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Best practices and effective ways to generate, understand and act upon key financial information.
Curated by
Fatima Patova
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Fatima Patova's insight:
Business runs on credit. Mortgages, auto loans and credit cards make the "good life" we otherwise could not afford possible. Banks borrow too on a daily basis from each other or their central bank. The latter sets the baseline interest rates every other interest rate adds on to. Its rates control the amount of money in circulation at any given time. Raise them and the money supply shrinks; lower them and it expands. "Tight" money slows economic activity down; "loose" money speeds it up. The decision to do either comes after careful deliberation about what monetary policy a central bank should pursue given prevailing economic conditions.
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Fatima Patova's insight:
After my brief stint into the world of McDonalds, I decided to learn about what I thought was another franchise, but a more modern one:Starbucks. Turns out I was mistaken and it is not a franchise at all. Instead, the company is immensely vertically integrated for one purpose alone, maintaining perfect quality throughout the value-chain. At least that’s what its founder, Howard Schultz, claims in his book ‘Pour Your Heart Into It.’ I agree that when you have a globally orientated company, with both suppliers all around the world and coffee-shops now too, and you are selling a premium product, that this is a good strategy.
How did Starbucks get this way? Its organisational structure is ingrained in the strange history of the company. It originally started as a roaster and retailer of coffee-beans, when Schultz joined the company as a young salesman. He later left it to pursue his real passion, setting up coffee-shops, and a few years later returned to buy Starbucks the company, including the name. Had he not succeeded, his strategy of expansion may well have been very different. In business, you’ll often come across the concept of transaction costs, or the make-or-buy decision. Transaction cost theory stipulates that you should keep the things in-house that constitute your core-competencies, and outsource those that do not. In other words, make it yourself versus buy it externally. In the case of Starbucks, the core-competencies is quality coffee which sells at premium prices. To them, it is vital to own the components and have the people that create this quality.
Being vertically integrated is both rewarding and risky. One the negative side, you have a lot of dependancies and there is a great risk of stagnancy in a dynamic market-place. The more people you have working for you and the more business-units you have to manage, the higher the complexity level and the more layers are necessary in a command-structure. Therefore everything happens much slower and is also much more expensive.
The best way to circumvent that is to focus on your core-values and the bottom-line. If your core-value is high quality coffee, you can also charge higher prices for it, off-setting some of the costs of vertical integration. But similarly, it pays off to slim down the complexity, make the process of creating your product as (cost-)efficient as possible.
And by controlling the value-chain, you can essentially control the experience, maintain the level of quality much better than if you are dependant on external partners. This is especially an issue in the world of coffee, where you would frequently deal with suppliers in developing nations with varying standards of quality. Starbucks does not grow its own coffee, but it does keep its buyers awfully close to those that do. Similarly, other industries like IT or retail face similar concerns. Do we hire programmers elsewhere or train them ourselves? So why doesn’t a company like McDonalds integrate vertically? On a virtual level, you could say they do. They have created McDonalds university, which offers training to franchisees, in order to share the same values throughout the company-name. They keep their R&D in-house, but share the results throughout the virtual chain. They advertise on a national and regional level. And they maintain good relationships with suppliers to buywhat they call premium-products at far-less-than premium prices.
As the last sentence suggests, that is perhaps where the difference lies. The core-value of McDonalds is not the same as that of Starbucks. The first started with offering hamburgers for $ 0.15, now around $1; the latter offered premium beans and later coffee for $3.50. This is again a superficial observation, but higher prices translate into a higher budget for quality. Just like Apple maintains high margins for it’s hardware, vs. other PC-makers, it can offer a higher quality of design and customer service than most of its competitors. Similarly, Starbucks can focus on training the best people, buying the best equipment, run innovative marketing campaigns and strategies. And it can afford to be vertically integrated. Delete the scoop?
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Think of return on capital employed (ROCE) as the Clark Kent of financial ratios. Most investors don’t take a second look at a company’s ROCE, but savvy investors know that, like Kent’s alter ego, ROCE has a lot of muscle. In fact, ROCE can help investors see through growth forecasts, and it can often serve as a reliable measure of corporate performance. In this article we'll reveal the true nature of ROCE and how to calculate and analyze it. Read on to find out how this often overlooked ratio can be a superhero when it comes to calculating the efficiency and profitability of a company's capital investments.
