News Release

CENTER NEWS/February 27, 2008

Maskell to Help Idaho Companies Account for Lean

A host of progressive Idaho companies have turned to lean manufacturing to become more productive and improve customer service. Lean helps companies reduce inventory, waste, work in progress and lead times and improve production processes, on-time delivery, safety and employee morale. But according to international author and lean accounting authority, Brian Maskell, if lean companies do not change their accounting methods, they may not see the full benefit of Lean and could make decisions based on faulty numbers.

"Companies making the transition from traditional manufacturing to lean manufacturing soon find that their conventional accounting, control and measurement systems become a roadblock," said Maskell.

Maskell will help Idaho companies examine this issue during a full-day Lean Accounting Workshop at the Boise Centre on the Grove on March 5. Maskell's workshop will come one day after his appearance at the E!Day 2008 Manufacturing & Innovation Conference in Boise. Registration for Maskell's workshop is $300 for E!Day Conference attendees and $330 for others. Information and registration is available online at www.techhelp.org or by calling Bill Mullane at (208) 426-2266. The registration fee includes breakfast and lunch, a packet of workshop materials and a copy of Maskell's book, "Practical Lean Accounting."

Maskell is widely recognized as the leader in the development of accounting methods appropriate for companies that are transforming to lean enterprises. The workshop is not just for accountants and is designed for a broad audience that includes operations people, lean specialists, and IT professionals.

The primary outcome of the workshop is an action plan for the implementation of lean accounting at a plant or company. In addition, the workshop will:

— Provide an introduction to the methods of lean accounting that are designed to actively support a company's lean transformation
— Show why traditional accounting is harmful to the lean transformation
— Help grow business by providing better information for decision-making
— Provide lean-focused measurements and reporting that motivate lean change
— Show the true financial impact of lean improvement leading to growth and profitability
— Provide information that is clear and understandable to everyone and free of obscure financial language
— Describe a system that is itself lean, simple, and low waste.

Agenda
7:30 a.m.: Registration/Continental Breakfast
8 a.m.-noon: Classroom presentation
Noon-1 p.m. Lunch (included)
1-5 p.m. Classroom presentation

About Brian Maskell
A sought-after speaker, Brian Maskell is the author of six books, including; Practical Lean Accounting (2003), Performance Measurement for World Class Manufacturing (1991), Software and the Agile Manufacturer (1993), New Performance Measures (1994), Making the Numbers Count; the accountant as an agent of change (1996), and the software product Putting Performance Measurement to Work (1999) from Productivity Press. Mr. Maskell's works address the needs of manufacturers as they move into the increasingly competitive 21st century. Maskell conducts seminars and workshops around the world on such subjects as Lean Accounting, Performance Measurement for World Class Manufacturing, Lean Manufacturing, Software and the Agile Manufacturer, Value Stream Cost Management, Target Costing, and Agile Manufacturing.

Maskell has an engineering degree from the University of Sussex, England. He is certified with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in London, and the American Association of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is also a Fellow of the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).

About TechHelp:
TechHelp specialists provide technical and professional assistance, training and information to Idaho manufacturers, processors and inventors to strengthen their global competitiveness through continuous product and process innovation. TechHelp is a partnership of Idaho's three state universities and an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership. It is also Idaho's Economic Development Administration University Center targeting economically distressed areas of Idaho.


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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Bill Mullane, Marketing/Public Relations Manager, TechHelp
208-426-2266 or williammullane@boisestate.edu
Mike Wojcicki, Executive Director, TechHelp
608-698-9150 or mikewojcicki@charter.net

Boise State University is emerging as a metropolitan research university of distinction. This transformation is being powered by the university’s first comprehensive campaign to support students, faculty, strategic initiatives, research and infrastructure. That’s why the campaign to raise $175 million in private support is called Destination Distinction.

The Office of Communications and Marketing - Boise State University
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email communications@boisestate.edu

Last reviewed on Monday, March 03, 2008