Financial Management Institute Workshop

Keeping it Interesting

Power Point or Paper• Small groups versus large

• Tips still apply

• Paper – indicate where you are.

Keeping it Interesting• Individuals have different ways of

taking in information.

• Variety helps to break monotony and add interest

• Simple rules may help

Rule of Three• People can only process so much

information at once.

• Limit points to related items

• Try to limit the number to 2 to 4.

Layer Presentations• Start with the big picture (forest)

• Add level of detail (trees)

• If necessary, proceed to fine detail (branches and twigs)

Advantages of Layering• Allows senior to set the pace and

determine the priorities

• Sets the context for detailed information

• Shows how pieces fit into a larger view

Example of Layering• Section 1: Overall Financial

Situation – Bottom Lines• Section 2: Overview of Revenue,

Expense, Assets and Liabilities• Section 3: Detailed Analysis of

Revenue, Expense, Assets and Liabilities

LayeringSurplus/Deficit

Debt/Accumulated Deficit

Revenue

Revenue by Code/Source

Liabilities by Type

Expense by Code/Agency

LiabilitiesExpense Assets

Assets by Category

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Layering

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Total Agricultural Production

Livestock Crops

Cattle, Hogs, Sheep, etc.

Wheat, Oats, Barley, Canola Pulse, Etc.

Mix Presentation Styles• Three types of people:

Verbal peopleNumber peopleVisual people

• Mixing styles help reach all three and keeps interest

Keep it Simple• Use clear but concise

language/tables

• Use lots of white space

• Focus on the main points

Verbal Material While lengthy and complex sentence structures

and paragraphing are expected standards and encouraged in academic literature, in the context of most business applications and, especially, in the process of briefing senior officials, such structural constructs may be of limited practical application lest verbosity, complexity, repetition and potential redundancies result in uncertainty and obfuscation of the critical information originally intended to be conveyed, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the briefing effort and, potentially, alienating the very audience with which one is initially intending to communicate to the point that continued interest on the part of that audience may be difficult to re-establish or, indeed, to maintain at any level.

Use BulletsBullets help to:• keep it simple;• keep it concise; and,• organize several related points.

Using Numbers• Keep tables simple and clean

• Use round numbers in tables and text

• Avoid mixing number formats (dollars, percentages, growth rates, etc.)

Clean TablesGeneral Revenue FundStatement of Operations, 2007-08(Millions of Dollars)

2007-08 Budget

2007-08 Actual

Change from

Budget

Revenue $7,869.3 $9,847.1 $1,977.8

Expense $7,794.3 $9,205.5 $1,411.2

Surplus $75.0 $641.4 $566.4

Clean TablesGeneral Revenue Fund Statement of Operations, 2007-08 and 2006-07(Millions of Dollars)

2006-07 Actual

2007-08 Actual

Change from

2006-07

Revenue $8,643.0 $9,847.1 $1,204.1

Expense $8,350.3 $9,205.5 $855.2

Surplus $292.7 $641.4 $348.7

Visual Presentations• A picture says a thousand words

• Keep graphs simple

• Label clearly

Bar chartsGeneral Revenue Fund,

Revenue, 2007-08

$7.9

$9.8

$0.0

$5.0

$10.0

2007-08 Budget 2007-08 Actual

Bil

lio

ns

Clustered Bar ChartsGeneral Revenue Fund,

Revenue and Expense, 2007-08

$7.9

$9.8

$7.8$9.2

$0.0

$5.0

$10.0

2007-08 Budget 2007-08 Actual

Bil

lio

ns

Revenue Expense

Stacked BarsComponents of Total, 1997-98 and 2007-08

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

1997-98 2007-08

Dol

lars

A B C

Pie Charts

Health & Healthy Living

40%

Education27%

Family Services & Housing

11%

Community, Econ. & Res.

