What support does business need, where do they get it, when should they seek it?
CB: I’ve got to bang my ICAEW drum here. As chartered accountants we have a great reputation and influence in terms of how we can support businesses. We also have direct links to the Bank of England, to MPs, to HMRC.
So we need to know what is working for businesses, what more support they need, what does that look like, how that should be delivered. That can get fed back directly to government and other departments, communication is key.
Justin Kyriakou Mike Ward
JK: Businesses need to explore all the avenues. There are lots of people out there and lots of services to support businesses. If businesses can look to utilise them as much as possible then they’ll be in a much better position.
There is a support service out there. Reach out to your accountant, reach out to your business support advisors and make sure you’re having those conversations, because otherwise it’ll be too late.
AV: Quite often people look for support when things are going bad or there’s a problem, that’s probably the worst time to look for support because you’re not doing it from a proactive perspective. You’re doing it because you’ve got a real concern you’re trying to address.
Carl Meyler
but you’ve got to keep people posted, you can’t take them for granted.
MW: What typically happens going into choppy waters is that companies will batten down the hatches. They’ll maybe lose a few people; they will free up cash within the business. We saw some of that going into Covid but what happened then was those businesses that had done all the typical things of cutting back, reducing inventory, reducing people, the recovery was so strong and so quick they got their fingers burnt and couldn’t keep up with the recovery.
CM: You have to look at the long term and unless you have a clear strategy or as clear as it can be, and it is running right through the business with everyone engaged, you will suffer quite hard.
If you haven’t got a way of digitalising your business or thinking about how you can, you are missing opportunities.
Hamish Hamilton
HH: The other thing is engagement. Look inward, there are a lot of smart people out there whose brains aren’t being used.
MW: Keeping people engaged, keeping them motivated, keeping the link between leadership and the shop floor is critical to the success of the business and navigating whatever comes our way.
JK: You must be aware of communication coming from all the people within your organisation and make sure you’re giving a voice to those perceived as more junior or those coming through that you want to support to grow the business going forward.
KM: We spend an awful lot of time and effort making sure we’re communicating with the team, making sure that we’re monitoring their engagement, understanding how they’re feeling. They want to feel valued and engaged and if I want to have a business, I need to make sure that’s happened because they are this business.
Whether times are good or bad, businesses need a support infrastructure around them. We’ve talked about professional services but don’t neglect your network because it is essential. For business owners and leaders, having a peer-to-peer group is crucial.
MW: All businesses like certainty so we need clarity from government in terms of the energy cap. Having a pro-active finance department, adding value, is more important than ever and the support we can get from various accountants and advisors is very welcome.
NM: Successful business are the ones who haven’t buried their heads in the sand, they’re proactively taking time out to identify the problems they are facing or could face. They’re making business plans, budgets, forecasts and proactively going out there trying to manage their energy costs and things like that.
KM: If advisors are bringing challenge and experience to the table then that’s the key.
HH: They don’t need political ineptitude, political dogma and more uncertainty. What they should be looking at is how to recruit and retain the best talent.
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS CAN HELP TO SUPPORT YOU
We understand many small businesses will face a challenging winter. Find a chartered accountant near you.
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