How can you effectively monitor and control a program's financial performance?

?? Financial Mastery in Program Management is Key! I'd highlight the pivotal role of real-time financial monitoring in program management. Leverage dashboards for at-a-glance updates, ensuring alignment with strategic intentions. You can move ahead with a robust change control process, capturing financial and strategic adjustments. Stakeholder engagement is non-negotiable – involve them consistently. The mantra for financial stewardship? Continuous forecasting. When threading in agile, keep clarity of outcomes, harness feedback loops for recalibration, and deploy tools like retrospectives. This amalgamation ensures both fiscal and agile proficiency.

In my experience working with leading organisations of the world. So I always recommend that during the project cycle management of our program. We must first set the reference point to define our strategic, technical and financial goals that we can later access during our performance management of the program with our cost benefit and financial outcomes / impact. So establishing baseline help program and project during planning phase and it also guide the team to understand the cost and the benefits of each component of the funding along with the outcome of the program. Then baseline tracks the actual and planned strategic, technical and financial input with the results and also helps in identifying the risk associated with results.

That is a great question, you need to wear the hat of a financial person. Go back to those books in financial and apply this knowledge, you will need it. I would say, attention to details is pivotal here. You are dealing with money, a very sensitive resource. Connect with the financial department or accounting to understand all the pieces of the system. Manage the financials like you are taking the money out of your pockets. You are a business person, take care of business.

Después de aprobado el presupuesto, se socializa cada línea presupuestaria, se explica detenidamente los responsables de su ejecución, líneas de tiempo y líneas de aprobadores, Si existe un bajo nivel de ejecución, se monitorea de manera semanal o diario con cada uno de los responsables, para identificar desafíos, lecciones aprendidas y medidas a tomar. El periodo del monitoreo depende del nivel de ejecución. Todos los cambios de reducciones o aumentos de presupuestos, deben de agregarse a la línea de tiempo. Es importante adecuar continuamente las líneas de tiempo.

So during the work experience and teaching Program management, I always recommend that the use of data along with maps when designing the dashboard that is a must for your program management strategy. A dashboard always communicate the strategic, technical and financial data and knowledge to the stakeholder and donors and provides them the knowledge and insights to make better decisions. The dashboard are easy to use and provide necessary information to monitor the progress and performance of your program and project against the strategic goals and objectives set with the stakeholder and sponsors of the program and projects.

Según mi experiencia, las revisiones integrales con cierta periodicidad son fundamentales para detectar desvíos. Entendiendo que las mismas son fundamentales y en cierto sentido costosas, por lo tanto se pueden complementar con revisiones periódicas que sean menos exhaustivas y que manejen cierta tolerancia en cuanto a los posibles desvíos detectados oportunamente. La planificación, detección, análisis y retroalimentación de los desvíos en el desempe?o financiero son hitos fundamentales para que una organización se mantenga sana, con una liquidez razonable y previsión en el horizonte temporal.

In my experience the engagement with sponsors and stakeholder is a key to success to your program. So these engagement help builds better partnership and will also guide you and your teams to influence the program outcomes and results. These engagement are also the opportunity to get new resources, technical support and feedback that will benefits the program in achieving its desired results. Perhaps, I always recommend that one must engage the sponsors and stakeholders from the start and keep them throughout the program lifecycle, including all stages like Planning, Staffing, monitoring, controlling and reporting including all aspect of strategic, technical and financial nature and commitment that is need for program investments.

To keep expenses under control in your program, consider these four vital tips. First, continuous forecasting is key to maintaining a realistic budget and anticipating project progress. Secondly, watch out for scope changes and create change orders to prevent budget overruns. Third, regularly forecast your resource usage to ensure efficient and cost-effective work. Lastly, communicate openly with your team about the budget to promote accountability and stellar work. However, striking a balance between caution and growth is essential; don't miss opportunities by being overly cautious about your budget.

Based on my experience from various organizations, majority are using tools that can help you better monitor and manage financials such as Clarity, Financial Management Tool (FMT) at the like. If your organization has budget for it then I would recommend the purchase of these tools.