Watching the outside world go by?

There was an interesting article in the weekend papers asking how many private investors had heard from their financial advisors during the stock market turmoil of the past week or so. Not many I would wager. Indeed it would be interesting to know how many advisors of any kind had been systematically reviewing the impact on their clients’ businesses of the recent economic and social developments.

One of the benefits of working with an external advisor, such as a part time FD, should be that they are able to bring information and perspectives that those who are working on or in their business full time don’t get. I frequently get asked by clients about what is happening in the world outside their business, and what changes they may need to make as a result.

Having said all of that, how do you manage a situation where the FTSE can go from 2% down on the day to 3% in a couple of hours? The big temptation is to sit tight, hope that it will all blow over, and that everything will turn out well in the end. Nonetheless it is difficult to balance wondering about the impact of current events with maintaining focus on the medium to long term goals of the business.

Based on recent events I have advised clients trading overseas that managing their currency exposure has become even more important, that the riots are a timely reminder to check insurance policies and cover levels, and that a thorough review of all clients and suppliers, including credit checking, would help to minimise any negative impact.

With the constant talk of deficits, cuts, debts and global imbalances, it is easy to become despondent and tread water waiting for better news to begin to come through. It is worth noting that many large corporates remain in a strong financial position.

However should financial Armageddon ultimately occur I suspect there is little anybody will be able to do about it. For advisors and managers alike it all comes down to managing what you can, being as good as you can, and keeping focussed on the bigger picture of what you are trying to do, whilst always of course looking for opportunities or dealing with the risks that present themselves in the short term.

Trust me – I’m an accountant

A number of surveys over the past few years have indicated that accountants remain many business’ most trusted advisors. This is something that we as finance directors take pride in of course, although it does not make us complacent.

However the reaction to the recent survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, which suggests that confidence among business professionals has moved into positive territory for the first time in two years, thus indicating that the UK economy may well be showing signs of recovery, seems to have taken this trust to new levels, with the stock market rising to new year on year highs last week.

It seems that politicians, bankers and economists can chunter on as much as they like about future economic prospects, but it is humble beancounters rather than these masters of the universe that are most effective in moving markets.

So does this mean that the recession is over?

Well to misappropriate a well worn phrase, this may not be the beginning of end or even the end of beginning (there are still some nasty macro issues out there, such as the banks willingness and ability to lend, the need to rein in government spending and increase taxes to reduce the ballooning public sector deficit and the lagging indicator that is unemployment), but if there is a chance that some confidence is returning to the economy, it might just provide the encouragement needed by those business owners and managers who have been frustrated by their relative inaction since the start of the year, and who want to start moving things forward again in the last third of the year.

Now that would be an achievement for us beancounters to be proud of.

Antony Doggwiler

Everybody Needs Help Sometimes

Talking to lots of businesses, as I do in my line of work, their problems and issues currently seem to fall into the following categories.

• We are doing badly – we are being screwed by the economic conditions, government, market, customers, suppliers, bank (tick those that apply). We are not sure that we can survive.
• We are doing OK – it’s not brilliant, and it’s a struggle sometimes, but we are coping with the current situation and looking at how to develop our business to take advantage of the upturn when it comes
• We are doing really well – we are almost apologetic about the fact, as if we should not be doing so well in the current climate, but we are, and we now need to take out business to the next level.

All of the businesses above have one thing in common, even if they won’t admit it. They need help. More importantly they need help and advice from people who are not working in the business.

Yes I know this seems like vested self interest and I can hear you all shouting out “hey, he would say that wouldn’t he”. External advisors, be they called consultants, professional service providers or non-executive directors often get a bad press, some of which is definitely deserved.

We often read about poorly managed consultancy projects that cost far more that was originally envisaged and do not deliver what was promised.

And yet on the whole external advisors do their utmost to provide the best service they can to their clients and add as much value as possible. There are good and bad advisors in the same way that there are good and bad businesses. The key, as in any business relationship, is to get things right from the start, which means proper planning, careful selection and managed expectations on all sides.

External advisors do not need to be expensive. For example, Business Link is a good source of free basic advice. However, even they will still refer you to their supplier matching system for more specialised in depth advice. Also, like all businesses at present, advisors are having to be imaginative, and there are some good deals around at present, such as the Orchard FD for £12k promotion. However it needs to be borne in mind that they need to eat, pay the mortgage and pay for their own training and development to maintain service levels, so sides need to be reasonable when negotiating an agreement.

There is a tendency for businesses to believe they know it all, or can do it all, which is often based on cost and cash considerations. However too many businesses are being held back by not getting the right advice at the right time.

With a clear written agreement and identified deliverables, an external advisor could be a very worthwhile investment, even in these troubled times. Give it a go – you might be pleasantly surprised!

Antony Doggwiler