Profit Motive & The Business of Design – The A+D Leader’s 101 of Firm Financial Management

Who deals with the money, and how? This session focuses on how finance, metrics and performance influence an A+D practice’s wellbeing and its success moving forward, as well as an A+D firm culture and its bottom line. Staying fit is an ongoing goal, and a long-haul effort that focuses on all aspects—physical, mental, emotional, and even, creative – to the extent that mental fitness is integrated in Elisabeth’s work with clients particularly around the area of financial fitness which is critical to their success.

Why?  Staying in shape financially is sustainable in the long-term and makes an A+D practice—particularly small and midsize firms, but certainly large firms as well—more resilient to internal and external pressures

 Join SO|arch founder Elisabeth Sporer, AIA CIC for a FINANCE focused presentation on the A+D firm financial Key Performance Indicators [often abbreviated to KPIs] and project performance KPIs.

Elisabeth will provide an overview of what performance data an A+D leader needs to measure and how. The presentation will offer insights into how A+D founders and leaders can achieve and maintain fiscal health for their businesses—from basic best practices to advanced systems that can help measure, predict and manage their firm’s performance.  A presentation shows & tells the Key Performance Indicators an A+D firm needs to monitor and discusses best practices of monitoring cash flow, AR, backlog volume and proposals pending.

What tools best measure KPIs like profitability, overhead and break-even rates, staff target utilization rates, competitive hourly billing rates, staffing needs defined by backlog / fee forecasts. How to successfully tie project performance to resource planning and financial performance.