Keeping Partners Informed with Key Performance Indicators

Transcription

1 May 22-25, 2016 Los Angeles Convention Center Los Angeles, California Keeping Partners Informed with Key Performance Indicators Presented by Jay J. Erdman, CPA FM10 5/23/ :00 AM - 12:30 PM The handouts and presentations attached are copyright and trademark protected and provided for individual use only.

2 Keeping Partners Informed with Key Performance Indicators KPI 2016 National ALA, Los Angeles Atlanta / Cleveland / DC / Grand Rapids / Houston / Las Vegas / Madison / Salt Lake City /St. Louis / Wichita Jay Erdman Rippe & Kingston Serving Law Firms Since 1979 Thank You Thank you for inviting me to present! 2 1

3 Our ALA Relationship First Installation in 1980 Still a R&K Client Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL We have been an active supporter of the ALA Nationally & Regionally Attending National ALA conferences since 1983 Presented at National ALA conferences Presented at Local ALA Chapter events 3 Our ALA Relationship R&K Law Firm Client users include current and former Executive Directors that have served as ALA Presidents

4 Census Size of Firm < Note: Size does not really matter. 5 THINK BIG!!! The ever-changing Legal Marketplace demands it

5 KPI FOCUS 7 Law Firm Profitability Formula Income * + Salaries _ Operating Expenses = Partner Profits * All Additional Revenues or Cost Savings Go Directly to the Bottom Line and Directly Increase Partner Profits. 8 4

6 Law Firm Profitability Formula Income * * + Salaries _ Operating Expenses = Partner Profits * * Reduction in Income or Increasing Expenses works just the opposite 9 Law Firm Profitability Formula For Example: Revenue Direct Cost Indirect Cost Partner Profits $17,000,000 $6,000,000 $5,000,000 $6,000,

7 Law Firm Profitability Formula A 10% Revenue Increase Equates to a 28% Increase of Partner Profits Revenue $18,700,000 Direct Cost $6,000,000 Indirect Cost $5,000,000 Partner Profits $7,700,000 28% 11 KPI FOCUS Revenue Enhancements 12 6

8 Factors that Influence Profitability Revenue Expense Hours Worked Hourly Rate Timely Billing Billing Realization Timely Collections Collection Realization % Salary Structure Overhead Structure Today s Focus 13 Goals Keeping Partners Informed with Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Do Partners want to be informed? Is there such a thing as TMI for Partners? Choose your battles 14 7

9 Goals Should you use herd mentality and do what other Firms are doing? (Keeping up with the Smiths, Jones, and Does ) 15 Goals KPI Scope... Measure against past performance for improvement measurement Use them to develop strategy (goals) and then measure against that strategy (goals) Provide (some) objective measurement against other entities in your same industry 16 8

10 Goals This analysis is going to suggest that you: Compare the Firm against itself (history) and strategy (goals/budgets) Supplement your Firms strategy with industry knowledge Remember, there is no single magic silver bullet. 17 Goals Various Resources Price Waterhouse Cooper Citibank Etc. Comparison Factors Size of Firm Specialization Area of Law Clients (Industry, Size) Geography 18 9

11 Today s Agenda Key Performance Indicators Basic Key Performance Indicators Intermediate Key Performance Indicators Advanced But... KPIs are not always a one line percentage statistics, but can also include supplemental reports that require analysis. Often simplified into a statistic, KPIs can require reporting that needs to be analyzed. 19 Today s Agenda KPI come in two flavors: #1 Statistic - expressed as numbers or a percentage that can be compared against a like statistic. #2 Reporting - requires the user to analyze the elements of the report to reach a conclusion

12 Today s Agenda #3 Firm statistics don t improve unless Individual statistics improve. This presentation will also address methodologies for monitoring individual statistics to enhance Firm statistics. Therefore... Everyone (grinders, minders, finders) has KPIs to pay attention to. 21 Overview B I A 1 Practice Development Practice Development 2 Resource Management Resource Management Resource Management 3 Asset Management Asset Management Asset Management 4 Production Statistics Production Statistics Production Statistics 5 Financial Statements Financial Statements Financial Reporting 6 Profitability Analysis 22 11

