Institute of Financial Operations - North Texas Chapter
2Q 2015 Meeting Minutes
The quarterly meeting of the North Texas Chapter of the Institute of Financial Operations was held on May 20, 2015 at the City of Richardson Civic Center in Richardson, Texas. Lunch and networking started at 11:00 AM.
Sandy Champion, President of the NTIFO chapter, opened the meeting by announcing that she and I had been honored at the annual Fusion conference by being inducted into the IFO Hall of Fame! This is a new award at the Institute and Sandy and I were so proud to be recipients. We were given a framed certificate as well as an etched glass plaque. And, later in the conference, our baby pictures were put on the big screen to demonstrate what baby boomers used to look like back in the day. Despite her fractured leg, Sandy took the stage along with the other three recipients and me, accepting her well-deserved award with barely a limp.
Sandy thanked Lee Wood with Commerce Bank for providing the lunch for our meeting. She also thanked Sandra Gennaro with the City of Richardson for providing the room. The City of Richardson has provided this room for our meetings several times this year and we appreciate their generosity. Attendee introductions were made.
Tom Lyman, Vice President of the chapter, introduced our featured speaker, Lorraine Brock. Lorraine is the founder and president of Get Organized! The company is a team of expert organizers that offer both residential and business organizing services focused on creating order in your home, business, and life.
Messy Desk, Missing Papers, and Too Many Piles – Get Organized!
Most of us in Accounting can relate to the problems of having too much paper, missing papers, and not enough time to stay organized. Then we go home and the last thing we want to do is deal with more paper. Disorganization in our personal or professional life can create unneeded complications and stress. Everyone needs a system to stay organized and it must be simple enough so that you will stick with it.
The Calendar
The calendar is the hub of the organizational system. Lorraine uses Outlook for her calendar. She explained that time management means more than just planning to do something. You have to schedule it. The paper organization system works with the calendar.
The Brain Dump
Lorraine does a brain dump each evening. She opens her calendar and puts everything she needs to do on it. She organizes her notes, lists, and ideas from throughout the day, and this even helps her sleep better! Others may want to do this at the end of the office day. The worst thing you can do is to make to-do lists on individual pieces of paper that will get scattered or lost. One good method for keeping paper lists is a spiral notebook. Post-it makes a lot of good organization products such as pockets that can stick on a wall or the side of a file cabinet. Office supply stores, Target, and Container Store carry lots of great organization tools.
Getting Organized!
Lorraine discussed the four basic categories that make up her organization method.
· Action - These are short-term items that require one day to complete.
· Projects - These are papers that require action that cannot be completed in one day. It could be any time frame between a few days and a few months.
· Reference - These papers require no action but they need to be filed away just in case.
· Archives - These are legal, tax, mortgage, etc., papers that you may not need to refer to often but you must keep them for specific time frames.
Action Items – The Tickler File System
Lorraine’s system consists of a cube that sits on top of her desk. It contains 43 hanging file folders. The first 31 folders are numbered for each day of the month. Behind folders 1 through 31 there are twelve folders, one for each month of the year. You can crisscross the folders differently or use different colored folders for the two sections. You can add additional manila folders within the hanging files to create portable files that you can take on the go, if needed.
Each piece of paper gets evaluated when it comes in. If it is something that can be done in one day, it is an Action item and it goes in the tickler file. Lorraine consults her calendar and puts the paper in the folder for the date it needs to be done, or a date when she knows she will have time to do it. If it is an event that will take place in a future month, all papers and related items go into the folder for the month it will happen. At the end of each month, all papers in the next month’s folder will go into the daily tickler file, by date.
The great thing about this system is that it is very flexible. If you do not get to something on a certain day, just move it to a different day. Be sure to move it on your calendar, if needed, as well. Lorraine marks appointments and tasks on her calendar with an asterisk if there are related papers in the tickler file. She does not have to find them in a pile of papers on her desk. They are in the folder, on the date the task is to be done.
Projects – The File Sorter System
Lorraine uses a plastic file sorter for her long-term project files. It can be set on the desk but works even better if it is mounted on the wall to take advantage of the vertical space. Projects may require action, but they are not completed in one day. You may have multiple projects that you are working on. They may rotate out over weeks and months. After the project is finished, the file may be shredded or filed away, but it will not stay there forever.
Reference - The File Cabinet
Lorraine uses a 2-drawer file cabinet for her home reference. Her file cabinet came with two booklets that demonstrate how to organize papers for the home environment. You could also do this yourself with color folders and labels. Lorraine’s company uses this method for about 60% of their clients because it works well for most people.
The first booklet is a color coding system. Red is personal, green is financial, blue is tax and insurance, and purple is lifestyle. Lifestyle items could include baptism records, pet records, travel information or maps. Each color has numbered files in it. The second booklet is a file index, A through Z. It tells you which numbered file contains the specific papers. This is especially useful for other family members since anyone can find these papers when needed just by consulting the index.
Whether you are dealing with your own or a family member’s personal files, or your business files at work, you need to make sure that everyone understands the index system. One person may have a file called Auto, another might label their file Vehicle, Truck, or Dodge. The index system needs to cross-reference the information so that everyone can file what they need.
