initiate steps to replace or improve it.

Ineffective financial management processes can cause problems for your organisation, such as not enabling you to detect problems early and not meeting all your financial management needs. This can mean that your finance is not being managed correctly or in enough depth.

Communicating with personnel who use the systems regularly

Activity assessment task 2

Section A: Skill Activity

1. I consider that my organisation is adhering to legislative requirements because it meets the following laws:

Legal requirements

You must consider your legal requirements when starting your business. If you do not follow legislative requirements and regulations, your business can face serious penalties. A range of legal requirements may affect your business.

Business structure

• You must keep all registrations for your business structure up to date. For example, your business name must be renewed when due and you must lodge annual returns if you operate a company.
• The Corporations Act 2001 (Cwlth) details requirements relating to companies and financial products and services.
• Taxation requirements of businesses include GST and PAYG.
• If you go into a partnership, your solicitor should draw up a written contract before you begin trading or make any financial commitments.

Leasing premises

• Retail shop leases must comply with the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994.
• Your solicitor should read any lease before you sign to ensure the terms and conditions are appropriate and you understand your obligations before you sign.
• If you operate a home business, your local council may limit the number of people who can work there. You can use the local government directory to find contact details for your local council.

Intellectual property

• Protecting your intellectual property (IP) gives you the legal entitlement to that IP. You can protect your IP using trademarks, patents and designs.
• You will need to review and, if appropriate, renew IP protection regularly (e.g. trademarks must be renewed every 10 years).
• IP issues are complex and you should seek specialist advice.

Employment

• Legally, when you employ staff you must meet certain employer obligations.
• You must select the right person for your business in line with the job description and selection criteria you have specified. Read how to recruit and interview staff.
• You should make offers of employment in writing, including conditions of awards, agreements and the employment contract.
• All employees should attend induction training to become familiar with the workplace and any work health and safety issues. A carefully developed induction training process can protect your business from risks including health, safety and environmental (HSE) issues, discrimination and unfair dismissal claims. Read about keeping your workplace safe and your legal obligations when training staff.
• Before dismissing a staff member you must ensure you've followed due process and are not breaching the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991.

Supplier agreements

• Getting your agreements with suppliers in writing will minimise misunderstandings and disagreements. Agreements may include creditor terms, supply conditions and any marketing and promotion support.

Risk management

• Manage risks by avoiding them, minimising their negative effects, transferring them to another party, or deciding to accept some of the possible consequences should they arise.
• Several forms of insurance can help with risk management. Read more about risk management.
• Learn more about managing risk when starting up.

Privacy and information

• Safeguard your customers privacy by complying with state and national privacy laws. Read more about privacy and information management.

Contracts

• Contract law is complex. Your solicitor can develop standard agreements for your business to reduce confusion and costs.
• All parties must have the legal capacity to enter into a contract.
• A contract of sale involves an exchange of goods, services, or property from the seller to the buyer for an agreed amount. It refers to a specific type of legal contract.

Health, safety and the environment (HSE)

• Your business must have a responsible attitude to HSE issues.
• You have a duty of care to the health and safety of your staff, customers and the general public as per the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
• You also have a responsibility to address environmental issues. Learn more about the environment and your business.
• Health, safety and environment issues include workers' compensation, food handling and safety, safety related to construction sites, ergonomic requirements and security issues.
• Learn more about keeping your workplace safe.

Legal requirements checklist

• Before you start your business, seek legal advice from your solicitor and other specialist advisers.
• Review your legal requirements on a regular basis. Your business may change over the years, and so may legislation.

Also consider...

• Free legal advice for small businesses and people thinking about starting a business is available through Bond University's Bond Law Clinic.
• Read more about paying transfer (stamp) duty when acquiring a business.
• Find out about business requirements under trade measurement laws.
• Read more about industrial relations, including minimum wages, awards and agreements.

2. The following document provides an analysis of factual and forecasted information for the company of Dominos Pizza, the company has understood the importance of gathering information to analyse it in terms of participate actively in the market.

This document aims to analyses the growing number of clients that the company will have during the last 6 months of the year 2018, therefore, the company has taken information directly from the local market where some trends have been studied. The first step that the company did was to perform a preliminary data to determine whether the gathered information was usable or not. Furthermore, the organisation chose a qualitative model based on historical data to forecast the number of new clients that would visit dominos pizza during the last 6 months of the year. It is important to highlight that this model was chosen because the case is a research market. Finally, the company analysed the historical data and concluded that the number of clients that will visit the store within the last 6 months will increase in 5%.

3. I have done a videoconference with a friend of mine to do an exchange of financial decision and outcomes of my company.

