KPMG will save money and time by adopting Plain English. Abdelkrim Skiredj May 15 th, 2012 Professor Harvey Lillywhite

Transcription

1 KPMG will save money and time by adopting Plain English Abdelkrim Skiredj May 15 th, 2012 Professor Harvey Lillywhite 1

2 Highlights KPMG will save money and time by adopting Plain English Why I did this study I studied KPMG s internal documents and the ones addressed to business partners and customers; they were painful to read. Those documents inevitably cause a waste of time and efficiency therefore of money. What I found All the organizations that have adopted PE have saved money and time the same year they started using PE. PE is "the writing and setting out of essential information in a way that gives a cooperative, motivated person a good chance of understanding it at first reading, and in the same sense that the writer meant it to be understood" (Cutts). Consulting companies teach employees PE through workshops and follow-up courses. Training by consulting firms is the way companies and government agencies have chosen. What I recommend I recommend that KPMG adopts PE. PE Impact Co., PE consulting firm, is the ideal candidate to train KPMG s employees to use PE. The figure below shows the relationship between the expected returns of adopting PE (based on FedEx s data) and the cost of training a hundred employees. 2

3 Table of Contents I-KPMG s writing habits waste time and money 4 II-PE will save KPMG time and money as it did for other organizations 4 1-The concrete impact PE will have on KPMG 5 2-Adopting PE has proven to be financially beneficial 5 3-KPMG s direct competitors have already adopted PE 7 4-The list of organizations that have benefitted from PE is long 7 III-What exactly PE is 8 1-A brief history of PE 8 2-PE is reader-focused 8 3-PE s objective is clarity and accuracy 9 4-PE has a set of techniques that are easy to learn 9 IV-Getting KPMG s employees to write in PE 9 1-KPMG s employees can be trained by a PE consulting company 10 2-KPMG s employees can learn PE on their own 11 Appendix A KPMG document before and after PE 12 Table of Illustrations Figure 1- The impact PE had on FedEx s searching activities 6 Figure 2- A brief history of PE in the U.S. Government 8 Figure3- Expected returns of adopting PE and cost of training 10 3

4 To: Jo Allen From: Abdelkrim Skiredj Date: May 15, 2012 Subject: KPMG will save money and time by adopting Plain English After a thorough study of KPMG documents, I concluded that KPMG should adopt Plain English (PE) to save time and money. Current documents are very confusing and are not designed to serve the reader s interest; therefore, they are hindering the company s efficiency and financial growth. I-KPMG s writing habits waste time and money I studied KPMG s internal documents and the ones addressed to business partners and customers. Those documents were painful to read; I was not able to extract the bottom lines of the majority of them even after reading them 3 times. All those documents have in common: Buried bottom lines, No logical organization, Poor document design, Incoherent paragraphs, Long and convoluted sentences, Unnecessary details, Unnecessary use of jargon. II-PE will save KPMG time and money as it did for other organizations PE will save KPMG time and money because it targets and solves similar problems in other organizations. 4

5 1-The concrete impact PE will have on KPMG PE will benefit KPMG in the following ways (Plain English Foundation): It will increase client satisfaction, It will increase legal accuracy, It will increase efficiency, It will improve service, It will answer the growing mandate in legislation for clear, transparent language. These benefits will pertain to all the departments at KPMG. These benefits will also impact KPMG s overseas offices as the principles of PE can be applied to any language. Once KPMG switches to PE, its documents will include the following features: Clear content, Clear organization, Effective document design, Coherent paragraphs, Accurate and clear sentences, Appropriate level of detail, Appropriate use of jargon. 2-Adopting PE has proven to be financially beneficial All the organizations that have adopted PE have saved money and time the same year they started using PE. Joseph Kimble, law professor and determined PE s advocate, led a study on the impact PE had on organizations that adopted it. Below are three examples that can be found in his study Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: 1. General Electric Company The technical writers at General Electric Information Services, working as part of individual product teams, develop high-quality manuals for the company's software. In one test, customers who used an earlier version of the manual made about 125 more calls a month than customers who used the clearly written, approved manual. Applying industry standards for the average cost of support 5

6 calls, the company estimates that it saves between $22,000 and $375,000 a year for each business customer who uses the revised manual. 2. FedEx From 1992 to 1995, a consultant worked with the technical writers at Federal Express to reorganize and revise the company's ground-operations manuals. The team took all the steps: they did a field study of users, tested the old manuals for usability, and compared the manuals to benchmark standards. The team identified the following needs (among others): An organization based on user tasks rather than formal job titles. A more accessible and readable format. Better tables of contents and indexes. Improvements in the readability of the text through font changes and writing style. Substantially increased use of graphics and tables. Figure1 shows the impact PE had on FedEx s searching activities Source: Joann Hackos & Julian Winstead (1995) Finding out what users need and giving it to them: a case study at Federal Express 42(2) Technical Communication. 6

