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Capacity Utilization and Product/Service Costing
There were interesting results from PACE’s recent poll asking what assumed volume and mix of business organizations use when setting the costing rates...

Douglas T. Hicks CPA
Jan 28, 20222 min read


Major Challenges when Building Decision Support Models
Your organization has come to the realization that its traditional financial accounting and reporting information is simply not adequate for your inte...

Larry White
Jan 25, 20223 min read


PACE Causality Poll - Results and Analysis
Causality plays a critical role in creating models to understand the costs and profitability of an organization; however, causality is not widely taug...

Larry White
Dec 22, 20212 min read


Is Anything as a Percentage of Sales Meaningful?
If I’m not mistaken, the overall financial goal of a for-profit organization is to generate the best possible return on investment (ROI) for its owner...

Douglas T. Hicks CPA
Dec 8, 20212 min read


Has ABC become a bad word?
Following the strong initial uptake, rapid growth through the 1990’s, ABC peaked by 2000 and has been in decline since. There is consensus that prevai...

sarath.amukotuwa
Dec 3, 20215 min read


Financial vs. Non-financial Information? A Seriously Misunderstood Issue
I still hear a lot of discussion about financial and non-financial information in accounting discussions. Usually, they are pitted in some sort of opp...

Larry White
Nov 22, 20212 min read


Carrot or Stick? If it were only that simple
A primary purpose of this Profitability Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) website and its associated LinkedIn group is to advocate that CFOs and a...
Gary Cokins
Nov 7, 20212 min read


The Importance of Models in Decision Making
Individuals use models to understand the phenomena around them. The late Dr. Alfred Oxenfeldt, a long-time authority on decision economics, put it th...

Douglas T. Hicks CPA
Oct 25, 20214 min read


Stewards and Game Players
Over the years, I have found that the decision makers employed by business owners to manage their organizations fall into two major categories: those ...

Douglas T. Hicks CPA
Oct 19, 20214 min read


Customer Profitability – The measure that really matters!
Customer related costs can easily chew up product or service profitability. I hope you agree; but let me explain to ensure a quality discussion. Typ...

Larry White
Oct 19, 20212 min read
A further opportunity to spread the Causal Model
How many times we come across some sort of resistance to the implementation of the causal model within an organization to support the creation of a so...

carlo.attademo
Oct 2, 20211 min read


Must Depreciation Expense Be a Fixed Cost?
Those of you familiar with my writings already know my opinion of the accounting concept of depreciation (“ the dumbest concept in the history of mana...

Douglas T. Hicks CPA
Sep 28, 20213 min read


Survey Results: Decision Support or Financial Reporting Resources
The results of this poll were a very positive surprise for the PACE directors. We had anticipated many more resources focused on financial reporting. ...

Larry White
Sep 21, 20212 min read


Member Survey Results: The Meaning of "Investment Management" in Profitability Analytics
A recent PACE Survey asked the above question. The PACE found these results very interesting and useful, but we were a little concerned about the low...

Larry White
Sep 9, 20212 min read


Improving Profitability Requires Clarity and Communication
The Profitability Analytics Framework is designed to improve communication across an organization and breakdown organizational stovepipes with data an...

Larry White
Sep 2, 20212 min read


Costing Methodologies – Moving From Conflict to Coherence
Cost information is a critical element of profitability. Costs can be controlled to a much greater extent than revenues…and have a higher degree of lo...

Larry White
Aug 22, 20212 min read


Which Would You Rather Rely On: Sextant, Lead & Line or GPS?
In October 1707, Commander-in-Chief of the British Fleet, Sir Cloudesley Shovell, was leading a flotilla of twenty-one ships back to England after the...

Douglas T. Hicks CPA
Jul 28, 20214 min read


Is Anybody There? Does Anybody Care? Does Anybody See What I See?
Over the 4th of July weekend I watched the old musical “1776” for the umpteenth time. Often, when I’m musing about the apathy shown toward accurate an...

Douglas T. Hicks CPA
Jul 7, 20212 min read


What’s More Important: The Data or The Model?
Models are mental constructs we humans use to help us understand and deal with complex realities. In creating those models, we identify what we believ...

Douglas T. Hicks CPA
Jun 21, 20212 min read


Exceptional EPM/CPM Systems are an Exception
Profitability analytics includes many if not all of the enterprise and corporate performance management (EPM/CPM) methods. Quite naturally, many organ...
Gary Cokins
Jun 14, 20214 min read
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