Financial
Control Assured!
Freelance finance directors, plugging the gap between your book-keeper and your accountant.
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Better Financial Information
Ask yourself these questions:
With the right accounting package and properly trained staff this information should be available to you in real time. You should not have to wait until a few months after your year end for your accounts, or take your staff away from their day to day tasks to produce special reports for you. If you think your Management Information Systems need to be improved we will work with you in the following ways: Reviewing and improving your accounting system
As your business grows and becomes more complex, your accounting and reporting systems need to reflect these changes. The system you put in place when you started the business may not be able to cope with your current or future needs. We’ll help you to identify the information you need to run your business effectively. We will then look at your current systems to see which of your information requirements are being met. We will then make recommendations as to how your current system can be better utilised – there may be functions that are not being fully utilised, or additional reports that should be created. If at this stage we feel that your system cannot cope with the medium-term needs of the business we will tell you so, and will investigate alternatives for you. You will be presented with a report stating the advantages and disadvantages of each of the suitable systems, so that you have all the information you need to make a fully informed decision. Having identified a suitable system we’ll first test it with real data from your business to make absolutely sure it meets your requirements before you commit to purchasing it. We’ll then help you and your staff to implement the new system. This will include organising training, writing a procedures manual and developing reports. Identifying and measuring your key performance indicators (KPIs) In every business there are key things that have to happen in order for it to meet its targets and goals. Using a series of "drill down" questions we will help you to identify these. The next step will be to set up the systems and procedures to enable the necessary information to be collected quickly and accurately. Just by putting a small number of measures in place you will find you have greater control over your business. You, and all of your staff, will become focused on the really important things without adding greatly to your workload. Financial Forecasts When running a business it is important to have an idea of what the financial future holds. You need to know what your business has to achieve in order to pay its bills, what sales and profit targets need to be met, and how much money if any, you will have available to invest in the future. Financial forecasts for the next one to three years will give you this information and more. They will help you to plan for the future, set targets and monitor progress. We start the process by collecting together financial information from your business for current and previous years, to identify where you are now, and any trends in your business. The next stage is to discuss your plans with you, and your expectations for the business. You will be familiar with the market place you are operating in and will have your own predictions of what is likely to happen in the next twelve months. The data collected so far will enable us to prepare forecasts which deal with what is likely to happen in your business. They are not prepared on the basis of "take last year’s figures and add a bit" or to a generic formula. Trying to predict the future is always a difficult task. To help we will prepare forecasts based on several different scenarios, showing what might happen if you don't quite meet your targets. What will the forecasts cover? Cash Flow Forecast – showing the money expected to flow in and out of the business on a monthly basis. Profit and Loss Forecast – showing the expected profit of the business again on a month by month basis. Balance Sheet Forecast – a snap shot of the business at the end of each month, showing its assets, liabilities and reserves. Getting maximum value from the forecasts Having had the forecasts prepared, the business needs to use them, not just put them in a drawer for a year until it is time to start the process again. We will help you and your staff to set up a system, and reports, to compare the actual performance of the business each month against the forecasts. Measuring the performance of your business in this way will give you ongoing information which you can act upon quickly. If you would like to find out more about ways in which we can help you please contact us to arrange a free, no obligation meeting by telephoning 01908 258823 or send an e-mail.
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Better Financial Information
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Businesses in the twenty first century need to be able to
react quickly if they are to maintain a competitive advantage. Unless you have
accurate, up to date information about how your business is performing, you may
find that you are unable to make key decisions because you simply don’t know how profitable your business is,
or if you can afford to
expand or employ more staff.
As a business owner you need accurate financial information,
but you don’t want to be deluged with a mass of reports landing on your desk
every week or month. What you want is important information presented to you in
an easy to read format that allows you to see what is happening in your
business. © FCA Solutions Ltd 2007