I’d like my software to be able to pull bank account transaction information (obviously securely) into a budgeting database. Its possible that customers will come from many different banks. What is the best way to go about doing this?

Web Services. You must make some arrangements with the banking company for details on their exposed web services to get the bank transactions of specific users.

Once you get the specific web services, you can just call these on your application.

Our company is expert in providing solutions for a particular domain. You are appointed as a project manager for a new project. You have to do Risk management. What will be your approach?

It’s important to understand that risk management is an integral part of project management. The basic approach is:
1. Identify Risk
2. Priortizie Risk
3. Handle Risk
4. Monitor Risk

It’s always good to have a database to help you do these steps. In a little more detail, I’ll explain the steps. Just want to point out that this is large topic so I’m just pointing out a very basic approach.

1. It depends on the level on which you are identifying risks but mainly, you are looking for things that affect cost, schedule, or quality. Again, that is very basic.

2. To prioritize, you would then rate the risk using the tried and true Risk Matrix which compares the likelihood of an event happening to the impact it would have if it happened. (Probability vs Consequence). Using the rating, you would then know which Risks were high, medium, and low.

3. After you have your Risks in order of priority, you then determine how you will handle them. The basic methods for handling are transfer, accept, avoid, and mitigate.

Here is an example explaining each. A requirement from your customer in your project requires an item to be shipped through a dangerous area. The risk is the item gets stolen. You can transfer the risk to someone else by hiring a company to do it for you. You can accept the risk by saying it might happen but the risk is low enough we aren’t going to do anything and just ship it. You can avoid the risk by removing the requirement from the project. And you can mitigate the risk by shipping it with a convoy of armed guards.

4. Then after you execute your handling strategies, you have to monitor those risks to see if they become problems or the risk rating changes.

It’s important to point out that risks are NOT problems or issues. They are potential problems. Once the probability of it happening becomes 100% or the event already occurs, it is no longer a risk and it is now a problem. Some people confuse risk and problems and track them together.

Managerial Accounting SFCC Fall 2007 Chapter 7 Videos

Duration : 0:6:23

Hi, I am writing an article on budgeting. I am looking for unique budgeting ideas. For example, I talked to a lady today that only uses cash and she organizes her cash in one of those coupon organizers. For example, she puts money for food under one tab, car insurance under another, etc. Let me know if you have a helpful budgeting tip. Ideally, be sure you allow email in your preferences. If I decide to use your technique, I may need to contact you for more information. Thanks.

Ok the way my husband and my self do it is simple. We have a total of two different banks we use. At each bank we have 1 checking and 1 savings. One checking account is strictly bills. The other checking account is for groceries, gas, and play money- what ever is left over we divide into the two savings accounts.

1. First I make a list of all our monthly bills–rent electric, gas, car pay, etc. say 1000. Since my husband gets paid twice a month. We divide this number by 2 and get 500.

2. Now each time he gets paid we put 500 into our "Bills " checking account. That way by the end of the month we have all our bill money–and dont have to stretch for a few weeks like we did before.

3. The rest like I said goes into our other account that we use for gas, groceries, fun or whatever.

4. That way we know each paycheck that 500 is for bills and we get it out of the account that we are spending out of.

5. This works out nicely because we know we will never be broke one week because of paying bigger payments like the rent. And that we will have plently of money till next payday.

6. Also, at the end of the 2 weeks right before my husband gets paid again. We take whatever is remaining from the play account and divide it into our savings accounts.

7. This helps us stay on track since Im in school right now–even though some weeks its only 20 bucks into savings its a nice tool using separate accounts because I have found since we pay more attention to our money because of the two accounts and actually spend less on useless junk.

Hope this helped.!

email at cole060783@yahoo.com

Interested in using an Envelope System for managing your cash? Check out this step by step tutorial.

Duration : 0:3:52

Real estate flipping is a term used by most people these days, the meaning of which is re selling real estate for a profit. Most participants in the real estate market confirm the transaction before re selling their property for a profit. The insinuation is that they use their own funds to secure an investment. This is characteristic real estate investment. But the true art of flipping lies in re selling an interest before closing the deal. One buyer of a contract of sales or purchase will find another buyer for the same interest ready to buy before the first buyer completes the deal. This implies that the first buyer is only putting the deposit out of his own resources. This is characteristic real estate speculation

More often than not, real estate flipping can be the cause for many problems even though it is not an illegal practice. Most real estate boards and organizations do not encourage the practice of real estate flipping. Market value can be defined as the price that a property is expected to obtain after considerable time and exposure to the various market conditions. If someone with extraordinary skills and talents, like a realtor is involved, flipping would then envelop an element of misrepresentation. However, if no professionals are involved, courts have ruled that misrepresentation will still be punishable by law. Such misrepresentations can also be categorized as deceptive. Apart from the legal and moral issues, flipping contributes to the approximate inflationary damages that prove them to be unfavorable for the whole economy. This is more pronounced when they involve large items like capital assets. When it comes to real estate investing, the small matter of re selling property for profit is considered to be a common part of the business.

