Business and Money Tips

Most people have high IQ, but low FQ - Financial Intelligence.  Just look at the many people who prefer freebies to discounts (like buy 5 get 1 free is more popular than 25% discount) and you'll know what I am talking about. By the way, I think I am qualified to talk about this subject because I am a Chartered Accountant by training, and have a  Second-class Honours Degree in Accountancy  from National University of Singapore in 1988, in addition to a MBA from Scotland in 2000.  There are 3 simple ways that you too can be financially intelligent today: Know that Cash Flow is better than Profits, and Profits are better than Wages .  Cash Flow is money coming in and out whereas Profits are just what you make in a period.   Profits can be boosted by one-off event s (like a big business deal) but Cash Flow is difficult to be manipulated because it is over a period of time (like 4 years).  Of course profits are always better than wages because you nee...

How many times have you selected the cheapest vendor only to discover later that you have just paid top dollar?   Over the years the relationship between supplier and customer has focused hard on many of the wrong things. Price alone is almost always the most important factor in selecting any supplier.   Yet we know that price can only account for out-of-pocket costs actually paid out to suppliers.  Other factors that are overlooked are more important in determining the  overall cost of purchasing and its ultimate value to your organization .  The overlooked but important factors include  Cost of Value-Added services  (like customization and design), rework, returns, inspection, administration and inconvenience cost.  More important, these costs exclude the  opportunity costs of not doing business with suppliers who can provide significant benefits , which include: Joint Strategic Planning and Product Design Coordinated marketing Joi...