Archives
Sometimes you have to keep physical papers even though you may never need them. These could be tax records from previous years, home mortgage documents, or legal papers. You should never let archive files take up valuable space in your desk or office. Put them in storage boxes and keep them in the attic or other out of the way area. You might want to get a fireproof safe for storing your most vital documents such as wills and birth certificates. One of the handouts that Lorraine provided to the attendees was a conservative retention schedule for personal documents.
Everyone should find out what the record retention policy is at their company. How long should they be kept and where are they kept? Confidential information must be kept secure. If you must keep records in boxes, do not pile the boxes on top of each other. Use a paper drawer system to stack the boxes but still be able to get into the boxes.
Bills
Lorraine handles her bills separately from her action items, but you could incorporate them into the tickler file. It is a personal choice. When she brings in the mail, she sorts it immediately and disposes or shreds the junk mail. She puts all of her bills in a basket. When she goes upstairs to her office each night, she takes the bills with her. She opens her spreadsheet for her budget and enters each bill. If her bill is different from her budget, she adjusts her budget to accurately reflect her current finances. Then she puts her bills in her “bills to be paid” folder. She pays all of her bills online on the first and fifteenth of the month to correspond with her family’s payroll schedule. If she needs to keep the paper bill, it goes into a “to be filed” basket or folder. She schedules about thirty minutes on her calendar each month for filing so that it doesn’t pile up.
Cloud Technology
There are various cloud technology companies that can be used for online backup services. Documents in the cloud are not on your hard drive. They are being stored by the service provider. Carbonite is one example of a paid service that automatically backs up your files from your PC or Mac. OneDrive is a free app that can be used to download pictures and personal documents right from your smart phone. Evernote and OneNote are two popular note-taking apps. If you have a lot of papers with ideas on them or a lot of sticky notes, start using one of these apps to help you compartmentalize your life. You can even send your notes to someone else by email.
While the cloud is usually password-protected and generally considered to be secure, you should remember that all technology can be hacked. It is best not to put any financial-related information on the cloud. This would include banking information, credit card numbers, social security numbers, or any type of personal identification that could be used to steal your identity.
Going Paperless
NeatReceipts is a portable scanner that includes Smart Organizational Software that allows you to store receipts using OCR technology. When you scan a business card or document, it takes a picture of it, extracts information from the document, and then puts it in searchable software in the Neat product. It is offered in both Mac and PC format, and a cloud service is available, as well. The desktop is preferable over the portable version. It is a very fast and easy way to go paperless.
Contact Get Organized!
Lorraine asked the attendees to complete a brief survey. Then she drew a winner from the survey participants for free home or office organization consultation. She also included a password organization sheet so that you can keep them all in one place. Much preferable to the sticky note method! Lorraine’s website is www.getorganized.ws.
Chapter Business
Membership, Bank Account, and Sandy Update - Sandy Champion – President
Sandy has been president of our North Texas Chapter for many years. She announced that this is her last year. She has mentioned this before and we are starting to fear that she is serious. Everyone needs to start thinking about stepping up if you would like to be the future President!
Our bank account has a balance of $253.69. Our North Texas Chapter membership count is right at 200 and we have 71 member companies. 183 of the members are Accounts Payable, 5 are Accounts Receivable, 1 is Info Management and Data Capture, and the rest are suppliers and vendors. There is still a chapter rebate and refer-a-friend program going on. Don’t forget to have all new members include the referral so that you can get a $25 gift card and the chapter will also get $25.
Website/Email update and Books – Joanna Wilson
If you are a member and are not receiving emails from the IFO, let Joanna know and she will make sure that national has your correct email address. You should be getting emails at least once per week. You can also log in to the IFO website and check your profile to make sure that it is correct.
We have business books for sale. Sandy contributed books from her personal library and the IFO has contributed a lot of books. They are only $5 each and quantities are limited! The proceeds from the book sales as well as refer-a-friend go to our chapter fund. These funds are used for door prize gift cards and professional speakers, such as the one we enjoyed today.
Highlights from this year’s Fusion Speakers
Sandy discussed one of the Forum speaker topics, Generation Differences. The entertaining and interesting speaker discussed the perspectives brought by a wide age range of employees in today’s workforce.
Traditionalist Generation is anyone born before 1945. They are still 8% of the workforce. Train with them one-on-one and give them a job title. Many are volunteers. Their number one complaint is that no one asks their opinion. Remember, old dogs still have treats to share!
Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. They make up 30% of the workforce and over 70% will work past normal retirement age. They work well with others and help to make a difference. Their number one complaint is age discrimination. Remember, they brought you into this world and they can take you out!
Generation Xers were born between 1965 and 1980. They are 17% of the US population. Tell them what you want, give them the tools and leave them alone. There is an I in teamwork! Their number one complaint is office politics. If you micromanage them you will lose their loyalty.
Generation Y were born between 1981 and 1995. They are 25% of the US population. No news is bad news. Feedback is essential. Technology allows work and personal life to overlap. Number one complaint is hearing “when I was your age”. They can’t imagine being as old as you are!
Linkster Generation is one we hadn’t heard before. They are anyone born after 1995. They make up 18% of the world population. Ask them to reverse-mentor their older teammates. Give them the structure to interact with full-time employees. Number one complaint is being grounded. They are our future!