Many of us are in positions where we are required to spend or even manage our employer’s finances. Others expend church or vigilante association finances. From earlier editions of this column, we realise that it is our personal financial management skills (or lack thereof) that we would deploy when called upon to expend corporate resources. Therefore, our ability to manage finances is not only vital to ourselves but also critical to the financial well-being of the communities we serve. In a society where corruption is endemic, and it seems everyone is trying to misuse every service opportunity to wrongly amass wealth, is it possible and even wise to be a faithful steward? Is this topic even necessary? Are we ready to do the right thing? Can meaningful change be achieved by the efforts of a few? The answer to every question is a resounding YES! How then can we be faithful stewards of corporate resources? How can we manage the common wealth responsibly?
Whether we work in the private sector, civil service, or not-for-profit organisations, we know that our corporate resources are to be used to achieve the corporate objectives and not personal agendas. Therefore, we must not only use those resources responsibly, but we must also be seen to do so by anyone who reviews our records. We need to exercise ownership mentality, due diligence, and the golden rule.
In managing the common wealth, we need to develop an ownership mentality. Realise that if we serve faithfully and manage resources prudently, we are going to benefit from it ourselves. So, let us “own” it.
A person who realises that we all have a stake in the success of a venture would not seek to undermine that success. This is relevant whether we manage financial or physical resources. Physical assets, equipment and machinery should be handled and maintained as recommended by the manufacturer.
Increasing the lifespan of a physical asset postpones the need to purchase a new one, thus reducing costs and increasing profits. Materials like stationery and other “cheap” items have been known to create a disproportionately heavy financial burden on corporate finance due to waste and improper use, which could easily be curtailed if users had an ownership mentality. When spending corporate finance we need to exercise due diligence. This just means comprehensively and diligently appraising an expenditure, with all the care and precision that is due, to ensure that the expenditure meets the prescribed standards. Practically, this entails one being sure that the money one is about to spend would give the organization the best value-for-money that is available. It demands that we exercise sincerity of purpose in every transaction and not have a hidden agenda. Whether our employer is profit making or not, every employer needs to meet all its costs from the revenue available to it. It is our job to ensure that costs are managed efficiently by spending prudently, avoiding wastages, making honest and accurate monetary claims, using energy and other utilities prudently, and generally exercising due diligence always. We should also be proactive in helping our employer grow the revenue base. This is not just the job of those in sales or revenue generation departments. If we indeed have an ownership mentality, we realise that every additional income to the organisation assures its financial sustainability, and consequently our own job security. Maybe if our civil servants obeyed these principles, state governments would not be struggling financially.
Some of us waste the most unrenewable resource of all – TIME. This affects our productivity and ultimately our employer’s effectiveness and profitability. Let us do quality work for salary received; avoid procrastination and unnecessary external interruptions – including spending the organisation’s time on social media.
As employees, our employer’s finances and resources far outstrip our personal resources, yet we have been given the charge to manage the former. This presents us with avenues to practise and master some of the financial management concepts and skills that we ordinarily would not have the opportunity to practise. Let us use the opportunities well to develop our own financial management competencies.
Finally, we are familiar with the Golden Rule – do unto others as you want them to do to you! Since most of us claim to be religious and believe in the law of sowing and reaping, we can be assured that every good deed we do in managing the common wealth, we would reap in our own personal finances and wealth. Therefore, be careful to sow only the seed you want to reap.
Happy investing.
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