ANSR Hackett Grp., Inc.(The) (MM)

World-class finance executives get customers to pay their bills nearly 30 percent faster than typical companies, according to Book of Numbers(TM) research from The Hackett Group, a strategic advisory firm (NASDAQ:ANSR). Hackett's analysis found that a typical $10 billion company can generate more than $35.8 million/year in bottom-line savings if they achieve world-class performance in this area by reducing Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a standard measure of how quickly companies get paid by their customers. Hackett's research also showed that companies with world-class finance organizations have significantly reduced their DSO over the past three years while typical companies have made only slight improvements. One key strategy of world-class companies in this area has been to dramatically lower billing error rates in order to eliminate any reason for delayed payment. In addition, these world-class finance organizations have made significant improvements in their Invoice-to-Cash procedures, driving higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness through the use of Hackett-Certified(TM) practices such as better cost and pricing analysis, and faster cash application. The savings garnered by world-class finance organizations through the use of these techniques can improve profitability, or they can be used to fund virtually any high-priority corporate activity, such as strategic initiatives, competitive differentiation, or efforts to penetrate new markets. "Today, the best CFOs are doing an exceptional job of balancing efficiency and effectiveness, and their companies are reaping the benefits. They're proving it's possible to maintain a focus on business value, and generate real bottom-line benefits by doing things like reducing DSO, while at the same time keeping a sharp focus on cost reduction opportunities," said Hackett Finance Practice Managing Director Mark Krueger. "The message for typical CFOs is both clear and disturbing. To survive, they cannot wait any longer to close efficiency gaps and implement effectiveness-increasing strategies. Because every day they wait they're leaving opportunities on the table which can have a material impact on their company's profitability." According to Hackett-REL Customer-to-Cash Practice Leader Robert Smid, "Other than insolvency, there are two major reasons why customers pay their vendors late -- because they have a dispute, or because they've been conditioned to do so by the vendor. Both of these are areas that companies can address and reap impressive rewards. By reducing how often a bill goes out with the inaccurate pricing, wrong terms, or any other mistake, companies can significantly streamline collections. The conditioning process is more complicated. But with the right people and tools in place, companies can develop a better understanding of their customer base and the impact individual customers and customer segments have on their profitability. Then they can take a more proactive, targeted, and strategic approach to collections and significantly reduce DSO." According to Hackett, world-class finance organizations now spend 42 percent less in the finance function than typical companies (0.73 percent of revenue versus 1.26 percent), and have 44 percent fewer finance staff (63 employees/ billion of revenue versus 112). The cost gap between world-class and typical companies is also growing. Typical companies saw an increase in the cost of finance of 18 percent over the past two years, in part due to increased compliance-related costs, while world-class companies continued to reduce overall finance costs over the same period. To see the full version of this research, please click on the following link for the Hackett Research Insight Center: http://www.thehackettgroup.com/insights/fin0306 More information on The Hackett Group is available: by phone at (770) 225-7300; by e-mail at info@thehackettgroup.com; or on the Web at http://www.thehackettgroup.com. The Hackett Group The Hackett Group (http://www.TheHackettGroup.com), a strategic advisory firm and an Answerthink company, is a world leader in best practice research, benchmarking and business transformation services that empirically define and enable world-class enterprise performance. Through the acquisition of REL Consultancy Group, a global leader in generating cash improvement from working capital, we offer Hackett-REL Total Working Capital services to liberate cash flow from operations through improved working capital, reduced costs and increased service quality. Hackett-REL has helped clients in more than 60 countries free up over $25 billion through working capital improvements in the last 10 years alone. Only The Hackett Group empirically defines world-class performance in sales, general and administrative (SG&A) and supply chain activities with analysis gained through 3,500 benchmark studies over 14 years at 2,000 of the world's leading companies. Our clients comprise 96 percent of the Dow Jones Industrials, 77 percent of the Fortune 100 and 92 percent of the Dow Jones Global Titans Index. Hackett-Certified, Book of Numbers, and Hackett World-Class Passport are trademarks of The Hackett Group. Book of Numbers is a trademark of The Hackett Group.