13 B I A 1 Practice Development a. Opened Files by Area of Law - Matter - Client Practice Development a. Client Revenue by Year b. Matter Revenue by Year c. Cross-selling Report d. Client/Matter Minding 2 Resource Management a. Full Day Accounting Resource Management a. Monthly Calendar b. My Time c. Available for Work Resource Management a. My Team (budgets comparison) b. Cross-working Report 3 Asset Management a. Unbilled Time / Aging b. Unbilled Cost / Aging c. A/R with Aging Asset Management a. Credit Limit Reporting b. Asset Turn and Days c. New Clients/Matters Asset Management a. Operational Statistics Analysis With FTE Equivalents 4 Production Statistics a. Key Statistics Production Statistics a. Utilization / Capacity Analysis b. Rate Assessment c. Write Off Analysis / Gaps Production Statistics a. Operational Statistics Analysis With FTE Equivalents b. Write Off Analysis / Write Up/Down Reasons 5 Financial Statements a. This year vs. last FS Financial Statements a. Budgets b. Profit Plan Financial Statements a. Operational Statistics Analysis With FTE Equivalents 6 Profitability Analysis a. Profitability 23 Overview We have over 30 KPI statistics & reports...way too many. Choose the ones that are relevant to your Firm and its culture. Grow as time progresses

14 B I A 1 2 Resource Management a. Full Day Accounting Concept 25 a) Full Day Accounting Full Day Accounting requires the Attorneys to account for the entire day (Billable and Non-billable). Timekeeping is a discipline Full Day Accounting. Could this be missed BILLABLE time? Result: ABA studies indicate a Full Day Accounting methodology increases an individual s billable time by 8-12%

15 B I A Asset Management a. Unbilled Time / Aging b. Unbilled Cost / Aging c. A/R with Aging Concept 27 a) Unbilled Time Dollars & Percents Variance Rippe & Kingston Aging Periods that are relevant to your practice Net Unbilled after Retainers or Unapplied Cash 28 14

16 b) Unbilled Cost Dollars & Percents Variance Rippe & Kingston Aging Periods that are relevant to your practice Net Unbilled after Retainers or Unapplied Cash 29 c) Accounts Receivable with Aging Dollars & Percents Variance Rippe & Kingston Aging Periods that are relevant to your practice It might be helpful to separately age the last bucket to see how old the old A/R really is

17 B I A Production Statistics a. Key Statistics 5 6 Concept 31 Discussion: Cash vs. Accrual Reporting Pros & Cons

18 a) Key Statistics Rippe & Kingston When individual statistics improve, Firm statistics improve. 33 Key Statistics Terminology: YTD Billable Time Hours - the current billable hours (worked and entered) by the working Attorney year to date. YTD Billable Time BIM Value - the dollar value of the billable time (worked, entered, and posted) year to date. The current billable hours are extended at the override rate if one exists or an Attorney s standard rate if an override does not exist. Average Billable Rate - current billable dollars divided by current billable hours. It is the average billable rate per hour for all time (worked and entered) year to date. This is also referred to as Blended Rate. YTD Total Time $ Billed - the time dollars billed to Clients on invoices year to date. YTD Total Cost $ Billed - the cost dollars billed to Clients on invoices year to date

