Pint and Project - Project Financial Management
Project Financial Management was the topic of the Pint and Project networking event for International Project Management Day
Improving Portfolio, Programme and Project Financial Control
Colin McNally spoke about Project Financial Management and previewed his Pathfinder method. While project, programme and portfolio managment maturity is improving there is a need to build financial management maturity in parallel to make sure that change initiatives both deliver on budget and are being set realistic financial targets, i.e. benefits.
Colin's work deals with 2 key points:
- The idea that individuals with little financial training can run multi million pound programmes
- The fact that many PPM professionals struggle with the jargon and details of financial management
His Pathfinder method avoids "accountant speak" and puts finance in the language of project management. The aim is to:
- Give PPM professionals enough financial skills to deliver reliable and accurate project outcomes.
- Build financial management into the project, programme or portfolio lifecycle
- Work with and enhance existing best practice such as PRINCE2, MSP and MoP
To achieve this, Colin has created 5 key financial categories:
- Core
- Structure
- Budget
- Governance
- Reporting
Colin explored his White Paper (download below) and how to improve estimation for better investment decisions, improve reporting and the financial management of risks, issues and opportunities (RIO). The presentation was well received and afterwards, we had a question and answer session and the links between project financial controls, Better Business Cases and Managing Benefits became clear.
Next Steps
Colin is working to create Foundation and Practitioner trainer in Project Financial Management and Advantage Learning will be offering this course as soon as it is ready. Contact us to be notified about this or call 0131 668 2445
Discussions continued into the bar and some valuable networking was done.
Downloads - White Paper & slides - Project Financial Management
Download the white paper: Improving Portfolio, Programme and Project Financial Control
Download Colin McNally presentation
