Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category

Strong roots for future growth

Monday, December 14th, 2009

A Christmas picture I saw showed Father Christmas dragging a tree where he had cut off the roots – it wont be thriving after Christmas – pity he didnt think ahead.

Business owners should plan more carefully and think about how best to take the profits from their business. Indeed how much should be left in the business for reinvestment so that it can grow stronger than ever.

Enjoy the tree and its decorations and I hope that you get all that you wish for from your Christmas and New year break because you have left some roots in tact.

Posted in Financial Planning, Sustainability | No Comments »

Green opportunities

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

There is much debate about whether companies can consider the environment and ‘going green’ in the current economy – my belief is that, while it may not be the first priority for a business, all businesses can be moving in the ‘right’ direction. Even better, doing so can often lead to cost savings and improved sales opportunities which are often high priorities for businesses at the moment. My concern is that some of the legislative requirements are so expensive and onerous that it puts people off looking for the opportunities that they could take voluntarily. These were the key messages from my presentation at Business as Usual in the Low-Carbon Economy – an event hosted by Bayer.

As an independent FD my concerns are for the financial performance of the businesses I work for – this can often include other ethical considerations that work for the benefit of everyone like staff training/sabbaticals to retain staff and avoid the costs of recruiting and retraining, sourcing supplies locally and so on. I touched on these during my presentation not least of all because in the Companies Act 2006 all directors have a statutory obligation to consider the impact of their business decisions on the community and the environment.

As an FD I am good at measuring and analysing data, as an individual I feel passionately about helping those less fortunate than myself – the ethics of business bring the two together nicely.

Posted in Cost Savings, Random Thoughts, Sustainability | No Comments »

PC Power

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

No – this isn’t a post about Political Correctness but rather about a rather scarey fact that I heard on the radio the other day. Apparently 60% of PCs are left on ALL the time which costs us £150m a year. £150m!! What could we do with that money? And what a scary amount of carbon emissions that represents.

Even if we turned off the PCs half of the time…………………..

To all those people who say ‘Its too expensive to be green’, I say ‘How can you afford not to be?’

Posted in Cost Savings, Sustainability | No Comments »

Gardens and businesses meet again

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

I often talk about how gardens and businesses are the same. I will try not to get carried away but:

- depending on how big your garden is you may want to develop specific areas for specific needs. The garden needs to be maintained – much of this can be done by the novice (mowing isnt hard!) but sometimes you have to get expert advice (if you cant rid of a particular weed for example). And if the garden is left to its own devices then it wont serve any purpose and will get out of control.

Now re-read replacing the word garden with business.

Anyway – I was reminded of this, together with the fact that taking care of our envirnoment can help save costs when I read this article, which also might provide inspiration for a team building activity.

http://www.kandh.co.uk/news-views/green-news/spring-garden/

Not so sure how you enjoy the sunshine in your business – for another day!

Posted in Cost Savings, Sustainability | No Comments »

Saving costs, saving the world!

Monday, April 6th, 2009

As an accountant I cannot help but be interested in saving costs (although there are times when the cost benefit of spending money has to be acknowledged too!). What is even better is when saving money is not only of benefit to the company, or individual, but to the local environment and community as well. Some time ago I came across this excellent e-leaflet – take a look and see if it sparks any new ideas.

http://www.fsb.org.uk/documents/policy/brep/

If you have extra ideas that are worth sharing then of course I am interested in them too. Just email me at cb@a-count-a-bility.co.uk

Posted in Cost Savings, Sustainability | No Comments »

Responding to the changing environment

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Here is the text of the Thought for the Month that I have circulated in February including the usual tenuous gardening link. I like to think that linking the world of business to the my very mundane view of gardening helps make it all seem less scary and more like something that we should all be thinking about and even understanding.

The new economic environment means businesses may need to change the way they operate. Products previously considered as peripheral may now be key and indeed new products might need to be added to the mix. Pricing should then be reviewed to ensure that profitability is going to be maintained, and different marketing campaigns may need to be evaluated.

During the snow planting seeds was not an option but plenty of children (and adults rediscovering their childhood) built snowmen. This option has now disappeared and the snowdrops are starting to appear – nature taking it’s opportunities too.

The person that identifies the options in the new climate may not be the same as the person who is best placed to evaluate the results this might deliver.

Send me a mail and let me know if you think this is a useful thought and/or useful way of presenting it.

Posted in Monthly Thoughts, Sustainability, The Economy | No Comments »