4. Once I used my numerical skills to compare complex numerical data to analyse financial position and process, the calculation was:
5. The task where I have recognised, understood and adhered to legislative and organisation requirements was when I worked as a human resource manager. For that time one of my workers came to my office to complain about a discriminatory situation, he stated that a co-worker called him black dirt. Therefore, I went to see that worker and I kindly explained him that our company followed the discrimination act 1991 and because the racist issue he would have to be quitted of his job.

6. In order to achieve business goals and maintain profitability, companies rely on effective business communication protocol. Interviews, board room meetings, and informal discussions are samples of opportunities to communicate business objectives within an organization.

7. About digital application to manage data we have: Whether DBA’s know it or not, their companies are going digital. Take a look at your website and see if your business is promising customers “anytime access” or “mobile access” to the data you manage. If it is, whether you like it or not, you’re now part of the digital economy!

The new digital economy revolves around the speed and availability of customer data. Data is accessed from all around the globe at all times and data access is no longer a predictable occurrence. Your data must be online at all times, or you will lose customers. With a sense of entitlement they’ve grown accustomed to, customers want instant access to their data. There are very few barriers to switching providers, and your competitors are actively working to eliminate those. With a few swipes, or clicks, or (yes) even an old school phone call, we can switch phone providers, open a new bank account, or save money on our insurance.

What does this mean to you?

According to IBM, 91 percent of customer-facing applications access a mainframe. IT executives and administrators must ask themselves whether DB2 and their most important asset — their data — are ready for a digital transformation. DB2 was once a beautiful, simple relational database. DB2 on z Systems® only vaguely resembles what it looked like in the early 1980s, though data management techniques and solutions work exactly the same way. The data we manage today is complicated by XML, LOBs, and other unstructured data. DB2 is now a high-transaction repository for enterprise-critical data, both structured and unstructured, and is capable of handling hundreds of terabytes or more of data in tens of thousands or more objects with 2.5B transactions a day. The old techniques simply can’t keep up.

DB2 customers must ask themselves if data management solutions that were “good enough” yesterday are truly good enough today. Performance gains achieved in current tools are measured incrementally, while the data and complexity of managing data is growing exponentially. DBAs are forced to create innovative work-arounds and sacrifice the needs of the business in order to mitigate the limitations of their database tools. At the same time, the mainframe space is struggling to recruit new talent. The dwindling skillset in mainframe and DB2 is an underestimated risk to corporations. The complexity involved in today’s digital data management requires deep knowledge and expertise coupled with innovative, customer-centric solutions.

Change is constant, and so are opportunities

While not always easy, change will happen and is happening around us every day. Organizations often find themselves in a reactive mode, handling issues as they arise and “fighting fires” rather than planning ahead. In today’s digital, connected world, this is no longer good enough. Customers have no patience. Database errors and performance problems will be broadcast on social media before DBAs are even aware of the problem.

And so the opportunity is presenting itself. Can DBAs be empowered to manage all this digital data? Can your company provide continuous uptime as well as the access speed expected of your customers? Are there digital solutions? The answer to all these questions is “yes.” Automation and optimization are the keys to succeed in the digital transformation. Implementing the right software tools can simplify digital data management and automate tasks for scalable and streamlined operation. With a constantly optimized database with digital tools in place, you achieve a greater level of visibility and control within DB2 and the mainframe so you’re prepared for the increase in customers seeking to access data. And working with a trusted partner can ensure that you optimize your costs as well as your infrastructure and data.

Modern DB2 environments require digital-ready data management solutions that modernize and simplify processes in order to successfully handle the complexities and demands of the digital age. Planning ahead on your part will ensure a successful experience for your customers and those who embrace the opportunity will enable unprecedented growth for their business.

Protocol Purpose

Establishing a communication protocol incorporates two key factors: the promotion of a meaningful exchange of information and the building of relationships with partners and key stakeholders. Business communication protocol is not only a set of professional rules, but also a code of conduct used to guide business-related behaviors and etiquette.

Verbal Communication Etiquette

Verbal business communication can take place in hallway conversations, shareholder meetings, ceremonial events, interviews, workshops, press conferences, phone calls and even web videos. Verbal comments that are appropriate in hallway conversations may not be appropriate in a board meeting. For example, personal statements about family and hobbies may be acceptable during a lunch meeting with a co-worker, and can build authentic and productive networks. However, sharing intimate stories during a press conference can usurp the authority of the spokesperson delegate.

Written Communication Etiquette

Written communication can include formal newsletters, reports and informal memos that require appropriate etiquette in business settings. Etiquette in business communication can vary in structure depending on the audience size, culture, place and purpose. Written messages should follow the same ideals as verbal communication etiquette; each message should be edited to fit the tone of the audience receiving it.

