Imagine ordering a take-out meal… …And when it arrives, getting upset because the chef didn’t use your preferred recipe, did not call you up to find out how spicy you like your food, and didn’t provide the nutritional information you’d prefer to see for the dish. It wouldn’t make any sense, would it? A take-out […]
Author archives: callum
[CASE STUDY] From long-term deficit to profit in just a year
“I wish my accountant was more proactive.” It’s one of the most frequent wishes expressed by business owners. If you feel the same way, you might know in your gut that something in your current relationship with your accountant is missing. Still, it might be hard to picture what a really close relationship with a […]
5 Years ago, I couldn’t do this…
Last Christmas, we received an unusual present from our kids… …A robot vacuum cleaner, who has since been christened “Robbie”. We keep it in our house in Wales, and it does an exceptionally good job. Each visit, before we leave, we can set Robbie to work and by the time we return, the floor is […]
I’m a grandad!
It gives me huge pleasure to interrupt my regular blogs on financial management for an important announcement… I’ve become a grandad for the first time! Baby Eve Rosemary Mumford arrived a few days ago, and mum, dad and baby are all doing well. Nana Thelma is in her element cooking, helping and knitting blankets and […]
7 clues your in-house accounting is broken
Years ago, we were invited to help rescue a distressed business, whose finances were extremely messy. Amongst other problems, we discovered that every time they wanted to raise a sales invoice, they had to go through 21 separate steps. They’d been working this way for years, and it didn’t seem at all strange to them… […]
The opposite of a fragile business is… (Not what you expect)
What’s the opposite of a business that is fragile? Until recently, I would have said a business that is resilient, and which is built to withstand shocks and turmoil. In fact, that’s been one of my themes over the past few weeks. As we gradually emerge from the Coronavirus restrictions, your business needs to spend […]
Don’t take any more financial decisions without one of these
I’m very interested in technology, so I find it hard to understand when my friends are not… But that is definitely the case with one of my oldest friends, “George”. He has no inner geek! But George is also a business owner, and although his company is not in the tech sector, it does rely […]
The Ultimate Compliment
Last week, a client of ours, Lesley Baliga, gave my team what I regard as the ultimate compliment. Working with us, she told me, meant that she never had to think about how her organisation’s finances were run, because it was simply so efficient. “It’s the kind of thing that’s high on your agenda when […]
Better Stay Closed
There was a sad piece in the Guardian last month, about the plight of restaurants in Australia[1]. Under the government’s plan, restaurants would be able to open up gradually – first welcoming 10 patrons, then 20, and finally 100. But while the plan was meant to be helpful, it meant that many of the more upscale restaurants […]
