Matt H.
Evans, CPA, CMA, CFM
6903 29th St N Arlington, VA 22213 U.S.A.
Call Anytime: 1-877-807-8756 URL: [Link] Email: matt@[Link]
Information for
Prospective Clients
Welcome and thank you for expressing an
interest in my services. This information packet
will describe my services and explain the
benefits of "real" financial management. If you
have any questions about my services, please
do not hesitate to contact me.
The Big Picture
A survey between Business Finance Magazine and Arthur Andersen has confirmed
what many have suspected. Most organizations are not doing "real" financial
management. Most organizations are spending their time on accounting, relying on a
set of financial statements for managing the business.
The problem with this approach is simple - Accounting does nothing to measure and
report real sources of value. Accounting is based on past events. It ignores economic
performance. It looks back and not forward. It is full of distortions and it fails to drive
performance.
The challenge confronting today's organizations is how do we move from traditional
accounting and into "real" financial management - things like economic performance
measurement, process improvement, balanced scorecards, competitive intelligence,
and strategic planning. These are the things that create value, not accounting!
A new way of managing the financial affairs of the organization is required. This is
what I call "Excellence in Financial Management." Excellence in Financial
Management takes a much more comprehensive approach by recognizing all of
those things that create value within your organization. This is the basis for my
services.
In the words of Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, there are three things that
every business must measure — Cash, the Customer, and the Employee. Putting all
of your emphasis behind accounting and financial statements is to ignore the real
sources of higher value within your organization.
My Services
My overall services can be divided into four steps:
1) Basic Financial Management - A set of support services designed to
introduce real financial management into your organization. This
includes the introduction of capital budgeting for evaluating long-term
investments, establishing a set of financial benchmarks to better
assess your financial strengths and weaknesses, and allocating your
assets where you can generate the highest returns.
2) Value Based Financial Management - A critique of your current
financial management practices for refinement and improvement. This
can include things like more effective capital budgeting with the use of
decision analysis or establishing economic performance in conjunction
with financial performance.
3) Balanced Scorecards - A complete set of measurements to help
ensure successful implementation of your strategies and goals.
Without a set of measurements, your strategies are likely to fail.
4) Competitive Intelligence Research - A continuous program for
monitoring the competition and planning alternative strategies. You
must know what the competition is doing in order to be pro-active.
Project Approach
My services are usually rendered in the form of projects. Each and every project is
unique to the client. My approach to projects includes extensive planning, design,
and testing. One of the biggest mistakes in project management is to move too
quickly into the implementation phase. I also believe that good projects are
evolutionary; you revise the project as you learn more. This is referred to as
discovery driven planning or incremental decision-making.
Finally, all projects must have deliverables; i.e. results that improve what is going on.
This requires flexibility within the project. Projects with excessive constraints are
more likely to fail since this ignores the incremental decision making process.
2
Benefits
Full implementation of Excellence in Financial Management provides your
organization with multiple benefits:
Higher values for the organization - both financial and economic.
Long term, sustainable financial performance, as opposed to short-term cyclical
results.
Better ability to compete and grow the company.
Improved results in all critical areas of the business, including customer retention,
efficiency in production, strategic management, and human resource capital.
Greater understanding and focus on the components that drive performance,
such as intellectual capital and competitive intelligence.
Uniformity in how the entire organization is measured and managed.
Many of the concepts behind Excellence in Financial Management (economic
performance, balanced scorecards, competitive intelligence, strategic planning, etc.)
have been widely practiced by the largest, well-managed corporations in the World.
My mission is to push these concepts into small to mid-sized organizations. There is
no reason why smaller organizations should not adopt many of these "best practices"
in financial management and realize improved financial and non-financial
performance.
3
My Background
My professional background covers 25 years of experience in both the private and
non-profit sectors. I have worked from the inside out, as Accountant and Controller. I
have worked as an outside consultant on very high level projects, such as
implementation of financial management policies in Southeastern Europe.
