CHAPTER 16.BENCHMARKING AND METRICS
Benchmarking provides a way for organizations to stimulate new ideas and to benefit from process improvements that others have implemented. With benchmarking, controllers can compare the performance of their products or processes externally to those of competitors and best-in-class companies. They can also benchmark internally with other operations in their own firm that perform similar activities. Additionally, organizations can track performance by comparing their own results over time (e.g., month-to-month, year-to-year).
The results are productivity and performance gains. Benchmarking helps organizations to resolve problems and identify opportunities that improve performance. Generally, the most practical benchmarking efforts are with organizations similar in size or industry.
Best-in-class organizations are particularly good benchmarking targets, since they are accomplished in efficiency, effectiveness, cost, and quality. The most effective benchmarking efforts do not simply copy the exemplary performance of others—they exceed it. That’s because no single practice, no matter how effective in a given case, is best for every finance operation in every situation. Furthermore, best practices do not remain the best for long—there are always better ways of performing finance operations.
This chapter includes the following information:
| Chapter 16. Benchmarking and Metrics |
| Meeting–and Surpassing–Best-in-Class Finance Performance |
| How the ... |
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