Workplace Mentor
Accounting Services in Port Elizabeth

Married, with three adult children, two girls and a boy. SUMMARY: Final responsibility on various company audits. Key Areas of Experience: In early part of career, up to 1981, experience included major retail chain store group, Greatermans, including Checkers. For past 25 years have been in manufacturing and more specifically, Automotive Component manufacturing. I, Mike Smith, am married to Glynn and we have three adult children, Keri, a nursing sister, Simone, a teacher and David, an accountant. Simone and Rob, her husband, have blessed us with two grandchildren. David and Lisa hope to add to that number in the near future. Non-financial managers often feel frustrated because they do not understand the language of business. Many managers, at one time or another, who do not have a financial background, experience difficulty in coming to grips with the financial aspects of a business problem, or in communicating with financial people like accountants. In addition it is difficult for managers to manage costs if they do not understand exactly what costs are, how they behave and how they have been allocated. All that flows from these three objectives of Paul’s, becomes a by-product. Financial Performance Use of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) Monitoring of working capital cycle Long range financial plans Suitable budget setting procedures Monitoring and adherence to budgets Profitability analysis of major contracts/product lines. Outcomes Confidently read and understand financial reports Understand the difference between cash and profit Become financially literate Understand the framework that accountants use to prepare financial statements Find out how much your business is worth. Risk Assessment process The regularity of reviews of systems to identify risks The direction of these reviews The methods used to evaluate these areas implementation of changes The evaluation of the result of the process. Control Environment Expectations of management and staff Communication of these expectations A defined organizational structure The proper use of this structure Evidence of strong teamwork Turnover of staff The level of skills being utilised The level of overtime hours worked The level of sick days taken. Information and Communication system The quality of information processed and transferred The adequacy of communication channels The timeous dispatch of information. Monitoring The regular review of performance against the targets set for the entity Constant revision of the objectives Constant review of the effectiveness of the controls in place Adequate procedures for the highlighting of identified weaknesses or proposed improvements in the controls Adequate procedures for following up on those weaknesses.