KSM Consulting Blog

A few weeks ago, I had an experience, which was not particularly unique.  I shared an elevator with a nice man in a parking garage.  After an enjoyable but short discussion, we shook hands and parted ways, probably never to see each other again.  Or so I thought.  As part of my networking efforts, I had the pleasure of attending the Indianapolis Business Journal Power Breakfast Series on Technology, and there he was.  The nice man from the parking garage – up at the podium!It turns out that the man from the elevator is Joel Book, Principal of Marketing Research & Education at ExactTarget, and he has a powerful message to share: “Serving is the New Selling.”  Joel Book says that... Read more →

KSM Consulting recently hosted a networking event at Scotty's Brewhouse and invited owner Scott Wise to speak about building business using social media.  Scott Wise is indeed “wise” when it comes to social media.  His charismatic and comfortable speaking style resounded with our attendees, and most left energized and ready to conquer the social media world.  Scott began his presentation by raising a glass to offer a toast, encouraging those in attendance to take a photo of the toast and post it to the social network of their choice.  He offered a free drink to anyone who earned 100 “likes.”  Within minutes, the Scotty’s brand had been blasted to the thousands of contacts that existed in our collective... Read more →

Score Big in Your Presentation: A Guide to Effective Presentation Preparation Inspired by the NFLThe NFL acts as a model for preparation. Its teams prepare for sixteen regular season games each fall with hopes of making it beyond the regular season into the upcoming playoffs.  While not the most obvious analogy, the NFL and its mentality of preparation provide great guidelines for professionals preparing for a presentation. Regardless of industry, effective sales presentations are critical for success.  Despite the importance of good presentation skills, many professionals fail to spend adequate time preparing for and practicing their pitch.  Poor performance from an NFL team can damage ticket sales, reputation, and the spirit of the team.  Similarly, poor presentations can cost a... Read more →

Cyber-attacks have become a significant threat to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). According to Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report, the number of malicious attacks in 2011 increased by a staggering 81 percent in comparison to 2010. Historically, the majority of information security targets have been high profile public institutions or large corporations, but the threat landscape is beginning to shift to include smaller organizations. More than half of the attacks in 2011 were targeted at companies with fewer than 2,500 employees, with 18 percent targeting companies with fewer than 250 employees.While these statistics serve as cause for concern for SMBs, the best defense is to adopt a proactive stance toward security. Steps toward building a... Read more →

Just what is cloud computing, why is there such buzz around it, and how can it be used by construction and real estate professionals?Cloud computing is a conceptual term used to describe the act of providing information technology (IT) solutions to organizations through the Internet. Cloud computing allows organizations to implement IT solutions without having to purchase hardware and software and then hiring IT staff to maintain it.The term “cloud” is used as a metaphor for the Internet, and it is represented by the cloud drawing in computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying technology infrastructure. Another way to think about it might be an externally sourced (and theoretically limitless) seamless extension of an internal IT... Read more →

The ability to accept and make online payments and maintain databases with detailed constituent profiles offers obvious benefits to nonprofits under constant time and money pressures but may also make the nonprofit more susceptible to certain fraud attempts that can dodge traditional internal controls. Fortunately, measures are available to combat these risks.Making Online DisbursementsMany nonprofits are now paying bills online, rather than mailing payments. Of course, the ability to make online payments essentially provides an employee the potential to make unauthorized payments. Similarly, the employee who oversees direct deposit payroll transactions could create and pay “ghost” employees, give unauthorized raises or otherwise divert funds.If a nonprofit makes these types of online disbursements, management should ensure that all payments... Read more →

QuickBooks® can be a valuable asset or a source of frustration, depending on whether it has been customized to meet your business needs. KSM Consulting’s QuickBooks Optimization Project recently helped one of our clients customize their QuickBooks operations in order to maximize functionality and address their specific needs.The ProblemThe client struggled with the layout of their financial statements and Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks due to:    Too many accountsToo much detailMisaligned designRather than provide quick and pertinent information, the client’s financial statements did not clearly define relevant figures, making it difficult for management to both read and understand. Additionally, their standard Chart of Accounts had never been updated, leaving it haphazard and unorganized.  The SolutionThe Chart of... Read more →

Companies such as Home Depot and Lowes have built their businesses around helping homeowners enhance their homes through renovation projects.  Renovation is about achieving the effect of a new home without making the significant financial and time investments that come with new purchases. Similarly, businesses seek to optimize their existing financial systems’ functionality, as opposed to purchasing and implementing a new system. Some businesses miss out on crucial functionality inherent to systems such as QuickBooks ® during initial implementations.  Others have business needs that simply change over time, requiring improved performance from their financial systems.KSM Consulting has supported many organizations in their efforts to enhance QuickBooks packages.  The following items are just a few of the considerations we take into... Read more →

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 31, 2012) – Locally-based NPower Indiana, a nonprofit organization providing technology assistance to other nonprofit groups in the central Indiana community, today announced that it will be transitioning its technology service offerings to KSM Consulting LLC (KSMC) effective Aug. 1, 2012.After conducting a thorough market assessment and engaging in discussions with a variety of key stakeholders, the NPower board has placed its confidence in KSMC to offer the best service to NPower’s clients. Kim Graham Lee, NPower Interim CEO and former board member, said “Before starting this process, I could not have envisioned a better outcome for our nonprofit clients. KSMC is such an impressive organization in terms of the depth and breadth of its... Read more →

Based on the definition described by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), internal control is a process that is carried out by the entity’s board of directors, management and other personnel.  The process should be designed to support the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, reliability of financial reporting and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.With that definition in mind, one could conclude that effective internal controls provide reasonable assurance that corporate objectives will be achieved. All too often, we see organizations that have implemented numerous controls over critical financial and operational areas without regard to the purpose, implementation, maintenance or cost of the controls.Following a standard framework or model such as COSO will... Read more →