The first quarter of the year is Owen's favorite time. Owen Poole is a certified public accountant (CPA) and he loves the tax season. Although he understands that tax reform would be best for everyone if it simplified the process, he is glad that the idea of reform has been just talk. Owen enjoys the challenge of figuring out what deductions clients can take and how to maximize his clients' tax refunds. Owen sees it as a battle between himself and the internal revenue service. The only thing Owen likes more than the challenge itself is winning! When Owen was earning his degree in accounting he took several electives in other business topics. One of his favorite ones was supply chain management. Owen enjoyed the big picture perspective this course emphasized. Understanding business from a broad perspective is crucial to Owen's own business because many of his clients are businesses, not individuals. As part of his services, Owen gives advice to his business clients on how to improve their bottom line. He explains to them that he will search out every penny possible in deductions to enhance their bottom line. However, he explains that they can help themselves by implementing more effective and efficient processes within their business. Although Owen isn't an expert in many of these processes, he understands enough to point his clients in the right direction. Since a significant portion of Owen's clients are small businesses, often just a few years old, his advice is helpful and very welcomed. Today Owen is meeting with Van Ward. Van's business has been growing very rap-idly. As Owen reviews Van's financial statements he notices that Van's profit has been decreasing slightly despite his company's growth. Van's financial statements tell Owen a lot. He knows that there has not been much invested in resource planning systems. Consequently, as Van's business has grown, so have the inefficiencies. Owen decided that will be the topic for today to help Van understand the need for investment in this area.

1. Put yourself in Owen's position. What questions would you ask Van to better under-stand his needs concerning resource planning?