IPOPHL & IP Australia conduct knowledge-building seminar for ensuring office's financial stability

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines collaborated with IP Australia for a four-day seminar focused on maintaining the intellectual property office’s financial health.

Revenue forecast models, fee reviews and structures , and cost-recovery anaylsis were among the topics discussed by Mr. Kieran Sloan, Assistant General Manager & Deputy Chief Financial Officer, of the Finance, Quality, Reporting & Property Group of IP Australia on a broader seminar on cost-recovery and activity-based costing. 

Highlighted is how the efficiency of IP services can be more closely intertwined with financial sustainability methods. 

Mr. Sloan discussed in particular IP Australia’s set-up of closer coordination between the financial management group and the intellectual property rights production group. 

A production modelling method is initiated by the finance bureau - starting with a  ‘demand profiling’  informed by economic analysis - providing a forecast of growth of IP applications to the IP rights group. 

This becomes an important input for the IP rights group to assess their productivity, and identify factors that may be affecting it (such as preoccupation with other projects,etc) and pending stockpile of applications. 

Challenges in cost-recovery mentioned by the IP Australia official include balancing cost-recovery budget management, and access to relevant and accurate data sources.

The four-day seminar was organised by IPOPHL's Human Resource Development Division.