Financial Management

Sponsored by Barclays Corporate

With rising costs and limited credit, how do you control your financial management?

Sound financial practice will have an obvious effect on your profits. The confidential Financial Management Module in the Manufacturing Excellence self-assessment can help you make the most of your financial management systems to help ensure a strong performance and greater profitability.

This section assesses the financial systems and controls used to support the decision-making process within your organisation, and their influence on achieving a strong financial performance.  Your answers here, together with the information you have provided in other sections of this audit, should enable assessors to make a meaningful comparison of your financial management and business performance.

Congratulations to the 2011 winner Pipex px

The company also operates five separate trading subsidiaries under the Pipex px® brand. Earlier this year they made a key business acquisition of its main competitor in Scotland - SCS. The success of this acquisition, combined with Pipex’s excellent management of a wide range of diverse individual projects, has left this impressive SME with one of the most welcome challenges that can face a business – managing growth.

During the recession they decided that they wouldn’t cut into their core business, which meant they were able to get back up to speed quickly. In fact they took on two more sales people during the downturn because they realised that sales would be tougher to close and therefore extra resources were required.

The company has worked hard to implement suggestions following its involvement in Manufacturing Excellence in 2010 where they won the Best SME award. This year the judges were also impressed with Pipex’s focus on employees and customers, and found high morale and enthusiasm on the shop floor.

Tom Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Pipex px® said:

"To be announced  as a winner of a  prestigious Manufacturing Excellence Award, and for the second consecutive year, is both a huge compliment and motivation for our business and our people, and validates our ethos to place "producing excellence" at the heart of everything we do. The owners, staff, suppliers & customers of Pipex px® are delighted to receive our Award, and sincerely appreciate the efforts of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in providing such a challenging yet inspiring process, by which to continually assess, benchmark and improve our business performance within the British manufacturing and engineering sector."