19 Key Statistics Terminology: YTD Total Time and Cost $ Billed - the time dollars and the cost dollars billed to Clients on invoices year to date. Effective Billed Rate - the effective hourly rate for the time billed on the invoices to Clients. It is arrived at by taking the billed amount divided by the relieved hours for the current invoices sent to Clients. As an example, if a billing memo had 5 hours for a total of $1000 and is billed for $800, this calculation would be an effective rate of $160 per hour. YTD Write Up/Down Time BIM Value - the difference between the billed and relieved amounts for the invoices sent to Clients year to date. YTD Write Up/Down Time Std Value - the difference between the billed and relieved amounts calculated at the Attorney's standard rate for the invoices sent to Clients year to date. 35 Key Statistics Terminology: Time Realization BIM Value - the billed amount divided by the relieved amount for the invoices sent to Clients. YTD Write Up/Down Cost $ - difference between the billed costs and relieved costs for the invoices sent to Clients year to date. YTD Total Time and Cost $ Cash Receipts - the time dollars and the cost dollars received from Clients on invoices year to date. YTD Acct Rec Adj - Time $ - the amount of Accounts Receivable that was written off for time by the Firm year to date on invoices previously rendered to Clients. YTD Acct Rec Adj - Cost $ - the amount of Accounts Receivable that was written off for cost by the Firm year to date on invoices previously rendered to Clients

20 a) Key Statistics Key Statistics Rippe & Kingston Last 12 months Last 12 years Trend Analysis is important. 37 B I A Financial Statements a. This year vs. last FS 6 Concept 38 19

21 a) This Year vs. Last Percent of Total Income Variance ($ and %) 100% 100% 100% 100% 25% 20% 31% 24% 8% 11% 7% 8% 10% 12% 8% 9% 1% 1%.3%.04% 5% 5% 7% 5% 7% 4% 8% 6% 7% 6% 9% 6%.4%.3% 1%.4% 1%.4% 1%.3%.3%.3%.0%.3% 3% 4% 4% 4% 39 B I A 1 Practice Development a. Opened Files by Area of Law - Matter - Client Concept 40 20

22 a) Opened Files by Area of Law (by Year) Rippe & Kingston...using the Matter Open Date. 41 a) Opened Files by Area of Law (by Month) Rippe & Kingston...using the Matter Open Date

23 a) Opened Files by Client (by Year) Rippe & Kingston...using the Matter Open Date. 43 B I A 1 2 Resource Management a. Monthly Calendar b. My Time c. Available for Work Concept 44 22

24 a) Monthly Calendar Rippe & Kingston Timekeepers should know their expectations and be reminded of them. Time has to be worked to be billed and collected. 45 b) My Time Rippe & Kingston Individual Statistics Day by Day Accountability Budget Actual Trend Picture Budget Actual $ Annual billable goals are an accumulation of daily billable goals

25 c) Available for Work The Available for Work calendar allows timekeepers to proactively enter available time that can now be assigned as Billable time. Reverses the dynamics Communicates availability to the Department Head Timekeepers worry about being fed next week, instead of Billing Attorneys worrying about the feeding. Requires Timekeepers to think about and plan their availability. Alternative: Create a Firm non-billable Matter - Available for Work Result: Assignments are matched to available resources and billable time increases. Once an hour is gone it is gone forever. 47 B I A Asset Management a. Credit Limit Reporting b. Asset Turn and Days c. New Clients/Matters

26 a) Credit Limit Reporting Credit Limits Client Unbilled Time Unbilled Cost Accounts Receivable Totals Credit Limit % of Credit Limit ABC & Co. 1,000 1, ,000 36% B&B Travels 2,500 1, ,000 50% Carson, Inc. 6, ,700 7,000 96% Dyer Bros. 1, ,500 10,000 15% Ellison & Ellison ,000 19% A B C D (A+B+C) Note: Monitor Clients at or above (e.g., 80%) of their limit). Note: Requiring Originating Attorneys to think about a new Client s ability to pay by implementing credit limits is a Best Practice initiative. E F (D/E) 49 b) Asset - Turn Billing Attorney Inventory Turn Calculation Annual Billable Time Unbilled Time Inventory Inventory Turn Ashland, Joe $269,000 $82, Baldwin, Bob $337,600 $65, Brown, Ashley $289,400 $51, Barley, Jonathan $377,500 $32, Carlton, Marissa $400,000 $ 63, Totals $1,673,500 $293, A B C (A/B) Note: Monitor by Billing Attorney, Area of Law, and Client 50 25

