Question: What are some of the ways a business can collect feedback in relation to the services they

provide?
The main form of communication of the services a Financial Manager provides their clients is the financial
information report. The means by which the client can provide feedback to their Financial Manager on the
financial information they receive is through verbal clarification of the clients needs in terms of their
expectations & objectives of which of the following the Financial Manager needs to focus his financial
information on:

reduction in Income Tax;

better investment returns;
acquisition of assets;
wealth acquisition;
improvements in effectiveness & efficiency of the clients business;
ensuring the business cash flows are sufficient when required.

In terms of the clients legal & financial requirements, this is an important area for the Financial Manager to
discuss with the client and will depend on the business organisational structure.
The Financial Manager needs to receive feedback from the client on their financial options & processes so that
a plan can be developed to provide the financial information that is relevant to the clients objectives & goals, in
relation to the various sources of finance available to, and the procedures used to assess & control the
monetary aspects to determine if finance is required for the clients business.
In relation to the compilation & review of the Financial Managers plans by the client, it is important to review
regularly these financial plans based on the criteria agreed with the client. The agreed criteria that the client
may require to be applied to these financial plans, such as cash flow budgets, management of working capital,
& debtors, different sources of finance, and appropriate funding structure include:

Net Present Values within cash flows;

budgeting & management of capital, working capital & assets;
strategic directions;
business turnover;
profitability analysis.

As the needs of the client change over time or due to different circumstances arising in the future that impact
on the clients business, this feedback may cause these plans to be changed or modified.
[Source: Financial Management: Principles & Applications, 5th Edition (C. Wilson, B. Keers, A. Medlen, B.
Walters), Chapter 5:- pages 115 124]

Question: Outline an appropriate process for dealing with feedback and shortfalls in customer service.
If the feedback from the client to the Financial Manager on the preparation & presentation of plans and reports
on the clients business reveals shortfalls in the provision of the financial information to the client, this needs to
be investigated and corrected where required. [16 pg 117]
The appropriate process to deal with feedback and shortfalls in the Financial Managers provision of financial
information to the client, such as slow response to enquiries, lack of accuracy, failure to recognise relevant
factors, or poor presentation of information is to acknowledge where or how the error occurred, from the
Financial Managers point of view. The Financial Manager then needs to make the necessary corrections or
improvements in area/s identified, communicate these changes to the client through an interim report or memo
so that there is a record on file, and ensure they are satisfied with the improvement in those services that are
now provided. [17 pg 119]
If the feedback to the client is due to a re-evaluation of the business to improve its financial potential through
working out funding requirements and statutory obligations, this should be communicated to the client via a
formal written report or proposal. [18 pg 119] The formats of these reports may be controlled by accounting
standards so that the presentation is consistent for the clients understanding and use. These formats, such
as financial statement analysis, include ratios, cash flow analysis, and benchmarking. [19 pg 119]
[Source: Financial Management: Principles & Applications, 5th Edition (C. Wilson, B. Keers, A. Medlen, B.
Walters), Chapter 5:- pages 115 124]

Question: What procedures would you put in place to ensure your clients are kept up to date on
new or alternative finance opportunities, changes in legislation, Government or other
funding prospects, potential financial risks or other relevant matters?
Procedures to keep a Financial Managers clients up to date on all relevant issues concerning
their business would consider, and communicate firstly, regular analysis & reporting on a
realistic view of the financial performance of the clients business. This would instigate a process
to provide advice to the client on the following: sources of finance not yet accessed or
previously considered; ensure clients business remains compliant with changes of legislation
that may impact on its operations, in terms of rights and obligations; research & report back to
the client on the prospects of receiving, and the application process required for Government or
private funding grants in the type of industry their clients business is involved ; assess, quantify
and inform the client of any potential risks the clients business is likely to face, based on their
business current and future operations, as a result of any internal changes the client decides to
make or external factors that adversely impact on the business success.
The analysis of the business financial performance may reveal a need to investigate new or
alternative options of finance sources or opportunities to improve the business liquidity, debt &
equity funding that would be more financially beneficial to the business, based on the industry in
which it operates. This would be communicated to the client-using estimates and projections, in
graphic form for easier understanding and decision-making, of the alternative sources of finance
available compared to those currently being used by the clients business, with explanatory
notes of how the client would need to transfer from or incorporate one finance opportunity into
the other and the timelines required for it to be most effective.
Apart from the compliance taxation issues that the clients business would need to be kept
updated on, there are other legal & business rights and obligations that need to be checked to
confirm the clients business is following & be informed when and how these change. They
include: legislative protection for consumers; corporations law; contract law; employment law;
privacy law; and, taxation legislation. The Financial Manager of the clients business should have
a digital copy of the clients Policies & Procedures that implement these legal & business rights
and obligations, and following advice or notification from external sources such as the ATO,
Financial or Accounting Statutory Authorities, when changes to these laws occur, they can advise
the client on which parts of their business Policies & Procedures require altering and indicate on
the digital copy, using explanatory notes to assist them, where and how they may need to do
this.
Based on the industry the clients business in operating in, and how they are working on
improving its market share, in terms of products or services, the Financial Manager may be able
to locate, through Advisory Boards, mainstream & social media, Government or private
community-based grants that the business could apply for, and provide a stream-lined approach
to preparing advice, using calculations, estimates & projections with accompanying explanatory
notes, for the business to determine whether & which of these prospects would be suitable for
it to pursue.
Potential financial risks that the client would need to kept updated on, once identified and
quantified in their business, include accounting contingencies, future cash flow shortfalls,
insurable risks, debtor default, operating costs, business forecasts, funding costs, hedging
arrangements, and opportunity costs. The Financial Manager should establish processes to
minimise the risks in these areas through collecting and analysing the data required to produce
the calculations, estimates & projections, graphs and tables and develop the parameters for
variances I financial outcomes that can be used to review the responses to these risks. Such
reviews would then be used to advise the client of the appropriate risk management options to
counter the risks identified, such as insurance products and internal control procedures. The
client would need to be made aware of the costs of the insurance versus the value & probability

of the potential loss to the business, where the cost of the insurance rises with the probability of
the loss occurring. The Financial Manager can assist the client to ensure that they maintain
updated internal control procedures to protect against potential losses. These procedures would
include ensuring money & cheque books are secured when not required, installing user names &
passwords on the business computer systems, and error checks in the business budgets.
To provide an assessment of the realistic performance of the clients business, an analysis of
their current level of assets versus liabilities, income & profit versus expenses, equity and debt
financing is required, including projections of these in the short- and medium-term. Also, a
summary table of the business compliance requirements, particularly for taxation issues, such
as reporting & lodgement dates, PAYG obligations, BAS reporting requirements & state tax
obligations, could be provided for easy review and updating with explanatory notes on when it
may be necessary to reconsider the business position with regard to its level of registration for
any of these obligations.