7 With some further improvements to the index, the team estimates - very conservatively - that the new manuals would save the company $400,000 in the first year, just in the time that employees spend searching for information. That's not counting costs that flow from getting wrong answers. 3. British Royal Mail Siegel & Gale, an American firm, is one of the pioneers in the plain-language movement. Over the last 25 years, the firm has simplified business and legal documents - through plain language, logical structure, and clear design - for hundreds of companies worldwide. Before Siegel & Gale clarified a redirection-of-mail form for the Royal Mail (the British postal service), there was an 87% error rate when customers filled it out. Royal Mail was spending over 10,000 a week to deal with complaints and to reprocess the incorrect forms. The new form reduced the error rate dramatically, so that Royal Mail saved 500,000 in just the next nine months. 3-KPMG s direct competitors have already adopted PE The three other members of The Big Four, PwC, Deloitte, and Ernst and Young, have already adopted PE and already benefit from its advantages. 4-The list of organizations that have benefitted from PE is long In addition to the above-cited companies, many other companies have adopted PE and benefit today from its impacts. Examples of these companies include: FCC, Department of Veteran Affairs, Naval Officers, Allen-Bradley Company, FedEx. 7

8 III-What exactly PE is Martin Cutts, research Director of the U.K.'s Plain Language Commission, defines PE as "the writing and setting out of essential information in a way that gives a co-operative, motivated person a good chance of understanding it at first reading, and in the same sense that the writer meant it to be understood". 1-A brief history of PE PE started in the U.S in the late 1970 s when the federal government considered their writings to be too bureaucratic (Locke). Below figure 2 summarizes the history of PE. Source: Joanne Locke, Christopher Worthington 2-PE is reader-focused PE is a writing style that focuses on the reader. The PE writer anticipates the questions their reader might have and writes to not leave any one of these questions unanswered. This process fosters communication as the PE writer is certain that the reader has understood his message. 8

9 3-PE s objective is clarity and accuracy PE written documents are clear and accurate. This style of writing is not to be confused with dumbing information down. PE enables the writer to convey his message in a clear, thorough, and precise way. The appendix shows the difference between KPMG s current writings and the same document written in Plain English. It was revised by Christopher Worthington from the Plain English Team. 4-PE has a set of techniques that are easy to learn PE has a simple set of techniques that give the writer clear guidelines on how to write in PE. These techniques are defined by the Plain English Campaign, a British advocacy group, as follows: Keep your sentences short, Prefer active verbs, Use 'you' and 'we', Use words that are appropriate for the reader, Don't be afraid to give instructions, Avoid nominalizations, Use lists where appropriate. IV-Getting KPMG s employees to write in PE KPMG s employees can learn writing in PE through two different ways: training by a consulting team or self-teaching. 9

10 1-KPMG s employees can be trained by a PE consulting company Consulting companies teach employees PE through workshops and follow-up courses. Training by consulting firms is the way companies and government organizations have chosen. 1. PE Impact Co. is the ideal candidate to train KPMG s staff PE Impact Co. is the best candidate to train KPMG s employees because they specialize in the FIRE (Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate) industry. They were in charge of Deloitte s switch to PE. 2. The cost of training is low comparatively to the returns PE Impact Co. charges $200 per employee for a full PE training. The full PE training includes three workshops and two follow-up courses. Figure 3 shows the relationship between the expected returns of adopting PE (based on FedEx s data) and the cost of training a hundred employees. Cost of Training 100 employees $20,000 Expected PE Returns $400,000 Figure 3 (Locke) 10

11 2-KPMG s employees can learn PE on their own If you don t want to hire consultants, KPMG s employees can teach themselves PE. They can find thorough information thorough the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission s (SEC) A Plain English Handbook. They can also read the book High-Impact Business Writing discusses in detail PE techniques. The book was written by Harvey Lillywhite, PE advocate who trained the U.S. Government Accountability Office s employees to adopt PE. 11

12 Appendix - A KPMG document before and after PE This appendix demonstrates the difference between KPMG s current document language and the same document written in Plain English. The revision, written by Chris Worthington from the Plain English team, should highlight the clarity and precision of PE. Original: This edition of IFRS Practice Issues considers the requirements of IAS 40 Investment Property in respect of property under construction or development for future use as investment property, focusing on the significant amendments to those requirements introduced by the Improvements to IFRSs published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in In this publication the changes to IAS 40 published by the IASB in 2008 are referred to as the amendments and property under construction or development for future use as investment property is referred to as investment property under construction. This publication also discusses related developments, including the latest proposals to amend IAS 40 and the International Valuation Standards Council Guidance Note 17: The Valuation of Investment Property under Construction. Revised: What Am I Looking At? This is the latest edition of the IFRS Practice Issues. It focuses on the changes made to the Improvements to IFRSs, which was published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in Why Is It Important? The changes that were made affect the requirements of IAS 40 Investment Property, and specifically to future investment properties currently under construction. Any of the changes the IASB made to IAS 40 will be referred to as the amendments. Any future investment properties that are currently under construction will be referred to as investment property under construction. What Else Should I Know? This publication also discusses related developments, such as the latest proposals to amend IAS 40, and the International Valuation Standards Council Guidance Note 17: The Valuation of Investment Property under Construction. 12