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More companies than ever are seeking to understand project accounting costs as they realizethat knowledge of this data impacts their bottom line and exposes areas where costs can be cutand profits can be made. By understanding project accounting costs, companies can discoverfinancial problems with projects early on and fix them. This can potentially save millions of dollars.But just because companies seek to understand these costs doesn't mean they know the bestway to go about finding the information...

Can you tell me exactly where your employees are and what they are doing? Do you know what the top 10 most profitable projects were for your company last year? Can you make a bid on a project that has little or no margin of error? If you can't answer these questions, then you should know that someone else can and the business advantage lies with them...

Why should you care about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)? If you are the CEO or another executive within a large public company, the answer is obvious: because you have to. If you don't, your business -- and you -- will face serious repercussions, including possible jail time. Not good. If you are an executive in a large corporation and don't know what SOX is or why you should care, you should stop reading this article now and get up to speed -- quickly.

For many companies, the role of the PMO seems like an enigma. Sure, everyone knows that PMOs exist to streamline project operations so time and money aren't wasted, but what do they actually do? Failure to answer this question has led many companies to question the value of the PMO in the years after its establishment. However, the burden of proof is on the PMO -- not the executives -- and let's face it, many have not risen to the occasion to concretely demonstrate success.

"It takes two to tango." Ronald Reagan said this of the contentious relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the final stages of the Cold War. Unfortunately, this also applies to executives and project management offices. At times, it seems they are destined to face off against each other, but this should not be the case. In reality, when PMOs are properly implemented, executives can rely on them to enchance their chances for success, and vice versa...

The project management office (PMO) has provided well-documented value to many organizations. However, for some businesses, the benefits never materialize. Take a look at PMOs over the years, and you will see that many have restructured, dissolved, or constantly had to justify their existence during both economic downturns and high-growth periods.

Rash assumption of leadership on the part of product managers creates an environment of uncertainty, and can result in the degradation of work ethic and productivity. Therefore, wise project managers will pay special attention to how they portray themselves and the manner in which they execute the tasks for which they are personally responsible. ...

The cheapest available resources no longer necessarily come from the business next door. Any product or service that can be outsourced is more than likely being offered in some other region of the world for a competitive price, and it's up to consumers to decide where to spend their dollars. This means that any given mom-and-pop store may be competing against a megastore in Los Angeles, a Web startup in Santiago, Chile, and a multigenerational family business in Naples, Italy. This was not the case 20 years ago...

As the economy continues to improve, allowing us to feel a sense of hope that the worst is behind us, it's still critical for business owners to make sure they're making smart decisions about technology. After all, if the recession taught us anything, it's that we must be cognizant of cash flow, and make sure that our purchases are really worth the money and will help our businesses to realize maximum ROI...

Total cost of ownership is a financial estimate that helps enterprise managers determine direct and indirect costs of a system. TCO goes beyond the initial purchase price or implementation cost to consider the full cost of an asset over its useful life. ...

More than ever before, project managers are looking to technology help mitigate the risk of project failure. According to a recent list of Top 10 Project Management Trends, "the implementation of new PPM solutions [in 2010] will soar. Program and project managers, under pressure from senior management to demonstrate project portfolio performance and its impact on the enterprise, will make the pitch for -- and win -- resources to implement project portfolio management solutions."

It often seems that an agile development environment will always be at odds with the structure and constraints of the project management office (PMO). Yet it does not have to be this way. Creating an agile PMO that bridges the gap between these two very important groups can help organizations to prioritize projects and allocate resources much more effectively.

The economy is "finally back in gear," according to a recent article in Fortune. This should mean that projects that were sidelined for the past year or two can come off the bench, and there might be more money to go around. As a project manager, are you confident that you will be able to put the right people on these projects? Not only that, but how can you be smart about spending this money? ...

However, once a business starts to reach about 30 staff members, time reporting helps them understand costs, improve efficiency, and focus on the right areas, Journyx CEO Curt Finch told CRM Buyer. It helps them track how much is spent on each customer and decide which ones are more profitable...

However, once a business starts to reach about 30 staff members, time reporting helps them understand costs, improve efficiency, and focus on the right areas, Journyx CEO Curt Finch told CRM Buyer. It helps them track how much is spent on each customer and decide which ones are more profitable...

Small projects, though often overlooked, can make up the bulk of the portfolio and are crucial to a company's success. They might not involve large sums of money, but the fact is that if managed improperly, these small projects can add up to some major costs in the long run. ...

Due to the economy, many businesses are now looking at project portfolio management solutions to help them isolate and execute mission-critical projects more effectively. ...

Josh Nankivel of PMStudent.com recently polled project managers (PMs) about how the current economic climate is affecting them, and he found that 27 percent had experienced project cutbacks, 14 percent had experienced PM layoffs, 11 percent had experienced financial scrutiny of projects, and 10 percent had experienced project staff reductions ...

Do you know what your people are working on? Do you know why your project is late? Do you know if you are getting the return on investment you need? You may not realize it, but what you don't know can hurt you and your organization. ...

Journyx, a company that provides Web-based time-tracking and project management applications, also offers its customers a back door into customer service. That is, its application lets users track what a customer cost. That is a number that is oftensurprisingly miscalculated or not calculated at all, said CEO Curt Finch.