Defining ROCE = Profit Before Interest and Taxation / Capital Employed
The numerator, or the return, includes the profit before tax, exceptional items, interest and dividends payable. These items are located on the income statement. The denominator, the capital employed, is the sum of all ordinary and preferred-share capital reserves, all debt and finance lease obligations, as well as minority interests and provisions. These items are all found on the balance sheet. The denominator shows how much capital is being employed in the operation of the business. (For further reading, see Reading The Balance Sheet and Understanding The Income Statement.)
What Does ROCE Say?
ROCE in Relation to the Cost of Borrowing
Some Guidelines for Analyzing ROCE Global Cloud Computing - 30 Days FREE
Things to be Aware Of Consider a firm that has turned a profit of $15 on $100 capital employed, or 15% ROCE. Of the $100 capital employed, let’s say $40 was cash it recently raised and has yet to invest into operations. If we ignore this latent cash in hand, the capital is actually around $60. The company’s ROCE, then, is a much more impressive 25%. Furthermore, there are times when ROCE may understate the amount of capital employed. Conservatism dictates that intangible assets - such as trademarks, brands and research and development - are not counted as part of capital employed. Intangibles are too hard to value with reliability, so they are left out. Nevertheless, they still represent capital employed. Conclusion Delete the scoop?
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Capitalizing a company doesn't just happen in the beginning. Every company, new ones and operating ones, must deal with capitalizing issues. Especially the successful ones, because success begets growth, and growth requires capital. If your company needs capital, as the owner, you are the one who has to get it. Delete the scoop?
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KEY POINTS IN COST FORECASTING: 1. Cost Estimation - process of determining cost behaviour, often focusing on historical data. 2. Cost Behavior - relationship between cost and activity. 3. Cost Prediction - using knowledge of cost behavior to forecast level of cost at a particular activity. Focus is on the future.
RELEVANT RANGE The relevant range is the range of activity within which managers expect a company to operate and within which managers can predict cost behavior with some certainty.
COST PREDICTION Having ascertained the cost behavior, cost prediction can be made. Segregating into fixed and variable costs is a must before many cost prediction or forecasting techniques can be used such as: (i) accounting method, (ii) high low method, (iii) linear regression (iv) curvilinear regression
ANNUAL COMPOUND GROWTH RATE Annual growth rate is widely used in cost prediction as in large number of cases where the growth or decline is gradual.
HIGH LOW METHOD A case where cause and effect relation is certain, one can use High low method. *Determine high and low cost/units produced and divide cost by units produced. This should give you cost for producing one unit in various years. If such a cost is identical, we would say that it is fixed. If the unit rates is not uniform, the relevant cost is partly variable and partly fixed. *Find difference between high and low costs and units produced and divide one by another to determine Rate Per Unit. *The fixed part can be segregated and a cost formula can be arrived as: Total Cost = Fixed Cost +(Numbers of Units Produced x Rate Per Unit).
LINEAR REGRESSION Linear Regression is a powerful tool for forecasting. It uses a formula i.e Y = a + bX which is the same as described in High Low Method. The difference is that How-Low is a crude way which cares for only the highest and the lowest. The linear regression takes into account each and every figure, calculate average and standard deviations and only then processes it further.
CURVILINEAR REGRESSION Curvilinear is a much advance tool which takes into more than one factors. Let us taken an example: Suppose a university has enrolled 30 fresh students for 2-year MBA program. The university is interested to know what would be GPA of each student at the end. It would decided on factors or causes effecting GPA, the dependent variables and may would arrive at the following equation: Y = a + bX + cW + dZ + E, where Y= GPA, bX= Weighted Average of Marks in Matric, Intermediate and Graduation, cW is marks in Aptitude Test and dZ is Interview score while E is error factors based previous actual GPA and predicted GPA.
TASK ANALYSIS When past data is not available and some one wants to how how much 100 chairs would cost, one can resort to task analysis whereby a item would be broken into its components, each component would be measured and its cost obtained from the market sources. This is called bottom up approach. (On the contrary, in bottom-down approach, an estimated is obtained from experts to total budget and later is it is distributed to various factors. One may want to know how much a university for 2,500 students would cost. The experts can tell us that it would cost around Rs. 350 million. This amount can be split into land, building, laboratories, libraries and play grounds etc based on past pattern or proportion ( land to be 20% of total cost) to be given by the same experts.
