Agile Capitalization Workshop

Dan Greening

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The two-day Agile Capitalization Workshop includes a one-day seminar followed by a one-day company-specific workshop. The seminar covers GAAP or IFRS principles (depending on country), capitalization benefits, applicable regulations, and real-world examples of capitalizing software developed using agile practices. You will learn from the team that pioneered defensible agile capitalization practices in a $10B publicly traded company.

Read more: Agile Capitalization Workshop

Duration: 16 hours total. 8 hour seminar, followed by 8 hour company-specific workshop
Capacity: 20 attendees
Attendees: Project managers, auditors, financial analysts, accountants, engineering leaders, CTO/VP Engineering, CFO/VP Finance

The detailed research Dan Greening did on capitalization is going to save me a significant amount of time and energy. Specifically, his research into the GAAP and FASB guidance on software capitalization. His summaries cut through years of poor capitalization guidance for Agile projects.

—Thomas Hall, IT Program Manager, Physicians Mutual

In many companies, agile software development is misunderstood and misreported, causing taxation increases, higher volatility in Profit and Loss (P&L) statements and manual tracking of programmer hours. Agile and Scrum teams inherently create production cost data that are more verifiable, better documented, and more closely aligned with known customer value than most waterfall implementations. Better reporting can mean significant tax savings and greater investor interest.

The Agile Capitalization Workshop will benefit executives, managers, consultants, and financial professionals seeking to:

  • Improve the company’s P&L
  • Reduce or eliminate need to track actual hours
  • Free up working capital for innovation and growth in software development
  • Reduce future tax burden
  • Improve verifiability for internal and external auditors
  • Increase clarity for shareholders on investments and operational expenses

You will leave with the understanding and resources to lead an agile capitalization effort at your company. Save weeks of research and investigation by attending this powerful briefing.

Outline

TimeTopicDetails
60 minAgile vs Traditional Capitalization: A regulatory perspective
  • Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) or International IFRSComparison of Agile and Traditional Software LifecyclePhilosophical basis of financial capitalization standards -Overview of key standards including FASB 86, ASC 350-40, ASC 985-20
60 minEstablishing consistent, sustainable rules for capitalization
  • Establishing a shared understanding between Finance, Product, and DevelopmentIncorporating capitalization into Ready and Done criteriaReal world example deep dives, audience choice on area of focus, exercises
15 minBreak
  • Coffee, tea, soda and snacks
60 minDefensible practices for  collecting, categorizing, and reporting
  • Use of story points versus tracking hoursSimple, defensible data collection techniques that overlay or enhance your existing practicesClassification exercise, with real-world data from us or from your own company.
45 minQ & A
  • Live discussion and problem solving

References

My team and I attended Senex Rex’s Agile Capitalization Workshop. It showed us how to use the natural outputs of Agile development (i.e. Story Points) to replace timesheets, and provided a foundation for supporting capitalization that finance, developers and project managers all could understand. The workshop helped us create consistent rules for capitalization under Agile, and develop clear documentation for internal and external auditors. Bring software developers and accountants from your company. The interactions, facilitated by Dan and John, will help the two groups to see each other’s viewpoints and learn together. You leave the workshop with a kick-start to implement Story Points-based capitalization at your company!

—Scott Szymkowski, Director of Accounting at Financial Engines

Dan Greening is an excellent thought leader in the agile world. He has demonstrated that he’s one step ahead of the industry and is willing to tackle the tough challenges. Specifically in my career, I’ve been able extend his ideas on software capitalization and implement it. When I have a need to tackle some tough agile challenges, Dan is among the first I will call upon.

—Chris Sheridan, Director of Agile Center of Excellence, American Express Enterprise Growth

More Information

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