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ON THE MOVE RPS KLOTZ ASSOCIATES PROMOTES 2 HOUSTON LEADERS Texas-based civil engineering firm RPS Klotz Associates enhanced its management team through the promotion of Bart Standley, PE, to vice president and an expanded, statewide role for David Balmos, PE. A vice president since 2011, Balmos will now serve as transportation marketing director for the firm’s offices across the state. He joined RPS Klotz Associates in 2008 and leverages 20 years of experience in roadway, rail transit and drainage engineering for urban and

them to credit for that,” said D. Wayne Klotz, PE, D.WRE, president. “We thank David and Bart for their contributions and look forward to continuing to enhance our team and our expertise for clients across Texas.” RPS Klotz Associates is the Texas- based engineering arm of RPS Group, a multidisciplinary consultancy with U.S. headquarters in Houston. With a staff of 165 professionals in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, the firm provides transportation, traffic, ITS, water and sewer, aviation, drainage, and more.

rural transportation projects. Balmos holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University. Standley’s promotion to vice president comes a year after joining the firm as public works practice manager. Standley has nearly 40 years of experience in business operation and management, program and project management, engineering analysis and design, and construction management. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Lamar University. “The past year was a record one for growth at RPS Klotz Associates, and we have our talented staff and the leaders who guide

TED MAZIEJKA, from page 11

firms indicate that they are looking to turn work away due to short term labor shortages. How is that strategy going to im- pact the mid and long term sustainability of the firm? 2)Workload projections/project management/pipeline of opportunities. What is the state of the firm’s backlog? Are critical project reviews being accomplished to ensure that the firm’s accounting of project completion is being evaluated against the project managers estimate to complete? Are all facets of the way work is being performed being evaluated to address increased performance and profitability? What is the firm’s backlog as you enter June 2016? Is it ahead of the industry average of 6.6 months? Is the performance of the pipeline of opportunities increasing to allow for greater sustainability going into the end of 2016 and 2017? Is the firm evaluating the backlog and pipeline together to predict the need for expanded or contracting resources, and what is your view on this comparison? How good is your firm’s data in assisting in the evaluation of these critical driv- ers of growth? How vulnerable is your firm to the economic impacts that affect you locally, regionally, nationally, or inter- nationally? Most importantly, are you sharing the level of backlog with your staff so that they are aware of the health of your firm? 3)Cash flow projections. Where is the firm positioned relative to its cash position? Is your average collection period run- ning at 68 days or less? Are you having quick conversations with your clients to hold them to the terms specified in your contracts? This is critical to the firm’s success and the man- agement of this process should be first and foremost in the hands of your accounting team and then in those of the proj- ect managers and principals. Are the PMs and principals act- ing quickly in the collection effort to mitigate the risk of non- collection and minimizing this vulnerability? Are you running cash-based P&Ls to insure that the funds are going to be available to pay bonuses and cover the firm’s tax liability? Are you making sure that your firm’s work in progress is at 13 days or less? Are you reviewing WIP monthly and also aging it much like you do your Accounts Receivable and holding your PM’s accountable for the old WIP? Raising growth, managing the vulnerabilities, and caring a whole awful lot, will ensure that your firm’s financial picture will improve throughout the year. TED MAZIEJKA is a Zweig Group financial and management consultant. Contact him at tmaziejka@zweiggroup.com.

sion near its end,” JPMorgan economist Jesse Edgerton wrote in a March 21 research note. ❚ ❚ Dr. Seuss. And lastly, but most notably, age old wisdom from Dr. Seuss: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” There is a great deal of wisdom in Dr. Seuss, because without senior leadership caring a whole awful lot, and the IMF wis- dom of raising growth and managing vulnerabilities, the path to the end of 2016 might have an unclear picture. Being predictable requires great data review, and gives firms the ability to see downstream and shift resources in a rapidly changing environment. “Raising growth, managing the vulnerabilities, and caring a whole awful lot, will ensure that your firm’s financial picture will improve throughout the year.” So how is your firm poised to enter the end of the quarter? Let’s review a few critical elements that you should consider: 1)Strategic planning performance/business planning per- formance. How is the firm performing on the goals that were set during your 2015 strategic planning sessions? Was Q1 on target? Did the firm take the steps necessary to review Q1 with an eye on meeting Q2? How is the budget you developed last year working in com- parison to 2016 Q1, as well as to what was actually budgeted for Q2? What steps are being taken to insure that goals are being met? If decisions have to be made, are they being done surgically and with speed to action? If performance is off target, what is being done on all fronts – practice optimization, business development, reallocating resources, work load review, getting staff functioning at their best and highest purpose, optimization of overhead spend- ing, and other critical areas where it sounds simple to address but not easy to implement? How is the senior leadership ad- dressing the “vulnerabilities” in all areas of the business? If performance is on or ahead of goal, what continuing mea- sures are being addressed to review the business development plans and how those impact future growth? We often hear

THE ZWEIG LETTER May 30, 2016, ISSUE 1154

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