ACCOUNTING CLASSIFICATION METHOD An accountant studies the past records and classifies each cost component into fixed, variable, semi variable, step fixed and step variable. One this done, fixed component is extracted from semi-variable, step-fixed and step variable. This leaves only two components i.e. fixed and variable. Later, same approach as in Linear Regression can be adopted.
VISUAL FIT METHOD This is graphical presentation where a pattern can be noted and extend for prediction.
CONCLUSION An understanding cost behavior helps manager in anticipation of changes in cost when there is a change in their activities like production, sales, inventory pile up etc. It provides good assistance in planning, cost management and decision making.
A number of behavior patterns exist ranging from fixed to variable and from linear to curvilinear. Many cost predictions techniques are used to forecast sales and costs or any other factor. Delete the scoop?
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Getting paid on time is essential to minimising cash flow problems, especially for new businesses. Here are seven simple techniques to help you avoid cash flow roadblocks.
1. Be paid in advance 2. Only send correct invoices 3. Communicate with both customer and the person who pays 4. Snail mail your invoices 5. Make paying easy 6. Receive and check payments vigilantly 7. Get tough on repeat offenders Via Steve Cassady Delete the scoop?
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The investment is usually in the form of stocks whereby profits are in the form of capital gains or dividends. The investor considers equity investment as a long-term strategy of maximizing his wealth. The investor recovers his money only when he sells his shares to others.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Equity Investments
There is no interest charged on the committed fund and if required, knowledge and skill of the investors is an added advantage for the firm. The investor has an opportunity for a higher return on the principal sum rather than investing in a bank. The main disadvantages of equity investments are some loss in control of management to the firm and a considerable risk factor for the investor.
Equity Investment Instruments
*Common Stock is where the investor holds some shares of the company and earns money as dividends, which is not a guarantee. It is a risky venture but possible to make higher returns on equity investment in a short duration.
*Buying Preferred Stock is a more stable equity investment with no power in decision-making. Dividends are regular and independent of the market. The dividends may be predetermined or floating.
*Warrants are unique such that common stock is available at a specific price during a stipulated time-period. If is not purchased, it will become worthless and will return higher dividends when bought.
*Convertible Debt is a bond without collateral that is exchanged for common stock. These debentures are priced at rates lower than stock-prices.
*Equity line of credit is similar to bank line of credit. It is a commitment by the investor to purchase common stock over a period of time. The firm has the benefits of flexibility, control, security, speed and market timing. The major advantage to the investor is he pays a discounted rate for the stocks.
*Sales of restricted shares refer to stock of the company that may be transferred to another person only after meeting certain criteria.
Checklist for Investors before making an equity investment
*An impressive business plan that is detailed and accurate. *Return on investment and the time duration. *Details on the limited control after investing.
Conclusion
Equity investments meet the fund requirements of an organization. Here, the investor realizes equity instead of the traditional interest on the capital amount. Businesses must be convinced that equity investment is the right finance option before they finally decide upon. This is because the process is cumbersome and the management may lose some control of their power to the investor. On the other hand, the investor gains high returns only if the company performs well; the proposition is risky.
There are mutual benefits if the business plan is sound, the top management is performance-oriented and the investor can share his investment and expertise for the growth of the company. Delete the scoop?
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A few years back, I interviewed some of the most successful CEOs in the world in order to discover their management secrets. I learned that the "best of the best" tend to share the following eight core beliefs.
1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield. Average bosses see business as a conflict between companies, departments and groups.
Extraordinary bosses see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive. They naturally create teams that adapt easily to new markets and can quickly form partnerships with other companies, customers ... and even competitors.
2. A company is a community, not a machine. Average bosses consider their company to be a machine with employees as cogs. They create rigid structures with rigid rules and then try to maintain control by "pulling levers" and "steering the ship."
Extraordinary bosses see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire employees to dedicate themselves to the success of their peers and therefore to the community–and company–at large.
3. Management is service, not control.
Average bosses want employees to do exactly what they're told. They're hyper-aware of anything that smacks of insubordination and create environments where individual initiative is squelched by the "wait and see what the boss says" mentality.
Extraordinary bosses set a general direction and then commit themselves to obtaining the resources that their employees need to get the job done. They push decision making downward, allowing teams form their own rules and intervening only in emergencies.
4. My employees are my peers, not my children.
Average bosses see employees as inferior, immature beings who simply can't be trusted if not overseen by a patriarchal management. Employees take their cues from this attitude, expend energy on looking busy and covering their behinds.
