Archive for May, 2009

Cash is King

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

My friend and colleague Nicola Goringe and I are running a seminar on the 18th of June all about cashflow – you might not think this is an exciting subject but read on……..

I am sure the nerves of presenting will kick in on the day but the reason for blogging about it is that, as well as enjoying a cup of coffee together, our planning session really brought home to both of us how important this area is. Trying to keep to our allotted timescale is going to be hard, especially as we are going to have a fun brainstorming session, and even a bit where people can get their hands dirty and practice with some numbers.

So what others bits will make it into the final session? Well there is a bit of a debate around some of the tax stuff, but the vanity of going for sales alone is definitely in there. How to take control of suppliers and payments is another great area and hopefully we are going to have time to make sure everyone understands the wealth of information contained on a balance sheet. I can feel myself getting all excited just thinking about it – ok, now I know I’m a sad accountant!

Check out the more serious and informative details here – www.fsb.org.uk/thamesvalley/info/events

Posted in Cashflow | No Comments »

Expenses

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

I don’t think there is a single person in the UK that doesn’t have a view on the MPs expenses scandal that is being exposed day by day.

As an accountant I have drawn up expense policies for several companies and, if I had drawn up one with as many loopholes as this one appears to have, I would be embarrassed to my core.

In every situation where I have drawn up an expense policy, in conjunction with the HR Manager, it has always been the case that claiming ineligible expenses would lead to disciplinary procedures and potentially dismissal.

Anyone who misdeclares tax, or perpetrates fraud against an employer, can expect to face prosecution and potentially jail.

I simply dont understand how they have got in this mess and expect that ’sorry’ is going to be enough to get them out of it. MPs are our employees and they should expect to behave and be treated as such.

Posted in The Economy | No Comments »

Thought for April – cash or profit

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Profitability is key for long term survival but, if any cashflow issues or opportunities aren’t identified and dealt with, a business may never get past the short term. Not all items that impact cashflow can be totally controlled but many can and should be.

You can’t depend on the weather to provide rain when required to get a good crop of vegetables – sometimes you have take control and water them yourself.

Don’t assume cash will take care of itself either – plan to take control, and even implement improvements that will provide long term benefits.

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

Links to free financial advise on cashflow management and the economic climate

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

‘Small businesses need all the help they can get at the moment and, if you can face trawling through all the available information, much of what is available is free. a-count-a-bility fundamentally believes in providing small businesses with the expert support they need (from a financial point of view). Clearly we need to make a living but if we can provide some quick guidance that saves small business owners having to pay us then that is fine too. So, here are two useful links that recently made it to my email and that I am happy to share:

http://www.creditmanagement.org.uk/berrguides.htm which focus on cashflow managements and

http://www.fsb.org.uk/default.aspx?id=7&loc=se which has some other thoughts relevant to the current economic climate.’

Posted in Cashflow, Cost Savings, The Economy | No Comments »