27 b) Asset - Days Billing Attorney Average Days in Inventory Unbilled Time $ Average Daily Billable Time $ Average Days in Inventory Ashland, Joe $82,000 $1, Baldwin, Bob $65,000 $1, Brown, Ashley $51,000 $1, Barley, Jonathan $32,200 $1, Carlton, Marissa $ 63,000 $1, Totals $293,200 $6, A B C (A/B) B = Annual Billable Dollars / Working Days of Year (i.e., 252) Note: Monitor by Billing Attorney, Area of Law, and Client 51 b) Asset - Turn Accounts Receivable Turn Billing Attorney Annual Fees Billed Average A/R A/R Turn Ashland, Joe $259,950 $92, Baldwin, Bob $338,000 $69, Brown, Ashley $275,400 $52, Barley, Jonathan $357,420 $35, Carlton, Marissa $396,900 $ 70, Totals $1,627,670 $318, A B C (A/B) Note: Monitor by Billing Attorney, Area of Law, and Client 52 26

28 b) Asset - Days Billing Attorney Days in Accounts Receivable A/R Average Day Fees Billed Average Days in AR Ashland, Joe $92,000 $1, Baldwin, Bob $69,000 $1, Brown, Ashley $52,500 $1, Barley, Jonathan $35,200 $1, Carlton, Marissa $ 70,000 $1, Totals $318,700 $6, A B C (A/B) B = Fees Billed/Working Days of Year (i.e., 252) Note: Monitor by Billing Attorney, Area of Law, and Client 53 c) New Clients/Matters Firm Investment / Asset Management...Of the new Clients opened in the last 365 days, are they paying timely? Rippe & Kingston Train New Clients 54 27

29 B I A Production Statistics a. Utilization / Capacity Analysis b. Rate Assessment c. Write Off Analysis / Gaps Utilization / Capacity Analysis: From almost the first day practicing law, attorneys focus on utilization. Expressed as a percentage of total available hours to be billed throughout the year, this metric is the first step in determining performance. Most firms function on the basis that there are anywhere from 1,800 to 2,300 billable hours a year. If a lawyer bills 1,700 hours, the utilization rate would range from 94.4 percent to 73.9 percent. (Source: BizAction) 56 28

30 a) Utilization / Capacity Analysis Working Attorney Capacity Analysis by Working Attorney Billable Hours (YTD) Budget Hours % of Budget Ashland, Joe 1,422 1,800 79% Baldwin, Bob 1,742 1,800 97% Brown, Ashley 2,300 1, % Barley, Jonathan 2,100 1, % Carlton, Marissa 1,942 1, % Totals 9,506 9, % A B C (A/B) Capacity 57 a) Utilization / Capacity Analysis Capacity Analysis by Practice Group Practice Group Billable Hours (YTD) Budget Hours Capacity % Tax 12,600 15,000 84% Corporate 13,000 15,000 87% Litigation 22,000 30,000 73% Trust 5,100 6,000 85% Totals 52,700 66,000 80% A B C (A/B) Capacity 58 29

31 b) Rate Assessment Rippe & Kingston Days elapsed between time entry date and rate start date 59 c) Write Off Analysis / Gaps 1. Write offs due to Client rates less than Firm Standard rates 2. Write offs in the billing process for time 3. Write offs in the billing process for cost 4. Write offs due to A/R adjustments Rippe & Kingston 60 30

32 B I A Financial Statements a. Budgets b. Profit Plan 6 61 a) Budgets Budget versus Actual Variance ($ and %) 19% 7% 8% 1 % 5% 4% 6% 1%.4%.2% 4 % 62 31

33 b) Profit Plan Actual Budget 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 14,579,950 12,289, , B I A 1 Practice Development a. Client Revenue by Year b. Matter Revenue by Year c. Cross-selling Report d. Client/Matter Minding

34 a) Client Revenue by Year Rippe & Kingston This year s revenue by the Client open date 65 a) Client Revenue by Year 55% 63% 66 33