Extraordinary bosses treat every employee as if he or she were the most important person in the firm. As a result, employees at all levels take charge of their own destinies.
5. Motivation comes from vision, not from fear.
Average bosses see fear - of getting fired, of ridicule, of loss of privilege - as a crucial way to motivate people. As a result, employees and managers alike become paralyzed and unable to make risky decisions.
Extraordinary bosses inspire people to see a better future and how they'll be a part of it. As a result, employees work harder because they believe in the organization's goals, truly enjoy what they're doing and (of course) know they'll share in the rewards.
6. Change equals growth, not pain.
Average bosses see change as both complicated and threatening, something to be endured only when a firm is in desperate shape. They subconsciously torpedo change ... until it's too late.
Extraordinary bosses see change as an inevitable part of life. While they don't value change for its own sake, they know that success is only possible if employees and organization embrace new ideas and new ways of doing business.
7. Technology offers empowerment, not automation.
Average bosses adhere to the old IT-centric view that technology is primarily a way to strengthen management control and increase predictability. They install centralized computer systems that dehumanize and antagonize employees.
Extraordinary bosses see technology as a way to free human beings to be creative and to build better relationships. They adapt their back-office systems to the tools, like smartphones and tablets, that people actually want to use.
8. Work should be fun, not mere toil.
Average bosses buy into the notion that work is, at best, a necessary evil. They fully expect employees to resent having to work, and therefore tend to subconsciously define themselves as oppressors and their employees as victims. Everyone then behaves accordingly.
Extraordinary bosses see work as something that should be inherently enjoyable–and believe therefore that the most important job of manager is, as far as possible, to put people in jobs that can and will make them truly happy. Delete the scoop?
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Turnover, sales, revenue, fee income - whatever you care to call the top line - doesn't matter in finance terms.
It's what you get to keep after covering the costs that matters and most important of all, how much money is in the bank.
In big business, where ownership and management is separated, there are huge issues.
The senior managers are driven by emotion and being CEO of a big business boosts the ego so much more than being the CEO of a smaller business, even if the small business is making more money.
You will hear "I am the CEO (or MD) of a £25 million turnover electrical wholesale business." What you won't hear is "I am the CEO of a £25 million turnover electrical wholesale business and we are losing £800k per year."
DON'T FALL INTO THE EGO TRAP!
It's profit and cash that matter. So remember: "Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity but cash is reality" OR "Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity but cash is king" Delete the scoop?
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If you want a good chuckle you can always turn to a S&P stock report. Take for example their recent research report on Netflix. Right at the top of the report they blessed the stock with a "Buy" rating and slapped a 12-month price target of $135 on it. Who can complain with a 17% gain? Looks like it's time to buy! Oh wait, what is this?
"Analysis of the stock's current worth, based on S&P's proprietary quantitative model suggests that NFLX is overvalued by $48.24 or 41.9%"
Gotta love it! So on the one hand their analyst is saying 'Buy" because with a price target of $135 it is 17% undervalued. Then your later being told that, by the way, our "proprietary quantitative model" says you should lose about 42% listening to that Analyst. Delete the scoop?
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Lower earning rates ease the pain of sharing your investment income with the IRS. Learn more at Bankrate.com. Delete the scoop?
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Small businesses are increasingly being asked to share their management accounts with suppliers following requests from trade credit insurers, research has shown.
More than 670,000 small and medium-sized firms were asked to provide their manaccs to suppliers in the last 24 months.
77% of small and medium-sized businesses were able to secure trade credit or extend existing credit facilities over the past two years after complying with such a request.
More than 47,000 had credit facilities cancelled or denied after refusing to share financial information.
“Insurers and businesses are adopting new strategies for financial risk mitigation to ensure they minimise their exposure to bad debt and defaulted payment,” Delete the scoop?
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Conventional financial risk management products are viewed as non-shariah-compliant, which means that such products are not available to Islamic investors.
A number of structures of shariah-compliant financial risk management products are available in the marketplace, all based around a murabaha sale structure.
Contracts which involve speculation (maisir) are not permissible (haram) and are considered void. Islamic law does not prohibit general commercial speculation, but it does prohibit speculation which is akin to gambling, i.e. gaining something by chance rather than productive effort.
The payment and receipt of interest (riba) are prohibited, and any obligation to pay interest is considered void. Islamic principles require that any return on funds provided by the lender be earned by way of profit derived from a commercial risk taken by that lender.
