Financial analysis and records management

One thing that always surprises me in records, is that no one knows the numbers (and this includes me - if ever there was a prompt for me to do something, this is it).

What is the value of the service we offer - on a service line basis, and at the unit level?

What is the cost of the service we offer - on a service line basis, and at the unit level?

Why is this important?

How often do we go to our organisations and tell them that we're going to solve a problem for them without knowing that we're going to spend $10 to solve a problem with a value of $5?

Do you think they know that?

I think they do - which is why we struggle to get projects funded.

How can we be credible suppliers of service to our organisations if we ask them to spend twice the value of a problem to solve the problem?

How do we expect to be taken seriously?

Even more importantly.

At a time when no one is giving us the resources we need.

Where is the comprehensive book of financial ratios that tells our organisations that we are good value, and allows them to understand how they need to resource us as the operation scales?

How do we expect to get the resources we need without it?