James Law’s - Etesian Group
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
Is your business
underperforming?
Do you /
have you had issues with key staff members?
Most under performing businesses have (at least)
three things in common:
·
under performing
staff
·
ineffective
reporting
·
inadequate
management oversight
The net effect can be catastrophic with fallout
giving rise to:
·
diminished
enterprise value
·
credit
impacted
·
staff
dissatisfaction
·
poor
(or non existent) statutory compliance
·
adverse
taxation implications.
Let’s be candid. There is no such thing as a
perfectly run business! Without doubt every business could improve in some
(various) ways. The distinction however is that many businesses seriously need
to improve in a great many ways. This applies to businesses of all sizes and
types. Particularly SME’s and middle market enterprises.
Most CEO’s and entrepreneurs rely in their
internal advice to run the company. If that advice is lacking or asleep at the
wheel, disasters can and do occur. The reality is that if the CEO is doing his
job well, it is often hard for him to detect whether another key employee is
not. He / she may simply be too busy. Additionally if that CEO has no technical
background such as accounting or law, they will often not be aware of what they
are missing simply because they do not have a background in those areas. It is
also noteworthy that audits are not tailored to detect such things and may only
pick up some shortcomings under certain circumstances.
What checks and balances exist
within your business?
When was the last time you had a
professional consultant perform an in depth review of your business?
Once upon a time auditors reviewed companies
internal systems, (not merely IT systems) for weaknesses and shortcomings.
These days this does not seem to happen. Management often does not know if it
has compliance or tax issues. It is very easy for key people in SME’s to keep
such things hidden. Furthermore such questions are often not asked at
management or Board meetings. Why not? Most businesses lack the ability to
prepare effective reports, let alone identify and report on essential KPI and
compliance issues.
The issue becomes one of “Who is
overseeing the key staff such as the accountant?”
Many businesses do not have regular reviews by
outside consultants to ensure things are as they should be. Far too few employ
experienced part time CFO’s to advise and provide oversight and strategic
advice. Inevitably this is considered a waste of money, yet the same businesses
employ business coaches and or spend large amounts of money on un-quantifiable
promotions. Why?
Most businesses measure growth in
terms of sales growth. Unfortunately we often see businesses grow frenetically and go belly up
because they were unprofitable. More often we see businesses grow, but profit
grows at a much lower rate. This is often uneconomical and the money spent
chasing sales has been wasted. If some of that money had been spent ensuring
profit maximization and compliance the businesses owners would have been much
better off.
The purpose of any business and its
associated strategies is to increase shareholder value (equity)! In so doing profit and capital
value / return are maximised. Enterprise
How is this achieved? By ensuring all the right checks
and balances exist. By formalizing the business and having effective and timely
reporting covering all relevant areas including performance, assets, KPI and
compliance. Most of all this is achieved by having independent eyes review the
business, its performance, processes and compliance thereby significantly increasing
managements ability to ensure the business performs in all respects as it
should.
Remember, only the most professional
businesses survive in the long run!
Contact James Law on 0409 199 547 or
at james.law@etesiangroup.com.au
today to discuss how best a review might be implemented within your business.
Cheers
James Law
0409 199
547
