How to Get the Financial Resources We Need

19 Oct 2018

How to Get the Financial Resources We Need

Getting managers to buy test equipment or invest in other engineering necessities
can be difficult!

Here’s how to get management buy-in, to help ensure the success of our projects. By Keith Armstrong, Cherry Clough Consultants Ltd

Note: This article was published in In Compliance Magazine, October 2018 Edition, visit https://incompliancemag.com. An earlier version of this article was published in The EMC Journal in July 2008.

A problem faced by all engineers and engineering managers is persuading our managers that we need a new item of test equipment, or need to add something to a product that is not in its technical specification (for example to reduce financial risks such as high levels of warranty returns), or whatever.

Our managers need us to provide justifications that use financial language – often so that they can then use the same arguments to persuade the bean counters (otherwise known as accountants) that run all engineering companies. But we have to be the ones that do it!

The Heart of the Challenge

Make no mistake, modern electronics and other engineering is all about the money, and if we want our companies to be successful we must learn to communicate in money terms.

The Secret to Getting What You Want

Every engineer needs to be able to describe their company investment needs in terms that their Financial Director can understand, as this often the person who runs the whole company but usually knows almost nothing at all about what it actually does or how it does it!

Since I learned how to justify expenditure on engineering over 30 years ago, I have not had a single capital application, design change request or request for additional personnel turned down, ever.

Read my step by step method to help you effectively communicate engineering needs to managers, here. It will help your company be successful, and may also help you get raises and promotions!

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