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O P I N I O N
The PM conundrum Already saddled with an endless list of responsibilities, is it fair to ask your project managers to chase down aging accounts receivable?
I don’t know about you, but I’m increasingly concerned that many in our industry view project management as an all-encompassing role for nearly every element of our businesses. From budget management and work product delivery to client development and accounts receivable, the role of the project manager within the typical A/E firm is not only vast, but seemingly endless.
Marc Florian
VP of accounting is likely to push leadership to add training on the various nuances of the firm’s accounting system to the growing list of PM responsibilities so that they need not distract accounting staff with such matters. Sarcasm aside, “The role of the project manager within the typical A/E firm is not only vast, but seemingly endless.”
As an example, assume for a minute that something needs to be done about the plus-90 accounts receivable in your firm. If yours is like most, someone in leadership will inevitably respond by instructing the PMs to start making some calls. While having the PMs follow-up on their A/Rs probably isn’t so bad, the task is rarely that simple. That is, when the PM gets the word that he needs to start calling his clients, he in turn will generally reach out to someone in accounting asking for a summary of billings, payments, histories, etc. After several rounds of this, the
See MARC FLORIAN, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER October 9, 2017, ISSUE 1219
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