Best management of working capital
For the firm that has trained its partners in the importance of meeting tough targets for WIP, debtors, headcount and overheads, and can demonstrate exceptional results.
2005 WINNER
Charlotte Balfry of BLP with William Arthur of Barclays.
BLP’s submission was clear and informative and demonstrated that it has during 2004/5 through a process of innovation, training and teamwork, continued the improvements of previous years in the areas covered by the award specific criteria.
It has continued to reduce both its average and year end work in progress and debtors, resulting in year end lock up of 91 days, down from 100 days the previous year. This has been achieved by a process of education and training of fee earners on the importance of time recording and billing, by taking the crucial step of linking payments to partners to their meeting targets and importantly providing weekly real time updates to partners of performance against target.
RUNNER UP
Addleshaw Goddard has made significant progress in working capital management in only the second year of its merger, which is always a difficult task.
It has also shown innovation, for example, by contracting in receivables managers to drive credit control, with the result that average debtor days were reduced from 81 to 76 and the firm had a cash surplus of £7m as at May 2005, a significant cash turnaround from an indebtedness position in the previous year.
It has also introduced a sanctions policy linking lock up targets to payments to partners, which the firm says has been a particularly successful tool.
3RD PLACE
Impressive efforts have been made by Olswang to successfully reduce work in progress and debtors to best practice levels by a combination of:
- Passing primary responsibility for collection of debts to a centralised credit control team reporting directly to the COO
- A firm wide focus led by the COO to introduce more frequent billing across all departments; and
- An aggressive bad debt provisioning policy for all debts of 90 days or more
However, while excellent results have been demonstrated as to work in progress and debtors, nothing was submitted as to the results of meeting tough targets in relation to overheads and headcount, (which are part of the award specific criteria).
Given this lack of relevant information compared to that provided by the other two firms, we must place the firm in third place.
2005 FINALISTS
Runner up
Third place
2005 SPONSOR
An industry focused team dealing predominantly with large professional practices based in London and New York
consisting of 40 people including nine Relationship Directors who have over 40 years of sector experience between them.
Each Relationship Director has a carefully balanced customer portfolio that allows time for regular contact with their customers
and time to discuss and develop innovative ideas to add value to each relationship.
OTHER YEARS
OTHER AWARDS