This book is not about debits, credits, or accounting theory. It's about how a chief financial officer (CFO) becomes a Lean CFO to lead the transformation of a company's management accounting system into a lean management accounting system.
It's been well established in lean companies that traditional management accounting systems do not provide relevant and reliable information to decision makers. The CFO, as steward of a company's management accounting system, must provide the leadership to improve the quality of the information produced by a company's management accounting system so it is aligned with a company's lean strategy, lean operations, and continuous improvement.
The integration of a lean management accounting system with a company's lean strategy will lead to improved decision making by all users and drive long-term financial success. Lean management accounting helps all users, from executives to line managers, better understand the relationships between lean operating performance and financial performance.
Written in the style of a practice guide, The Lean CFO is written not just for CFOs, but for all stakeholders of a company's management accounting system, such as executives and owners, lean leaders, functional managers, and accounting professionals.
It's been well established in lean companies that traditional management accounting systems do not provide relevant and reliable information to decision makers. The CFO, as steward of a company's management accounting system, must provide the leadership to improve the quality of the information produced by a company's management accounting system so it is aligned with a company's lean strategy, lean operations, and continuous improvement.
The integration of a lean management accounting system with a company's lean strategy will lead to improved decision making by all users and drive long-term financial success. Lean management accounting helps all users, from executives to line managers, better understand the relationships between lean operating performance and financial performance.
Written in the style of a practice guide, The Lean CFO is written not just for CFOs, but for all stakeholders of a company's management accounting system, such as executives and owners, lean leaders, functional managers, and accounting professionals.
"The Lean CFO is the best lean book I have read, and I have read them all. It is perfect for management teams looking to make a huge immediate impact."
- Steven Vitale - President, Midwest Industrial Supply, Inc.
"Nick explains The Lean CFO from direct experience. Experience as an accountant, as a practicing CFO, as a leading lean accounting thought leader and pioneer, and as a guide and coach to business executives leading their organizations to successful change. Nick has been there and done that for the lean organization and The Lean CFO is the guidebook and plan."
- Jim Huntzinger - President and Founder, Lean Frontiers
"Lean accounting is the essential backbone of a company's lean management system because it provides useable and understandable information that aligns lean operations with financial performance. Classical management accounting and cost management simply cannot meet the instant and immediate information requirements of a lean company. The Turkish Lean Institute has worked with Nick has worked several years and translated the first edition of The Lean CFO into Turkish. We highly endorse the second edition of this book."
- Yalçin Ipbüken - President, Lean Institute Turkey
"This book takes you on a journey which many would like to travel, and many may have started but not transitioned. Based on practical examples and case studies we get insights into how accounting can progress from transactional processing to a value added function for a lean company by bringing in the analytical skills of your accounting team to support the improvement journey."
- Kevin Bennett - Facilitator, Best Practice Network NSW and QLD, Australia
"As a long-time lean practitioner, I am consistently frustrated with my inability to effectively communicate the wonders and benefits of lean to my financial counterparts. Low volume, high mix, flexible production seems to constantly conflict with standard cost accounting tools and processes. Enter the Lean CFO. Nick unlocks this disconnect and shows how the benefits of lean flow directly from the shop floor into clear and actionable financial statements. His writing is concise and makes these concepts simple and easy for the most skeptical finance professional to understand. The Lean CFO is required reading for our entire management team!"
- Jud Barr - CEO, JTB Custom
"The Lean CFO informs us of the holistic approach we must take to achieve the greatest gains from Lean practices. Lean companies require a Lean management accounting system that focuses on flow and maximizing capacity. Nick offers executives a blueprint that is easy to understand and champion."
- Johnson McKnight - CEO, M&M International