Collinson Grant

Managerial controls

What we do

Managerial and operational controls determine whether a business achieves its aims. Any company that lacks effective control is courting financial ruin. Clients ask us to get them on the right track. Some managers know too little about what is going on in the operations for which they are responsible. There is nothing better than 'seeing and touching' day-to-day activities – managing by walking about the office or shop-floor. But even when this is possible, it is nowhere near enough. Tracking trends in a few vital indices paints a much fuller picture and creates the opportunity to intervene before it is too late.

How we do it

Managers must be accountable - for profit, costs, or specific operational outputs. This is the basis of effective control and should be intrinsically derived from the organisational structure, managerial hierarchy and design of jobs. In the well designed business:

there are relevant and meaningful measures of performance for each job in the structure, and
the effective measures for managing processes and functions are the same ones for which managers are held accountable. We help managers to design, test and implement reporting systems that provide timely, accurate information to enhance decision-making.

Our experience

Introducing better controls is an important component of many of our assignments. In the United States, for example, we implemented transfer pricing arrangements in two large businesses, helping to reinforce managerial accountability and give better visibility on profitability. In Europe our experience is derived from many sectors: chemicals, defence, distribution, engineering, food, healthcare, printing and publishing, and transport.