Executives of Nonprofits and Corporations face pressures from every direction: balancing the budget, sourcing funds, finding, and maintaining talent to run programs, keeping on top of technology, all while defining and strengthening their mission.

In addition, during this unprecedented time of disruption, pressure has increased ten-fold to identify immediate cost savings.  Executives need to take a fresh approach to these problems to achieve and sustain success.

However, not all cost optimization initiatives yield the same benefits.  In reviewing your cost optimization ideas early on, focus should be on FIVE KEY OBJECTIVES.  The outcomes will provide a decision framework of your cost optimization initiative – level of benefit, cost, risk, and viability.

Objective #1 Potential Financial Benefit

• How much are the savings if the initiative is implemented?
• How does the initiative affect cash flow?

Objective #2: Business Impact

• What impact will this initiative have on operations?
• Will this adversely affect day-to-day activities?

Objective #3: Time Requirement

• Will cost savings be captured and realized within the next 12 months?
• How to measure soft savings with this initiative?

Objective #4: Degree of Technical Risk

• Will the initiative undermine the ability of our technology to deliver services?
• Will the initiative cause delays in operations impacting few or many components?

Objective #5: Investment Requirement

• Does the initiative require a large, upfront investment before savings can be realized?
• Is our organization able to make an investment at all?

The effort to optimize your telecommunication systems can benefit your organization in many ways. Optimization reduces costs and can improve efficiencies, as well as reducing errors or risk.  When telecommunication systems perform to their full potential, and costs are justified, your organization can maximize the ROI of its investment.  Below is an accurate depiction of what to expect during an audit engagement as they relate to these objectives: