During recent months many businesses have had to make some tough decisions about what costs to cut.
In some cases there may be some low hanging fruit – contracts that can be renegotiated or items that always were ‘luxuries’.
There may even be grants to claim that haven’t been previously investigated that can offet some of the costs – small business rates relief, training support and so on.
Often things can just be done differently – this may be changing a process slightly so that it doesn’t take so long/cost so much. Or perhaps re-focusing on why an action is done, what is the objective? Are all the current steps delivering towards that objective or necessary?
But then come the difficult ones, the ones that are really going to hurt – employees, suppliers or even customers. In a discussion this week it was spelled out to me how this is not always a purely financial consideration – it is about the value that is delivered for the expenditure incurred. That value might be financial such as sales resulting from marketing ( more about this next week!) but it might be about the one thing that lifts the employees moral perhaps a contracted out service that no one internally wants to do.
Value is not about money its about contributing, in any form, to success.
Archive for the ‘Random Thoughts’ Category
What costs to cut?
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Is chatting a distraction?
Friday, August 27th, 2010A hectic week lead to a peak of stress at lunch time. Luckily my PA decided this was the perfect time for a friendly chat – this wasn’t a distraction but the perfect way to revitalise me, refresh my thoughts and actually speed the solution to a number of challenges.
It occurred to me that this is often a service that I provide to my clients. The ‘chat’ is clearly focussed on financial matters but this is an area that it can often be difficult to find time for. From this will come either solutions to challenges or actions to solve the challenges. Equally important, for some business owners who really dislike thinking about the finances, this ‘chat’ will mean that I will take care of those ‘horrible’ tasks (that I love!) and the operational stresses they still have to deal with don’t seem so bad after all.
What to do BEFORE your year end
Thursday, August 19th, 2010Many small companies start thinking about their year end some months after it has been and gone which is a pity as there is some much to be achieved by thinking about it before you get there.
Never mind the tax planning advantages (I always encourage clients to talk their tax advisor about 2 months before the year end) this is also a good time to make sure you are going to be showing the world the results you want to show them. Particularly if you have transactions that are not straight forward or that you have to show a different way in the statutory accounts (compared to how it is useful in the management accounts) – its good to understand this.
Last but not least it is a good idea to have the stake in the ground for next year and know where you are headed before you start having to be too reactive to where everyone else wants to take you.
Its all a bit like having a dodgy tree in the garden – check whether you need consent to take it down, dont wait for a gale, and get it done professionally to avoid unintended consequences.
Taking control before the worst happens
Friday, August 13th, 2010With so much information around it is sometimes difficult to keep track or to syphon out what might be useful. So, it is with this in mind that I thought I would share this link to a summary of discussions on linkedin about why businesses might fail. Forewarned is forearmed!
Happy Birthday
Saturday, August 7th, 2010This week a-count-a-bility has celebrated its third birthday. This gave me a chance to reflect on all that had passed during the last 3 years.
There is no doubt that I wouldn’t still be here without my clients – yes, they have helped me pay the bills but just as importantly they have given me job satisfaction. Without that ability to feel that I have made a difference – perhaps increased the amount of cash/profit they get from their hard won sales, perhaps improved the efficiency of their processes, perhaps given them some control about the future direction of the business or helped them with a difficult decision…..without all that it would be worth nothing – not to me, not to them. Part of the satisfaction is also down to my basic belief that, despite popular opinion, Finance is Fun – I hope that in receiving my support my clients have felt this too. I have certainly enjoyed giving it.
I have also met some fascinating people along the way and been able to develop a whole range of skills I hadn’t even realised I would need – how many business owners share that feeling?!
Thank you to everyone and here’s looking forward to the future.
GIGO
Thursday, June 24th, 2010The great thing about what I do is that it is providing proactive support for the business owner to help them look forward and take control of the numbers in their business.
So, it can be really confusing when the first thing I do is look back over all the historical information but without understanding where the business is coming from and making sure that information is recorded accurately there is no starting point. We may know we want to get to Edinburgh but the route will be quite different if we are starting from London or Cardiff.
Get the base line right and then we can set out on an exciting journey together.
Blog back on line – latest thought
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010Great to be back on line and be able to share my latest thought for the month :What tiny thing can make a huge difference?
At this time of year gardens can easily get out of control (I can see that on a daily basis!) and to get it back to looking its best, action is needed. Starting off with one small manageable task can make a large difference – getting in an expert for a blitz can also work.
In business there is a never ending ‘to do’ list and as a business owner this can cover a massive range of areas. There are even more things that aren’t on the list, and maybe they should be, because they may be the things that will make the most difference.
Whatever the situation, whatever the challenge, however small the first step, we have to start somewhere. However, sometimes it takes an objective third party to identify where that is.
If you would like to receive my monthly thoughts directly then please contact me at cb@a-count-a-bility.co.uk
Green opportunities
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009There 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.
Time well spent
Friday, October 9th, 2009How often do you go to a networking event or seminar and come away having to think really hard about whether you got any really benefit from that last 2 hours? Well, on Wednesday after attending the Late Breakfast at Abingdon where James Butler from Painless Business was presenting on Business lessons from ER I didn’t have to think hard at all. I had made one tough decision that had been challenging me in my business for a while as well as taking away a couple of other really useful concrete actions.
In order to share some of what I learnt the lessons are summarised below but the biggest lesson is that, if you ever get the chance, go and listen to James for yourself.
Lesson 1 – Have a common purpose
In the case of ER they are trying to make people better.
Lesson 2 – Know the roles
Have systems that means people know how to deal with situations (emergency or otherwise) so that time is spent efficiently doing what is needed and not, repeatedly, trying to figure it out.
Lesson 3 – Have a triage system
When a patient appears in an emergency department they get categorised as
- Beyond saving
- Needing immediate treatment
- Can wait for treatment
Many aspects of our business can be reviewed and categorised in this way.
Lesson 4 – Check the pulse
Hospitals have key measures they take to understand the health of their patients – businesses should do the same.
Lesson 5 – Loudest screams don’t mean most pain
Don’t let the silent ones (that no longer have the energy or will to scream) ebb away – particularly if they are customers.
And as little aside there are plenty more lessons that James has shared from music and I have recently been singing the praises of the business education in the Archers and Coronation Street – yes, really!
What to do if you cant see the eclipse
Monday, August 3rd, 2009I have just come back from a holiday of a lifetime – watching the eclipse in China. Part of me was disappointed that it was such a cloudy day in the end (it was always a 50% chance) but the reality is that I have seen other total eclipses and because I couldn’t be focussed on the sun I became much more aware of other elements of what was going on around me. This really made me think about how true this is in life in general – we are often so focussed on one thing that we completely miss some of the other wonderful things (maybe even opportunities) that are part of our world if we did but see them.