35 b) Matter Revenue by Year Rippe & Kingston This year s revenue by the Matter open date 67 b) Matter Revenue by Year 78% 68% 68 34

36 c) Cross-selling Report Fee Receipts Practice Group Tax Corporate Litigation Trust Totals $ % $ % $ % $ % $ % Tax $53, % $45, % $70, % $22, % $192, % Originating Attorney Corporate $85, % $101, % $185, % $38, % $409, % Litigation $29, % $79, % $17, % $18, % $144, % Trust $58, % $45, % $60, % $25, % $189, % Totals $227, % $271, % $333, % $105, % $936, % Working Attorney 69 d) Client/Matter Minding Clients that have not been contacted in the last 365 days (evidenced by the lack of time entry)... Rippe & Kingston Last time posted date equals the last contact date

37 B I A 1 2 Resource Management a. My Team b. Cross-working Report a) My Team Rippe & Kingston When individual statistics improve, Firm statistics improve

38 a) My Team Rippe & Kingston 73 b) Cross-working Report Billable Time Practice Group Tax Corporate Litigation Trust $ % $ % $ % $ % Tax $53, % $45, % $70, % $22, % Billing Attorney Corporate $85, % $121, % $135, % $38, % Litigation $49, % $59, % $67, % $18, % Trust $38, % $45, % $60, % $25, % Totals $227, % $271, % $333, % $105, % Working Attorney 74 37

39 b) Cross-working Report Write Ups/Downs Practice Group $ Tax Corporate Litigation Trust Billing Realization % $ Billing Realization % $ Billing Realization % $ Billing Realization % Tax $5, % $5, % $1, % $ % Billing Attorney Corporate $5, % $1, % $3, % $3, % Litigation $4, % $5, % $6, % $1, % Trust $3, % $4, % $4, % $2, % Totals / Avg $2, % $2, % $3, % $1, % Working Attorney 75 B I A Asset Management a. Operational Statistics Analysis With FTE Equivalents

40 At an Advanced level, FTEs can become important... Wikipedia defines FTE Equivalents as: a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person in a way that makes workloads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization. An FTE of 1.0 means that the person is equivalent to a full-time worker, while an FTE of 0.5 signals that the worker is only half-time. (Wikipedia.org) Provide comparability between periods as census statistics grow or shrink. 77 b) Operational Statistics Analysis With FTE Equivalents Unbilled Time Unbilled Cost Account Receivable Operational Statistics Per Partner Per Attorney Per Timekeeper 78 39

41 B I A Production Statistics a. Operational Statistics Analysis With FTE Equivalents b. Write Off Analysis / Write Up/Down Reasons a) Operational Statistics Analysis FTE Equivalents Operational Statistics Gross Fees A. Per Partner B. Per Attorney C. Per Timekeeper 1. Billable Time Hours 2. Billable Time Dollars 3. Leverage 4. Average Billable Rate 5. Billings 6. Average Billed Rate 7. Write Up/Downs 8. Cash Receipts 9. A/R Adjustments 80 40

42 a) Operational Statistics Analysis FTE Equivalents 1. Billable Time Hours the current billable hours (worked and entered) by the working Attorney. 2. Billable Time Dollars the dollar value of the billable time (worked, entered, and posted) year to date. 3. Leverage Non-Partner billable dollars divided by total billable dollars. 4. Average Billable Rate current billable dollars divided by current billable hours. It is the average billable rate per hour for all time (worked and entered) year to date. This is also referred to as Blended Rate. 5. Billings the time dollars billed on invoices sent to Clients. 81 a) Operational Statistics Analysis FTE Equivalents 5. Average Billed Rate dollars billed divided by the hours relieved amounts for invoices sent to Clients. 6. Write Up/Downs the difference between the billed and relieved amounts for the invoices sent to Clients. 7. Cash Receipts the time dollars and the cost dollars received from Clients on invoices. 8. A/R Adjustments the amount of Accounts Receivable that was written off for time and cost by the Firm year to date on invoices previously rendered to Clients

