Throughput Accounting

Description

Throughput Accounting for CPAs, CxOs, CFAs,

MBAs, Entrepreneurs and Engineers

‘In the construct of Cost Accounting - and the use of its data at the operational level - the link between decisions, actions and results is delayed, non linear and without causality. This is totally the opposite of Throughput Accounting where cost allocation is forbidden and where focus on the Constraint allows for sharp decision-making that has immediate impact on the financial health of operations.’

Daniel Doiron CPA

This Throughput Accounting course focuses on work that we see in the physical world where we deal with tangible assets and products that we can build, track, store and inspect visually. Your current decision-making process will always be optimal if you aim directly at the constraint of your systems – which dictate throughput – and leveraging the teachings of Throughput Accounting in your daily life. Hitting the constraint by happenstance or consistently is the difference between witnessing dismal results or never being a day late and a penny short in your projects.

Throughput Accounting is the Financial Application and – first and foremost - the decision-making arm of the Theory of Constraints from Dr Eli Goldratt.

Throughput Accounting belongs under the very inclusive umbrella of Management Accounting whose body of knowledge is necessary - but not sufficient - to reach optimal decisions.

Is this course for you?

· As a C-level executive, do you have multi-million dollar budgets without a penny to spare?

Do you want to improve operational or financial performance at no extra cost? (You’ll learn this new paradigm of thinking that takes into account constraints which can have a much bigger impact on the bottom line than you thought, making you a hero as you unlock the new, more profitable alternative!)

· As a CFO or Finance VP, are you tired having to say ‘no’ to so many stakeholders?

Understanding the core guiding principles of Throughput Accounting will empower you to identify, exploit and subordinate the various systems constraints you encounter, usually with no additional cost outlays, so you can be more responsive to your many stakeholder requests and expectations.

· As a CEO or HR Executive, are you dreaming of the day when employees will make better decisions more of the time?

Adoption of a Throughput Accounting methodology leads to decentralized and autonomous decision making based on understanding causality with an inherent simplicity so when decisions are needed at the product, team, project or division level, those most knowledgeable about the issue(s) can make better decisions, saving valuable time and money. The result is a win-win outcome; higher profitability with enhanced employee engagement.

· As an entrepreneur, are you considering succession, contemplating selling your business?

If you want to maximize your selling price, you need to apply Throughput Accounting principles to systemize and automate your operations. Buyers assess the future value of a revenue stream they can maintain and grow – with this scientific approach they can easily embrace, you will get a premium when you do decide to sell.

· As a CIO, are your budgets exploding as you spend more and more money on continuous improvement initiatives with little to show for?

Leveraging the theory of constraints will reveal where to get the most bang for your buck as you create operational and financial efficiencies seemingly out of thin air. You will be seen as a miracle-maker especially when you can continuously and strategically focus on each system constraint to remain within your budget without compromising on performance and timely deliverables.

What will you learn?

The history of Financial/Cost/Management versus Throughput Accounting:

History in the context of these numerous accounting systems is quite revealing and shows the source of our cognitive biases and flawed mental models regarding costing and decision making! As early as 1916, the pioneers of Financial and Cost Accounting warned that the data was unfit for internal consumption and decision making. In 1993, Charles T Horngren – authority in the field of management accounting - stressed that contribution margin analysis was useless if a scarce factor (read constraint) was present in a system. To this day, after thousands of pages containing the body of knowledge of GAAP, FASB and IFRS guidelines, not a single hint has been provided to the fact that these principles or tools be used for internal managerial purposes.

How do the great thinkers (Ford, Ohno and Goldratt) treat inventory, as a liability or an asset? Inventory is an asset in all traditional accounting models. Ford, Toyota and the Theory of Constraints think otherwise and view inventory as a liability. The 5 Focusing Steps are foundational to Throughput Accounting and will be dealt with step-by-step, to ensure you fully embrace its core philosophical principles.

Overcoming flawed mental models and cognitive biases:

Following a detailed comparative analysis of 20 separate characteristics of Cost Accounting and Throughput Accounting, you will appreciate the differences and be in a better position to rethink your managerial approach for better, reasoned decision-making and project planning. You need not worry about abandoning GAAP & Financial Accounting principles when adopting Throughput Accounting principles; old and new need to be combined to exponential returns.

One of the main topics will be capacity; one of the most destructive cognitive biases of modern management is to focus on productive capacity when protective and excess capacity (shunned in traditional cost accounting) are necessary to optimize flow through a constraint. Variable Costs, Inventory and Operating Expenses will all be addressed within this new framework.

Reporting and reconciliation across traditional accounting and Throughput Accounting models:

Throughput Accounting requires no changes in the way you work. There are no additional capital expenditures to undertake a massive transformation process; only changes in the way you think. But in order to bridge and reconcile your traditional Income Statement every month to a Throughput Accounting basis, you need to learn the mechanics, the metrics and the analogies with EBITDA and Gross Profit which we will cover in detail.

Throughput Accounting: Culture, Complexity, Decision Making and Focus:
Culture is a reflection of a company’s system. And accounting systems are the most far-reaching of all. You will discover how Throughput Accounting brings a lot to culture: Unanimity-based decision making, alignment, unity of purpose, decentralized decision making. Complexity in the details or causality measured between the time a decision is made and its impact on performance. Decision Making and inherent simplicity go hand-in-hand with mastery of the 12 Throughput Accounting decision making principles that underpin this paradigm. Focus on cost cutting will be a thing of the past as a refreshing, expansionary outlook on economic activity and growth will emerge.

Course Info