Financial management & decision making
Leadership Development Program 2 > Module 3: Strategic Planning and Financial Management > Financial Management and Decision Making
Financial management & decision making
Again, we are going to do some unlearning of old habits. It’s about how we assess and make financial decisions and manage budgets. We need to critically assess our plans, consider realistic budgets, consider when and how CAPEX and OPEX is sequenced to deliver a return on the expenditure or investment. Sounds easy but why then when given an undetermined budget (eg NOT last year’s budget + 3% or CPI) do we treat the process like it is Christmas? That makes Cameron Clark and Beverly Pasen Santa Claus which as nice as they are just isn’t the case. Developing wishful budgets unsupported by sound analysis and rigor means we are not acting like diligent senior leaders.
Consider now that the budget process was tied to your personal bank account … Now we have your attention. How much time, consideration, evaluation on the returns to each dollar spent will you now put into developing and managing your budget. It doesn’t mean being stingy or under estimating what things cost and what resources and equipment need to be maintained.
So the re-learning is to treat the budgeting process like it is your own. Assess and make good financial decisions which you can stand behind as justification arises. Remember in many ways the budget is yours – the money you spend and the value you return is the money of the 9 million Papua New Guineans. They put their trust and faith in you to manage it well. Now that’s The Ok Tedi Way.
