Boulder, CO — June 19, 2007 — Energy supply management should be elevated to a strategic, C-level management concern as part of a comprehensive approach to financial risk management, according to a new white paper released by EnergyWindow.
A supplier of information technology-based tools and strategic consulting to manage the energy supply used by businesses, EnergyWindow said that the new white paper was designed to help chief financial officers gain a new understanding of how to manage the risk and volatility of energy supply costs.
This white paper, "Energy Rises to C-level," is available for free via EnergyWindow's Web site under the "Research & Insights" button on the home page at www.energywindow.com.
In this new white paper, Jack Mason, EnergyWindow's president and co-founder, explains how many senior managers and financial executives still view energy costs as regulated and, therefore, uncontrollable, while others are still using outmoded energy supply sourcing approaches common in the very early days of energy deregulation.
Mason, a veteran management consultant and alum of the Sloan School of Management at MIT, as well as a leading voice in the energy industry, asserts that default utility rates change much more rapidly, in concert with wholesale energy market activity, which means that remaining on default energy service (once considered the play-it-safe approach) now is one of the riskiest and costliest mistakes in energy supply management.
"This new white paper incorporates both a strategic and philosophical approach to energy supply management and financial risk management, as well as practical discussion of why energy supply issues must be elevated to the C-level if businesses are to succeed in minimizing risk exposure, controlling one of their top operating expenses, and saving money, and improving the bottom line in the process," Mason said.
A special section called "A CFO's Strategic Energy To-Do List" covers specific and immediate actions CFOs can take to get the ball rolling, gain control and create greater budget predictability related to energy expenditures, Mason said.
The key to reducing the financial risk of volatile energy supply costs is for CFOs to develop a comprehensive strategy consistent with overall corporate financial strategy and the company's values and risk tolerance before a procurement, energy or facility manager pursues competitive bids for energy supply, according to Mason.
"CFOs who dovetail energy supply strategies with their overall financial strategies are almost always rewarded with lower energy costs and enhance predictability over the long term," he concluded.
A supplier of information technology-based tools and strategic consulting to manage the energy supply used by businesses, EnergyWindow said that the new white paper was designed to help chief financial officers gain a new understanding of how to manage the risk and volatility of energy supply costs.
This white paper, "Energy Rises to C-level," is available for free via EnergyWindow's Web site under the "Research & Insights" button on the home page at www.energywindow.com.
In this new white paper, Jack Mason, EnergyWindow's president and co-founder, explains how many senior managers and financial executives still view energy costs as regulated and, therefore, uncontrollable, while others are still using outmoded energy supply sourcing approaches common in the very early days of energy deregulation.
Mason, a veteran management consultant and alum of the Sloan School of Management at MIT, as well as a leading voice in the energy industry, asserts that default utility rates change much more rapidly, in concert with wholesale energy market activity, which means that remaining on default energy service (once considered the play-it-safe approach) now is one of the riskiest and costliest mistakes in energy supply management.
"This new white paper incorporates both a strategic and philosophical approach to energy supply management and financial risk management, as well as practical discussion of why energy supply issues must be elevated to the C-level if businesses are to succeed in minimizing risk exposure, controlling one of their top operating expenses, and saving money, and improving the bottom line in the process," Mason said.
A special section called "A CFO's Strategic Energy To-Do List" covers specific and immediate actions CFOs can take to get the ball rolling, gain control and create greater budget predictability related to energy expenditures, Mason said.
The key to reducing the financial risk of volatile energy supply costs is for CFOs to develop a comprehensive strategy consistent with overall corporate financial strategy and the company's values and risk tolerance before a procurement, energy or facility manager pursues competitive bids for energy supply, according to Mason.
"CFOs who dovetail energy supply strategies with their overall financial strategies are almost always rewarded with lower energy costs and enhance predictability over the long term," he concluded.
