Morristown, N.J. – The Financial Education & Research Foundation (FERF), the independent non-profit research affiliate of Financial Executives International (FEI), today released the Failure to Launch: How Financial Executives Avoid Failure and Plan for Success report sponsored by Kaplan. It explores ways to increase the potential for success when implementing projects designed to bolster a company’s financial functions.
Failure to Launch states that more than 85 percent of the most recent projects undertaken by research respondents failed to meet their timeline or original scope. Nearly 30 percent failed to meet both. Overall, respondents cited team member time constraints and the lack of allocated resources as the two largest contributors to project failure.
While Failure to Launch delves into the issues noted above—dedicated resources and time management—much of the report focuses on the importance of quality leadership. Companies today operate in a project economy that is largely at the mercy of their project leaders. When asked, project sponsors and project team members gave project leadership a C+/C grade. The report suggests that ill-equipped leadership is a key component to project failure citing that more than 63 percent of projects failed to meet their initial scope.
With more than 200 respondents participating, the report’s statistical findings are supplemented with commentary from financial executives representing organizations ranging from universities to corporations. In these discussions, readers have an opportunity to learn about best practices recommended by colleagues who have done the work and either succeeded as planned or learned from their failures. Additionally, the report explains that completing a project is only half of the battle.
"Kaplan Financial Education is proud to partner with the Financial Education & Research Foundation to produce the Failure to Launch report,” says Amanda Shepherd, Executive Director, Accounting Continuing Education at Kaplan Professional. “As an institution that specializes in professional education, we believe in the importance of effective project leadership resulting in successful project completion and evaluation, and we provide professional education products geared toward training project leaders in project management skills. We are committed to research and improvements in the professional education realm and delivering the highest quality educational experience for our clients and partners."
FERF’s Failure to Launch: How Financial Executives Avoid Failure and Plan for Success report is available online at http://www.financialexecutives.org/Research.
About Financial Education & Research Foundation, Inc.
Financial Education & Research Foundation (FERF) is the non-profit 501(c)(3) research affiliate of Financial Executives International (FEI). FERF researchers identify key financial issues and develop impartial, timely research reports for FEI members and nonmembers alike, in a variety of publication formats. FERF relies primarily on voluntary tax-deductible contributions from corporations and individuals, and publications can be ordered by logging onto http://www.financialexecutives.org/Research.
About FEI
Financial Executives International (FEI) is the leading advocate for the views of corporate financial management. Its more than 10,000 members hold policy-making positions as chief financial officers, treasurers and controllers at companies from every major industry. FEI enhances member professional development through peer networking, career management services, conferences, research and publications. Members participate in the activities of more than 65 Chapters in the U.S. FEI is located in Morristown, NJ. Visit http://www.financialexecutives.org for more information.
About Kaplan
About Kaplan Professional
Kaplan Professional®—a division of Kaplan, Inc. is a leading provider of training and education services operating in more than 30 countries and working with over 10,000 corporations and businesses globally. KP helps professionals obtain certifications, licensure, and designations that enable them to advance and succeed in their careers. KP partners with organizations to solve their talent management challenges through customized corporate learning and development solutions. Through live and online instruction, Kaplan Professional provides test preparation, licensing, continuing education, and professional development programs to businesses and individuals in the accounting, insurance, securities, real estate, financial, wealth management, engineering, and architecture industries. Kaplan, Inc. is part of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC).
Media Contacts:
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Crimson Communicates
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Lili DeVita
FEI
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