Boards in the corporate world are currently undergoing a change. When recruiting for directors, there is a new emphasis on finding people with geopolitical expertise, tech backgrounds and knowledge of ESG and sustainability. This is different from the past, when the most important qualification for a director was usually their financial track record. Traditionally, boards […]
Tag archives: outsourced financial management
Interest rates are up. Should you deposit your business’s spare cash?
I recently fielded a question from a cash-rich client which nearly knocked me for six. “Garry,” he asked me, “should I consider depositing our spare cash?” No one has asked me about depositing money in the bank for nearly 15 years! Interest rates have been so low, it simply hasn’t been an option. But in […]
Business owners in denial
In March 2020, a cartoon published in a Canadian newspaper went viral on social media. It showed a small city on an island. The speech bubble said: “Be sure to wash your hands and all will be well.” Meanwhile in the background two huge waves were threatening to drown the naïve residents: One labelled “Covid 19” and […]
Moving house is expensive. Who knew!?
I’m moving house shortly, to Gloucestershire. It’s the first time we’ve moved in over 30 years. So while this may not come as a huge surprise to you, I was somewhat taken aback to discover how expensive the whole operation was. Not just buying the house itself – that’s a given! But controlling all the […]
We can’t get the money out of our bank
Over the past week, you might have seen some headlines about the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). If you were tempted to skip over those items because it has very little to do with you, I understand. Still, there are a few lessons that business owners in the UK can learn from this […]
[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 […]
How to get ahead of your competition – by stealth
A few miles down the road from you, there’s another company very similar to yours. They’re in the same industry, offering a similar product to a similar customer base. There’s just one substantial difference. While your IT is all cutting-edge and up-to-date, they’re still working with computers from 2008. Now, from their point-of-view these machines […]
VHS accounting vs Netflix accounting – which do you use?
In December 1944, Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda retreated into a jungle on a small island in the Philippine archipelago, to hold off the American and Philippine troops. When the war ended, he noticed a lull in the fighting but didn’t realise the implications. And although he saw several American leaflets announcing the end of the […]
Out with the old…
The start of 2023 is, fittingly, all about new beginnings for me. After 35 years in the same house, Thelma and I are moving to Gloucestershire. We’ve always fancied slightly more rural surroundings, which will be slower and calmer than our Essex life – although we will be returning to Essex frequently for the business […]
