If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
Accurate financial planning is key to the success of any business. Let us help you in this pivotal role. With our experience and expertise we can help simplify what might appear to be a daunting or time consuming prospect.
Budgets
Budgets are an important management tool in planning the future for the business. They allow management to estimate the results of the business and assess the outcome of alternative strategies. Budgets allow management to monitor and track actual results against the budget. Variances against budgets can be identified and investigated. Corrective action by management may be undertaken promptly before any serious damage is incurred. If a sensible budget is prepared, a business can undertake proper tax planning, minimizing the impact of taxation and budgeting effectively for the payment of what is often a significant number. Nasty surprises can be nipped in the bud.
An accurate budget is therefore not only highly desirable, but essential. Let us help you set this up logically, based upon realistic assumptions and in a format consistent with the management and annual accounts.
Cashflows
Cash is king! There are many successful businesses reporting healthy profits but whose bank position is too tight for comfort. A lot of administrative time can be spent unnecessarily fending off unwanted phone calls from disgruntled creditors. The bank manager might be unsympathetic. Seasonal variations in trade can play havoc with the bank balance. Interest income might not be maximised and unauthorised or planned overdrafts might be very expensive. Investment opportunities might be missed because the cash isn’t there to finance it.
Again, let us help you prepare an accurate cashflow. We can identify the impact of seasonal trends and payment patterns on your bank balance. The bank manager is much more likely to respond favourably if he is given a credible cashflow forecast, prepared by an independent firm of qualified accountants.
Let us work with you to prepare this important management report.
Forecasts
How much are we going to make this year? Having prepared your budget at the beginning of the year, together with a cashflow, managers quite rightly want to know how all the variables in business are impacting them. Companies want to plan and build this procedure into the business timetable more than just once a year, when often assumptions they are forced to make are somewhat vague.
With the benefit of hindsight, Companies can take the actual results for the year to date and forecast ahead to the remainder of the year. Again this can be used for tax planning purposes, and allows management to make the correct decisions based upon accurate data.
Rolling forecasts can be prepared monthly, quarterly or at the half year stage.
Let our friendly professional staff help you with this. We will be happy to sit down and work through this with you.
Business plans
The Five year plan – This report documents the direction of the Company over the next three to five years. It describes management strategy and translates the effects of these in to forecast results. It is an important document which may be used by a variety of interested parties, including:
- Management
- Owners
- Staff
- Banks & other lenders
- Business partners
Like budgets and forecasts, the Business plan needs to be realistic, the assumptions upon which it is based clearly documented and the plan updated regularly to compare against actual results. Every one needs to ‘buy in to the plan.’ It therefore needs input from all parties and we will be pleased to help deliver not only a report, but a plan which can drive the business forward.
A Business plan should include the following:
- Summary – An overview of the business identifying key points of the plan.
- Business details – A review of the business activities, history and plan for the future.
- Marketing strategy – A review of the business market, competition and management strategy to exploit opportunities identified.
- Management and personnel structure – An analysis of the personnel required to implement the plan including key strengths, qualifications and any training or recruitment required.
- Financial forecast – A set of financial reports which translates the results of the plan in to a P&L A/C, Balance Sheet and Cashflow statement. The assumptions will be clearly stated.
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