Dev.14%

Other8%

Manitoba Operating Expense, 2008-09

Pie Charts

Line GraphsHistorical Prices of A, B and C in dollars

$0

$100

$200

$300

1 6 11 16 21 26 31Year

Do

llar

s

A B C

Graphs to Avoid

• Dual Axes charts

• Multi-dimensional charts

• Too many data categories

Dual Axes Graphs

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1 2 3 4 5

Series1

Series2

Multi-dimensional Graphs

Series1

Series2

Series305

10152025

30

1 2 34

5

25-30

20-25

15-20

10-15

5-10

0-5

Too Many Data Categories

05101520253035404550

1 2 3 4 5

Series1

Series2

Series3

Series4

Series5

Summary

• Do not assume deep understanding from your audience

• Layer presentation focussing on main points in each layer

• Mix verbal, visual and numeric approaches

Financial Management Institute Workshop

Applied Techniques

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Manitoba Financial Statements, 2008-09

Compared to last year:• the accumulated deficit is up $311

million;• public debt is up $899 million;• the operating surplus is down $88

million; • revenue is up $ 419 million; and,• expense is up $517 million.

Manitoba Financial PositionSummary Financial Statements

Statement of Financial Position at March 31, 2008 and 2009(Millions of Dollars)

2007-08 Actual

2008-09 Actual

Change from

2007-08

Assets $17,740 $15,339 -$2,401

Liabilities $22,333 $20,243 -$2,090

Accumulated Surplus (Deficit)

-$4,593 -$4,904 -$311

Manitoba Debt

$14,555 $14,664

$0

$5,000

$10,000

$15,000

$20,000

$25,000

2008 2009

Mil

lio

ns

Comparison of Liabilities, 2008 and 2009

Other Liabilities

Borrowings

$22,333 $20,243

Debt History

Operations HighlightsCompared to last year:

• Operating surplus is down $88 million;

• Revenue is up $ 419 million; and

• Operating expense is up $507 million.

Revenue and ExpenseSummary Financial StatementsStatement of Operations, 2007-08 and 2008-09(Millions of Dollars)

2007-08 Actual

2008-09 Actual

Change from

2007-08

Revenue $12,496 $12,915 $419

Expense $11,938 $12,445 $507

Surplus $558 $470 -$88

Revenue Growth

Revenue is up $419 million over last year:

• Taxation (up $249 million);• Federal transfers (up $269

million), and;• Other Revenue (down $99

million).

2008-09 Revenue Composition

Taxation 48%

Federal Transfers 30%

Other 22%

Manitoba Revenue, 2008-09

2008-09 Operating Expense

Health & Healthy Living

40%

Education27%

Family Services & Housing

11%

Community, Econ. & Res.

Dev.14%

Other8%

Manitoba Operating Expense, 2008-09

Since 2008-09 Budget

Since the Budget:

• revenue is up about $592 million;

• expense is up about $ 218 million; and

• the surplus is up $374 million.

Comparison to BudgetSummary Financial StatementsStatement of Operations, 2008-09(Millions of Dollars)

2008-09 Budget

2008-09 Actual

Change from

Budget

Revenue $12,323 $12,915 $592

Expense $12,227 $12,445 $218

Surplus $96 $470 $374

Revenue Increases

Since the Budget, revenue is up $592 million:

• taxation (up $178 million),• transfers from the federal

government (up $40 million): and,

• other revenue (up $374 million).

Allocation of New Revenue

The $592 million in revenue increase since the Budget has gone to:

• increased surplus (or debt reduction) (up $374 million);

• expense increases ( up $218 million).

Overview of Statements

Revenue is up significantly, leading to:

• a higher surplus;• reduced debt; and,• lower government liabilities.

Financial Management Institute Workshop

Summary and Overview

Overview

In this session we have discussed:• the context for briefings• general rules for briefing senior

officials;• briefing on financial issues;• keeping briefings interesting; and,• specific applications of

techniques.

Context

• Ministerial accountability

• Legislated responsibility

• Role of officials

General Rules

• Understand your audience• Respect time pressures• Let the audience set priorities• Keep it brief• Focus on main points• Be flexible in time and subject

focus

Briefing on Financial Issues

• Keep it simple

• Focus on big issues

• Prepare options for problem areas

Keeping it Interesting• Rule of 3

• Layer presentations

• Mix presentation styles

• Different charts for different purposes

ObjectivesContext for Briefing

Ministers/Senior Officials

General Information on Briefing

Special Needs in Financial Briefings

Tips and Techniques

Wrap up• Understanding financial issues is

very important to good management.

• Not all senior managers have a financial focus.

• Presenting information well helps managers manage.