My professional credentials include Certified Public Accountant, Certified
Management Accountant, and Certified in Financial Management. Additionally, my
executive training in financial management comes from The Wharton Business
School and J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
My Mission is simple: Provide you with customized best practices in financial
management while at the same time making my services both affordable and
accessible.
My Principles are:
To obtain the best knowledge possible in financial management and to transfer
this knowledge clearly and concisely to all of my clients based on your unique
needs.
To make my services affordable and accessible.
To engage and interact with others who are actively involved in the field of
financial management so that my expertise remains current.
To remain focused on those areas that translate into higher values and to stay
away from untested and popular fads that fail to deliver in creating value.
4
Past Projects and Key Components
Listed below is a summary of client comments from two past projects:
1998 Project for Development of Financial Management Policies in Southeastern
Europe - Center for the Study of Democracy: "Matt H. Evans provided several
important services for our organization in 1998. Mr. Evans developed a complete set
of financial management policies to assist non-governmental organizations in
Southeastern Europe. Additionally, Mr. Evans also facilitated a strategic plan for our
internet organization. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Evans demonstrated a strong
commitment to all of his projects and was able to meet deadlines imposed under his
contract. Overall, we were very pleased with the quality of his work." - Ognian
Shentov, President for Center for the Study of Democracy
1997 Project for Performance Measurement - Thrasher Engineering "We were very
pleased with your overall performance. You were very flexible and worked well with
our employees. You clearly demonstrated a strong commitment to getting the job
done." - H. Wood Thrasher, President
Key Components of Service
Costs - My billing rates range between $ 175.00 per hour and $ 265.00 per hour.
Many other Value Based Consultants charge $ 300.00 per hour and higher.
Convenience - My services are provided person to person and off-site. I maintain
a programmed toll free system so you can track me down at anytime. I also
maintain a complete on-line virtual office ([Link]/virtual) to help
promote rapid and comprehensive communication.
Availability - My availability is scheduled according to the needs of my clients. I
make every effort possible to make my services available when and where you
need them. My availability for projects is always posted on my web site - center of
the home page ([Link]).
Support - I work hard to get your people to a higher level. This includes training
throughout a project. I also distribute articles, books, and other training materials
to my clients. Finally, I encourage clients to become "registered" clients if they are
seeking long-term support.
5
Project Request Form
Please try to provide as much information as possible. Feel free to attach additional
sheets. Allow at least one week for the processing of this information. Mail this form
to: Matt Evans, 6903 29th St N, Arlington, VA 22213 or email a completed form to
matt@[Link] .
1. What are you trying to resolve or accomplish? Please describe your project
objectives. (Example: We are investing in capital projects without any real solid
procedures. We need to have a set of best practices when we evaluate our
capital investments.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2. How soon do you want this issue resolved? (Example: We would like to have a
good set of procedures for capital budgeting three months from now.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Can you describe the scope and size of your project? (Example: We plan on
making about $ 30 million in capital investments over the next 6 months. This
consists of three projects in pressing, fabrication, and bailing equipment.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
6
4. To what extent will your people be involved in this project? Will they participate in
completing this project? (Example: Yes, I want my staff to be directly involved so
they can learn what needs to be done. I would expect you to lead the way on our
new procedures.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. Are your people sold on the idea of this project? Do they recognize the need to
make these changes? (Example: Yes, they are all for improving our procedures.
In fact, our Staff Accountant came up with this project after visiting your web site.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
6. Is there anything else I need to know about this project, such as special problems
or issues that could make the project difficult (high turnover, recent merger, tight
cash flow, etc.) (Example: No, we are very stable and just want to focus on
improving our capital budgeting procedures.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
7
7. Please provide the following contact information:
Your Name: _____________________________________________
Your Organization: __________________________________________________________
Mailing Address: ____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Phone Number: _________________________________
Fax Number: ___________________________________
Email: _________________________________________
8. If I have any questions, would you like me to contact you?
____ Yes, please email me
____ Yes, please call me
____ No, just provide me with the results
9. Once I complete my review, how do you want the information delivered?
____ by email
____ please call me
____ by fax
____ hard copy through regular mail