Verbal Communication Guidelines

Informal verbal communication in business settings can supplement official channels, save time spent on projects and increase productivity. Formal communication delivered as a presentation can reinforce the ethics and culture of an organization. As a chief officer, manager or a field representative, verbal communication in informal and formal settings should include the following guidelines.

First, is the language considerate and courteous? Kindness trumps bluntness, even during disagreements.

Second, does the conversation reflect company values? Even if personal views are not 100 percent in alignment with company directives, an employee should always support the corporate mission.

Next, does the discussion reflect positive characteristics about employee attitudes or the corporate culture? Eliminate gossip and minimize negative comments about company policies.

Finally, will the message incorporate a beneficial truth? Confidential information, while true, may not be appropriate for everyone in the organization.

Written Communication Guidelines

Written communication is generally used to inform, collaborate or persuade. Before drafting any piece of literary collateral, one of these general uses should be identified. Once the purpose is established, the following guidelines can be used for an effective business communication protocol.

First, are all of the contents incorporated into one main idea? Multiple topics in one document can confuse the reader. Separate unrelated subjects into different documents.

Second, is the language clear, familiar and free of slang? Never assume the reader understands industry jargon.

Next, is the message brief, engaging and properly formatted? The appearance should always be professional, but should be easy for anyone to read.

Finally, are necessary facts and details presented? Don't leave out information that can leave the reader confused.

Section C: Performance Activity

Plan for financial management

The planning of financial management is vital. Financial management is the planning, directing, monitoring, organizing, and controlling of the

monetary resources of an organization. In order to plan for financial management, a review and analyze of previous financial data will be

needed. The key to managing finances is to understand the previous financial data, both short term and long term. This is the key because it will

enable a business to understand how well they are doing to project further projections. Within the previous financial data, we need to investigate on the profit and loss; this will provide us with a deeper understanding on our business performances and area of improvement. During the financial management planning, identifying the important business dates such as Christmas and boxing day will enable us to plan the financial year in detail and make the most of busy and slow periods and manage our finances accordingly. For example, if there is a big sales coming up we need to invest more financially on stock to meet the demand. Analysing cash flow can help our planning to identify where the money in the business is being spent and allow us to identify areas that the business over spent. By identify

Areas of higher income that occur every year; we can determine the reason for this and focus upon taking advantage of these opportunity. Before we proceed any further, we need to understand the requirement for compliance and liabilities for tax as Australia businesses are subject to a variety of taxes. The main taxes that applied to our business in Australia will be company tax, payroll tax, goods and service tax (GST) and capital Gain Tax (CGT). As we move forward to a new year, our previous financial management software might not meet our future requirements. We will consult with our advisors for a trial period on the latest software to see if it is meets our needs.

Establish budget and implement budget

When we establish budgets and implement budget for the financial year a previous financial data is generally used to determine resource allocations; this is because a previous data will provide significant information on how the business has been doing in the past year and will provide us with an indication on how much budget will be needed for the next financial year. The previous data that will be using will be sales figures, cost of resources and profitability. There are a number of key steps you should follow to make sure your budgets and plans are as realistic and useful as possible. Make time for budgeting If you invest some time in creating a comprehensive and realistic budget, it will be easier to manage and ultimately more effective. Use last year's figures - but only as a guide Collect historical information on sales and costs if they are available – these could give you a good indication of likely sales and costs. But it's also essential to consider what your sales plans are, how your sales resources will be used and any changes in the competitive environment.

Your actual income - each month compare your actual income with your sales budget, by:

 comparing the timing of your income with your projections and checking that they fit Analyzing these variations will help you to set future budgets more accurately and also allow you to take action where needed.

Your actual expenditure - regularly review your actual expenditure against your budget. This will help you to predict future costs with better reliability. You should:

 analyze any differences in the timing of your expenditure, for example by checking suppliers' payment terms A contingency plan will be needed in the budget planning as contingencies may occur unexpectedly and the only best way to deal with contingencies will be to have contingency plan in place to handle the situation.

Report on finances

Financial reporting at the end of the year is crucial as it will become a statement and tracking information of the business progress. When writing a finance report it is important to have a good structure with full audit trails, budget figures and actual figures. Make sure it is clear and meet the organisation requirements such as having proper timeline, layout, and format and importantly correct information. It is important to use graph and charts to illustrate the data from budget and actual figures. When preparing

the report, ensure to highlight all issues so that that can be communicated and provide better solution and improvement for future finance. By

examining the type of recommendation, we can create in the report a recommendations that determines and explain the business financial viability. It is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the financial process to ensure that these accurately meet the business requirements. By identify