Businesses guilty of wasting 5% of revenues a year

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Global organisations needlessly wasted an average amount of 5% of revenue every year, according to a new study by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).  Among the most common causes for losses were delayed projects -- with 75% admitting to wasted costs in this area -- followed by inefficient systems and processes (74%) and started but subsequently cancelled projects (55%).

CIMA polled more than 2,000 finance professionals, of which half (50%) admitted their organisations lack any kind of strategy to drive cost competitiveness. A further third (33%) of respondents claimed there is little to no mandate within their organisations to drive down costs when making day-to-day decisions.

Proving that there is gap between expectation and reality, 80% of respondents believed that promoting a cost conscious culture was the responsibility of their executive team. But in stark contrast, the results revealed that only 1 in 4 firms (25%) have a board member tasked with maintaining cost competitiveness.

Peter Spence, CIMA's head of performance management research said: "Lack of a cost conscious culture is a threat to competitiveness -- we can be as innovative or as creative as we like, but if our products and services cost too much we will not be maximising our profits, and we are at risk of losing out to cheaper competitors.

"However, cost is not just about being cheap. It's about embedding a cost conscious culture, so that every decision, at every level of the business, focusses on return on investment."

Looking at the lack of encouragement within organisations to change bad habits, a third (32%) of respondents claimed that employee incentives are poorly designed to encourage cost control -- with a quarter (25%) believing cost containment strategies are ineffective. A further 36% think that technology and data analytics are poorly used within their organisations.

Peter Spence said: "The balancing of short- and long-term objectives requires the engagement of management accountants, who have a keen understanding of the drivers of cost, risk and value across the organisation's value chain. CIMA members have never been more relevant in ensuring sustainable success in today's volatile business world, where there is uncertainty around every corner."

Enquiries
Siew Lian
M. +6012-5023-985
E. chan.siewlian@cimaglobal.com