Car mechanic, accountant – much the same thing. They do an important job, they’re the expert in their field, you don’t really know what they do but you know you can’t do it yourself.
Running a business creates a skill-set which is transferable, but rarely do we see people transfer these skills in to business no. 2 and business no. 3. What a waste!
Michael Austin, MD of Blue Dot, talks about the type of work we like to do, the skill-set required by a good finance director and how to change your accountant and choose a good one.
The interim or part-time Finance Director option works well because it is quick to implement and it recognises that once the problems are solved you can go back to a lower-cost level of resource which will consistently get the right job done in the future.
The business banking director was a joy to meet and certainly not the “Business Bank Manager from Central Casting” that we see all too often. And then don’t see at all.
Slower and more expensive is to send invoices by post. In the 21st century it’s difficult to understand why companies do this.
The January 31 deadline for filing your personal tax return is only days away as I write this and we’re down to the last half-dozen that need to be finalised and submitted. The common link among the last half-dozen is that most of the them have more tax to pay than they expected.
Poor quality accountants are like KGB sleepers, you may not know that you have got one until it’s too late.
Your management accounts should be shared across your business as far as necessary to ensure that actions to improve profits and cashflow and reduce costs and risk can be taken as soon as possible.
It also reminded me that it can be daft to make decisions primarily for tax reasons. Putting the tax cart in front of the business horse is the wrong way to run a business.
