How to identify issues in your business before they get to a problem.
Wouldn’t it be useful to have a fortune teller, who can tell you where your business what issue your business will face in the future? With a bit of foresight - it’s a lot easier than you’d think to pre-empt mistakes and take preventative action before they happen. The good news is you don’t have to go to a gypsy fair to do so.
Too often we’re focused on reactive measures rather than being proactive - stopping the issue from happening in the first place. At Your CFO Partner we look closely at your business processes and work out if there is an extra step you can put into a process flow to pick up the issue before it become a problem and minimise the impact. Here are some pointers for how you can prevent errors in your business.
Ask what if?
It seems a negative approach to business, but you should always consider the worst-case scenario. Try to imagine any possible outcome of any decision and think about any snags that might ensue. No one can accurately predict the future, but with a bit of careful planning you can prevent mistakes before they happen. For example what if a job takes longer than your quote allows for, do you have enough margin to cover? What is a supplier stop providing product – do you have a back up supplier?
Track progress
Management reporting is so essential to be able to spot where a problem may lie. This must be linked to your expected performance (or your budget) and they must be monthly – reviewing your actual performance to your projected performance so you work out what is not working or what assumptions around your business are incorrect – this lead to corrective action before it comes a big problem. Any irregularities need to be recognised and researched before they turn into an issue. If sales are down on one product – find out why. If your power bill is up – find out why. It may seem silly to worry about things when business is going fine, but preventative action is way more cost-effective than not seeing this coming and having a much bigger issue such as running out of cash!
How can Your CFO Partner help fix problems in my business before they happen?
Your CFO Partner is your secret weapon to business financial success. We identify, provide and implement strategies to grow your business to full potential- making money, saving time and cutting costs in the process. We review processes, procedures, systems and finances. Then we look into capturing data and analytics and come up with a strategy to move forward, provide ongoing management reporting to track and work towards your goal over a period of time. We have a wealth of experience in financial and strategic management roles, across a broad range of industries. With more than 20 years’ worth of client testimonials to back us up!
Don’t wait for a problem to happen in your business – let Your CFO Partner help you today!