In a market economy, the main responsibility of the speculators is to soak up all the risk and to contribute a minimal amount of flow of money or liquidity to that market place. Often times, speculators reduce the liquidity in a market by increasing the prices. The effect of price increase is to reduce the number of buyers therefore affecting demand and lowering prices even further. On the other hand, investors play a completely different role in the market. A person that purchases a property renovates it and then re sells it for a profit is known as an investor and not a speculator. This will also be the case for a person who buys property under foreclosure.

When it comes to the subject of investment, risk management is also very clear. Investment is directly proportional to the basic relation between personal incomes. This can also be influenced by the nature of the property bought or sold and the rates of interest. An increase in the value of personal income will lead to an increase in investments and this in turn will lead to the subsequent expansion of prices and economy. On the contrary, high rates of interest will lower investment by increasing the cost of financing. The end result will be a lower demand graph thus hampering the progress of prices and the economy. Even if the investor decides to use his own exclusive resources, there will still be a measure of risk. If the main purpose is to make easy money through flipping and speculation, the risks involved will be considerably higher.

Kris Koonar
http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/speculation-vs-real-estate-investment-60625.html

Ken Boyd, owner of St. Louis Test Preparation (www.stltest.net) presents part seven of his course on Understanding Cost Accounting. Boyd points out that students can have success with Cost Accounting concepts by making connections to actual examples from business. As a former CPA, College Accounting professor and Auditor, Ken has a wealth of experience to bring to the subject.

Duration : 0:6:6

Post your response to the following questions: How are budgeting systems used to weigh the efficiency and effectiveness of a health and human service agency? Why is this important

You figure out the efficiency by looking at a program’s total budget and then dividing it by the number of people who will participate in the program. (Unit cost).
The effectiveness is determined by designing program outcomes. Initially you measure your outcomes against other similar programs, then you develop a baseline and begin to measure against yourself. For example, if your program provides tutoring, you would want to measure how many students achieved a passing grade, how many were promoted, how many had completed homework, etc. You convert this to a % and try to achieve at least a 50% success rate. The next year try for 60% and so on. Then determine what the program costs per student and try to lower your unit cost each year.

I’m one of those people who does the impulse buying and I don’t realize just how much money I’ve spent until it’s done and over with. I really need tips on how to budget and save my money before I completely lose control of the situation.

Tips:

1- Avoid using credit cards. Credit cards make it too easy to spend what you don’t have.

2- If you must use a credit card, only buy items for which you know you already have the money for.

3- Make a list of your fix expenses for a month (rent, phone, electricity, heating, etc.). Then, compare that to your income for the month (salary, tips, investment income). If you make less money than your fixed (regular) expenses, then you must cut back on fixed expenses (e.g. get a smaller apartment or a roommate, a cheaper phone plan, etc.). Also, you could get a second job earn more income. If you make more money than your fixed expenses, after including food and a minimum for clothes and transportation, then you have what is called discretionary income, that is the remainder of your income after deducting all of the above.

3- Limit yourself to a certain amount of cash a week, depending on your discretionary income. For example, if you make $500 a week, and you deduct your fixed expenses (1/4 of rent, 1/4 of utilities, 1/4 monthly transit pass, etc.) and determine that you have $100 left, then put that amount in an envelope in your bedroom. Take out half at the beginning of the week and put it in your wallet. This way, you will force yourself to live within the cash in your wallet, but still have some left over if you spend it too fast. This discipline forces you to make choices when your out (not ordering wine at a restaurant, not buying those expensive shoes, etc.)

4- If you occasionally need to make a large purchase, deduct it from your weekly envelope and put it in a second envelope. Don’t make the purchase until you have most of the money saved up. In this example, say you wanted a $199 iPod, you would take out say $20 a week (plus found money like birthday cash, extra tips, etc.) and put it in the second envelope until you had enough money to buy it (at most 10 weeks).

5- You also need to build up savings for a rainy day (new bed, vacation, retirement, etc.). This must come out of your discretionary income. So, if you have $100 extra a week, take $20 or so and put it into a savings account. The Rule of Thumb is to pay yourself first (i.e. save) between 5% and 10% of your Gross Income (or salary before taxes).

6- To discipline your expenses. Avoid shopping unless you have the money. When you don’t go to stores, you can’t get tempted. If you must go ‘see what’s out there’, leave your credit and ATM cards at home. Should you find something that you really like or think you need, you could always return another day. At least you’ll have 24 hours to think about it.

7- Try to figure out why you ‘impulse buy’. Is it because you spend to much time shopping? Is it because you’re bored? Are you unhappy with some aspect of your life (job, relationship, etc.)? Then you might want to substitute shopping with other activities, such as sports, outings with friends, a new hobby, a course at school, or in activities to meet new people. Consult the newspaper listings for community events and inexpensive or free activities (open museum days, public pool, bowling, biking, tours of your home town, etc.). If you find that you are depressed, consult a therapist to get to the source of your unhappiness, if you think this applies to you.

Professional budget advice you can’t miss! Learn how to use the envelope system to manage a budget for personal finances in this free online video tutorial.

Expert: Alfred Loughmiller
Bio: Alfred Loughmiller is a Multimedia Communications major from Utah Valley State University. He worked a number of years in advertising and television production.
Filmmaker: Danny Loughmiller

Duration : 0:2:7