Key commercial indicators..................

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Kong Hei Fat Choi to all my Chinese friends. May prosperity be with you all. Wishing you a Safe, Happy and Fulfilling Year of the Dragon.

Key Business Issues:

(Part III Following on from Blog 6 24/01/2012)

Commercial:

Amongst other things......

• Have you developed standard performance statistics for key indicators?
• What is the appropriate number of employees you should have given your level of turnover?

• Do you regularly perform variance analysis and seek explanations for variations?
• Is your budget realistic? Is your budget built form the ground up, or is it a top down analysis?
• How is performance reported and analysed?
• How do you treat your cost centers?
• How do you treat your profit centers?
• Is management involved in creating the budget? Do they have ownership of it? Are they both responsible and accountable for it?
• Is management adequately rewarded for performance and the attainment of corporate / divisional goals?

Cheers

James Law

0409 199 547

Kong Hei Fat Choy...........

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Kong Hei Fat Choi to all my Chinese friends. May prosperity be with you all. Wishing you a Safe, Happy and Fulfilling Year of the Dragon.

Key Business Issues:

(Part II Following on from Blog 6 18/01/2012)

Performance:

• Are you receiving meaningful financial information? Is it timely, thorough, succinct and pertinent?
• Is the nature of your performance reporting relevant to your business?
• What key reports should you be receiving and how frequently?
• What is the most efficient way for you to receive your reports?
• Have you got relevant KPI in place and being regularly reported on?

Compliance:

• Are your annual reports compliant with Australian Accounting Standards?
• Are all lodgements up to date?
• Are you compliant with all pertinent statutory requirements?
• If you are not compliant are you aware that this could trigger default clauses in some of your borrowing agreements?

In the next Blog we’ll look at Commercial issues.

Have a really Great Australia day everyone...............

 

Cheers

James Law

0409 199 547

KEY BUSINESS ISSUES.........

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Key Business Issues:

Many SME’s and middle market businesses suffer from similar problems. These are generally a lack of sufficient technical advice and oversight and key advisers being too lightweight and therefore not providing the right advice at the right time.

Most business are run by entrepreneurs who are excellent at their commercial specialty, but thoroughly dependent on others to provide them with the right technical and financial advice. As a consequence basically good businesses do not achieve what they should, and indeed some go broke. Amasingly this applies to most businesses up to and including middle market businesses turning over hundreds of millions of dollars per annum. 

Over the next couple of Blogs we will identify some of the issues you should consider:

Control & Measurement:

• Does your business have a professional business plan?
• Does your business plan include a comprehensive budget? Is your budget realistic?
• Is your budget a budget or a target? Do you have separate sales targets?
• What is the strategic direction of your business? Why?
• Can you define what business / market you are in?
• Are you aware of the key fundamentals of your business? How should you measure them and how do you maximize them?
• Do you have daily cash flow controls which interact with your cash flow budget?

In the next Blog we’ll look at Performance, Compliance, & Commercial issues.

GET YOUR BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS RIGHT IN 2012

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Recent Case Study………….

Mining services:

This business was a substantial mining services contractor which had been acquired by the local subsidiary of a major international conglomerate. Insufficient due diligence had been done during the acquisition, and many underlying faults with the business were missed. Additionally, there was insufficient preparation for the parent company to absorb the new subsidiary. As such when the merger occurred the systems were inadequate and key personnel did not cope. The result was that both parent and subsidiary went into major cash burn, and very nearly failed. We were called in to assist prepare financial year end accounts compliant for both local and overseas requirements. After discussions with management it became our role to assist with the group’s turnaround. Over 14 months the group was turned from a multi million dollar loss to a multi million dollar profit. Management and reporting systems were put in place, profit centre reporting was introduced, and the businesses went from major cash drains to secure, strong economic entities.

Hassle free, professional, on time, on budget, seamless. Outsource your finance and administration, or import the Etesian Group to help you optimize your results.

Cheers,

James Law

0409 199 547

WHAT ETESIAN CAN DO FOR YOU............

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Recent Case Study………….

Office furniture maker and interior design and fit out:

The client was a small group of companies which had been in business for some 40 plus years run by two partners. Essentially this was a (2) family business. The business had been successful over a long period of time. We discovered that as good as the partners were at their respective roles, and in spite of their ongoing strong sales and production, they did not properly understand their own financial performance. In short whilst they were truly excellent at their own roles, from a financial perspective they were accidental managers and profits occurred or did not seemingly without rhyme or reason.  

Sounds bad, but the simple reality is that this is the norm for the majority of SME’s. It doesn’t have to be. Over a period of 6 months, part time we reviewed historical results, put in place business plans, budgets, formal reporting guidelines, financial and other KPI, and assisted management understand its business. The result was a profit improvement of 250% and an enduring set of standards against which the business could be measured.

Hassle free, professional, on time, on budget, seamless. Outsource your finance and administration, or import the Etesian Group to help you optimize your results.

Cheers,

James Law

0409 199 547

AFFORDABLE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Do you get timely management reports on a monthly basis? What do they tell you about how your business is performing? Do you understand the key fundamentals behind your business?

If you are like most good business people you probably excel at your particular business field, but the financial aspects of the business usually don’t get the attention they deserve. Etesian provides part time CFO’s to help sort through the information and assist you better understand where your business is at, and what is possible for you and it to achieve. Affordable part time advice at a fraction of the cost. The difference between big businesses and SME’s is often the quality of the advice they receive. Now your business can compete on a level playing field without breaking the bank.

Hassle free, professional, on time, on budget, seamless. Outsource your finance and administration, or import the Etesian Group to help you optimize your results.

Good luck,

James Law

0409 199 547

AND SO ANOTHER YEAR STARTS!

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Our New Year got off to a good start, so long as we don’t count the loss of power in the kitchen. That was counteracted by Steve Guelfi from Stevlec coming out on New Years Day and fixing it. Wonderful service from a really nice guy. If you need a sparky please give Stevlec a go (0412 190 044).

I tweeted today “We may be masters of our own fate but we always have choices. I choose to do all in my power to make 2012 the best year possible. You?” The point being that 2012 will only be what we make of it. Whilst we cannot control every variable, effort is one of the most important keys. Two very worthwhile sayings people I greatly admire live by are:

·        “Keep knocking on the door, because eventually it will open”.

·        ESKI – Enthusiasm, Sincerity, Knowledge, Inexorable (being the relentless pursuit).

No matter how hard it gets, never give up. None of us have all the answers. We can only ever be the sum of our own training and experiences.

If you are worried about where your business is heading in 2012, or if you want to improve your results, give me a call or drop me a line. If I can’t help you, I will do my best to introduce you to someone who may be able to assist. The most successful businesses and people are the ones who recognise that they don’t have all the answers and so are willing to gather around them a strong group of advisers. Prime examples, being Apple and Microsoft. Clearly brilliant people with truly great ideas and products, however moving their businesses and products from start up to where they are now has been a truly monumental team effort. One would suggest the true genius has been the recruitment of great people that have made those businesses what they are today.

Have a great first day back at work for 2012 for those who have gone back today. For those that are not going back until next Monday, enjoy, repair and stay safe.

Best wishes, James Law

0409 199 547