43 b) Write Off Analysis / Write Up/Down Reasons Rippe & Kingston Write Up/Down Reason Codes 83 B I A Financial Reporting a. Operational Statistics Analysis With FTE Equivalents

44 a) Operational Statistics Analysis With FTE Equivalents

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48 B I A Profitability Analysis a. Profitability Concept 93 a) Profitability What is it? An Accounting allocation process, which measures the gross and net contribution to the Firm s profits of a given revenue stream. An Accounting analysis, which calculates a series of direct and indirect rates per timekeeper per hour allocated to a defined revenue stream to measure gross and net contribution to Firm profits

49 a) Profitability A Systematic Approach for Measuring the Profitability of the Firm Identify Revenue Identify Direct Costs Identify Indirect/Overhead Costs Apply Direct and Indirect Cost to Revenue 95 a) Profitability Why use it? All Clients Contribute to Profitability All Attorneys Contribute to Profitability Create Better Informed Decision Makers Cost Structure & Guidelines Rate Structure & Guidelines Profitability Models 96 48

50 a) Profitability Who should use it? Law Firm Management Executive Committee Practice Group Leaders Billing Attorneys 97 a) Profitability Where should it be used? Measurement of Profitability of Revenue: Products Clients Attorneys (what we produce) (who buys it) (who sells it) (who manages it) (who creates it) 98 49

51 a) Profitability INCOME STATEMENT FEE INCOME PERSONNEL EXPENSES (Direct Cost) OVERHEAD (Indirect Cost) NET PROFIT 99 a) Profitability Firm Per Invoice Per Time Entry Fee Income Direct Cost Revenue Direct Cost Revenue Direct Cost Indirect Cost Indirect Cost Indirect Cost Net Profit Net Profit Net Profit

52 a) Profitability Revenue Costing Formula Client Invoices Time Entries Working Timekeepers Direct Cost Indirect/Overhead Cost Revenue Direct Cost = Gross Profit Gross Profit Indirect/OH Cost = Net Profit 101 a) Profitability Identify Direct Costs/Timekeeper

53 a) Profitability Identify/Isolate Direct Expenses Salary Bonus Taxes Medical Benefits Parking 103 a) Profitability Indirect Costs Allocation of all Other Firm Expenses

54 a) Profitability Rippe & Kingston 105 REPORTING RESULTS Firm Office Department Areas of Law Client Client/Matter Originating Attorney Billing Attorney Responsible Attorney Working Attorney

55 Summary Page We have over 30 KPI statistics & reports...way too many. Choose the ones that are relevant to your Firm and its culture. Grow as time progresses. THANK YOU! 107 THINK BIG!!! Jay Erdman, Principal

56 Best Practice Initiative: Key Performance Indicators May 2016 Synopsis For a Law Firm to be successful, it must be able to identify and achieve organizational goals. This session will discuss why we need Key Performance Indicators, when we should measure them, how often and how to report your findings in a format management can understand. Attendees will also learn how to benchmark their Firm's KPI's against industry trends and best practices that will help them to modify and improve the Firm's performance. The presentation will specifically address the following topics: Identifying which KPI's are critical to track and manage Calculating and measuring the Firm's KPI's Benchmarking KPI's against industry trends and best practices Reporting the Firm's KPI's in a format that attorneys and Firm management can understand 2 1

57 Agenda B I A Practice Development Practice Development Resource Management Resource Management Resource Management Asset Management Asset Management Asset Management Production Statistics Production Statistics Production Statistics 5 6 Financial Statements Financial Statements Financial Reporting Profitability Analysis 3 Bio Jay Erdman, CPA, a Principal in Rippe & Kingston, LLC, consults with a large number of Law Firms across the country on a range of topics including Partner development and Financial Management issues. He has spoken at local, regional, and national ALA and ABA events. Jay earned his degree in Accounting and Management from the University of Cincinnati and now has over thirty-five years of accounting experience and Law Firm specialization. 4 2

58 YOUR OPINION MATTERS! Please take a moment now to evaluate this session. Thank you!