ELITE PROCESS REVIEW A TOOL FOR OUR TIMES PRESENTED BY SHELLEY ALVORD CPA

1. ELITE PROCESS REVIEW A TOOL FOR OUR TIMES PRESENTED BY SHELLEY ALVORD CPA

2. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • The primary purpose of an Elite Process Review: • is to help you, our clients • by discovering significant improvement needs • and making viable improvement recommendations • relative to your Elite accounting software environment

3. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • From a 2009 EPR client: • “The timing of our process review dovetailed perfectly with the changes we need to make to survive and grow in this economy. • “Management and Partners are already supporting Action List recommendations for improving turn-around times, meeting deadlines and improving efficiency. • “Even though we were using our Elite software pretty well, the process review showed us a lot of capability we didn’t know about before. • “My accounting staff and I were excited about all of the improvements we could make just by using what we already owned.”

4. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • EPR results are highly relevant in today’s business climate: • increased efficiency • improved cash flows • meaningful data for analysis & reports • informed spending-decision tool • more effective use of existing products

5. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Efficiency improvements: • automating manual processes • enhancing automation via workflows, scripts, interfaces and add-ons • streamlining people processes • improving formats and templates to reduce manual manipulation • making better use of features in current versions

6. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Cash inflow improvements: • reducing time and cost entry turnarounds • reducing billing turnarounds and wip backlogs • improving billing rate methodology and review • modernizing collections processes

7. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Cash outflow improvements: • reducing duplicate payment risk • automating payment timing • achieving real-time variance reports • improving non-billable expense containment and analysis

8. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Data relevance improvements: • tailoring the data to the decision-makers • posting analytic data in real time • re-evaluating general ledger masking decisions for today’s needs • improving reporting tools

9. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Data relevance improvements, cont: • improving data accessibility and retrieval • ensuring data integrity via setups and controls • protecting stored data

10. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Informed spending tools: • evaluating cost vs. benefit of upgrades relative to the usefulness of new enhancements • using the priority and accountability assignment tool built into the Action List Report

11. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Informed spending tools, cont: • using the product / service / training decision-making tool built into the Action List Report • evaluating cost of implementing recommendations vs. cost of current process vs. identified benefit

12. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Other benefits – Improved knowledge: • improving staff understanding of firm goals • improving manager understanding of staff’s challenges and procedures • identifying training needs in terms of internal vs. external resources

13. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Other benefits – Improved compliance and control: • improving regulatory compliance • improving internal policy compliance • reducing fraud risk • reducing liability exposure

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15. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Elite’s Process Review Consultants: • are experienced, senior-level Accounting professionals with law and consulting firm backgrounds • have sophisticated user knowledge of the Elite billing and financial applications • understand best practices for enhanced efficiency, automation, and control • have direct access to Elite resources

16. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Preparation phase: • planning on-site agenda with firm • engagement planning call with managers and supervisors • completing advance questionnaire organized into work areas

17. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • On-site discovery: • follows a work area agenda • follows a questionnaire with nearly 1200 items, indexed and organized by work area and project type • includes overviews and quick hits • evaluates processes, not people

18. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • On-site discovery, cont: • managers sit with staff representatives to understand current processes, issues and challenges • uses a workshop approach to evaluate solutions in terms of firm policy, goals and controls

19. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Your Action List Report: • provides categorized and cross-referenced descriptions of current approaches vs. model approaches • notes the benefits associated with each recommendation

20. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Your Action List Report, cont: • includes a project-planning component • includes a product / service / training decision tool • stays alive as a reference and follow-up tool

21. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Your Action List review call: • we review each “Needs Improvement” item together • we assign priority and internal ownership • we note the improvements you have already begun

22. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Your Findings Summary Report: • summarizes findings for executives • supports participants’ goals • discusses issues in terms of themes • discusses solutions in terms of projects

23. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • What our clients say: • “It was good timing for me because I was brand new. There's no question, that it helped me--as the new CFO--to get up to speed much faster.” • “It helped us get clarity and focus on the issues, priorities, solutions, how to get a plan together to make these improvements.” • “We started making changes while we were still in the discovery phase.”

24. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • What our clients say, cont: • “We’re still using it three years later. We keep going back to it to see what we have left to do.” • “A while after the review, our firm considered a merger, and we needed to compare our processes. Nearly everything we did was in the Action List Report.” • “The Findings Summary was very useful for the partners. They were very willing to sign the check.”

25. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Elite Process Review options: • full Billing Manager and Financial Manager Review, including front-in settings and masking • only Billing Manager review or only Financial Manager review

26. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • Elite Process Review options, cont: • partial reviews, e.g. Settings & Masking, Accounts Payable, Billing Rates, Billing Processes, Time & Costs, Masterfiles, etc. • comparative process review in merger / acquisition planning

27. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • An optional 3e component: • looks at the Action List recommendations in terms of which issues 3e would address • describes how 3e addresses these issues • provides a credible tool for deciding whether and when to implement 3e • provides an important roadmap to your processes and needs, whether you decide to implement 3e now or later

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32. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • If you would like to talk with me about the possibility of an Elite Process Review for your firm, • just ask your Client Account Manager to set up a call.

33. ELITE PROCESS REVIEWA TOOL FOR OUR TIMES • End Part 2 (of 2) • - Questions -