To ensure adherence to these underlying principles, most banks that sell Islamic products have a board of shariah scholars (or will appoint a shariah scholar on a product-by-product basis) to ensure that bank’s (or product’s) compliance with the Islamic precepts.
Before structuring or entering into an Islamic financial risk management product, consider the following points: 1.What is the commercial objective of the transaction—i.e. what position should the parties be in on a trade date and at the end of the transaction? Does the Islamic structure reflect this? 2.Which structure is more suitable considering the costs and the risks involved? This may be determined more by the shariah board of the financial institution involved than by commercial preference. 3.How should the trade be documented? Who will be carrying out the day-to-day mechanics of the underlying trades, and will they understand the documentation? Conventional financial risk products are often based on ISDA documentation and are carried out by bankers without recourse to lawyers. 4.What jurisdiction are you dealing in, and will the documentation be enforceable? What is the situation on insolvency? This will have to be considered when drafting the close-out or unwind mechanics. Delete the scoop?
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Fatima Patova's insight:
Buying back shares can be a sensible way for companies to use extra cash. But in many cases, it's just a ploy to boost earnings and, even worse, a signal that the company has run out of good ideas. This means that investors can't afford to take buybacks at face value. Find out how to examine whether a buyback represents a strategic move by a company or a desperate one. When Buybacks Work A share buyback happens when a company purchases and retires some of its outstanding shares. This can be a great thing for shareholders because after the share buyback, they will own a bigger portion of the company, and therefore a bigger portion of its cash flow and earnings. One of the reasons given for taking on increased debt to fund a share buyback is that it is more efficient because interest on debt is tax deductible, unlike dividends. However, debt has to be repaid at some time. Remember, what gets a company into financial difficulties is not lack of profits, but lack of cash. Delete the scoop?
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Historical Background on the ROCE (Return On Capital Employed) Ratio
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The net worth of a business may be referred to as the amount of equity owners have in the company, or the book value of the business. The net worth of your company can be calculated by determining the amount of money left over if you were to sell all assets and pay off all liabilities, as explained by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website. Your company’s net worth can be calculated using the accounting equation that states that assets equal liabilities plus shareholders’ equity. This equation can be changed to state that shareholders’ equity equals assets minus liabilities. Delete the scoop?
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Generally under-capitalization denotes the inadequacy of capital; i.e., the shortage of capital. It is a condition when the real value of the company based on its earnings is more than the book value. A company is said to be under-capitalized when its actual capitalization is lower than its proper capitalization as warranted by its earning capacity. In the words of Hoagland, "Under-capitalization is an excess of true asset values over the aggregate of stocks and bonds outstanding.
In the words of Charles W. Gerstenberg, "A corporation may be undercapitalized when the rate of profits ti is making on the total capital is exceptionally high in relation to the return enjoyed by similarly situated companies in the same industry, or when it has too little capital with which to conduct its business." Sometimes a company, on the face of it, may have insufficiency of capital but it may have large secret reserves or its promoters might have under-estimated it his situation will not be treated as Under-capitalization. In short, under-capitalization is a state of affairs when the actual capital is short of the requirements of the company. Causes of Under-capitalization: There may be a number of causes of under-capitalization. However, the main causes of under-capitalization are": (i) Under-estimation of earnings; (ii) Under-estimation of capital requirement; (iii) Promotion of company during the period of depression; (iv) Unforeseen increase in earnings, such as, during boom period, the company will find itself under-capitalized when its earnings exceed the increase in the amount of capital employed; (v) Conservative dividend policy of the company; (vi) Sound financial management with high efficiency; (vii) Tight conditions in the money market. Merits of Under-capitalization: The main advantages/ merits of under-capitalization are: (i) Creation of secret reserves, (ii) Higher rate of dividend, (iii) Rapid increase in the prices of shares in the stock exchange; (iv) Symptom of economic prosperity of the company; (v) Increase in the rate of profits of the company; (vi) Shares can be sold easily. Evils/ Demerits/ Disadvantages of Under-capitalization: The evils of under capitalization are: (i) Wide fluctuation in the prices of shares etc., (ii) Increase in competition, (iii) Increase in speculative activities, (iv) Increase in opportunities for manipulation by management, (v) Industrial relations tend to be strained, (vi) Dissatisfaction amongst consumers, they feel they are being exploited by the company, (vii) Increase in the tax burden of the company, (viii) Increased Government interference etc. Delete the scoop?
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On the page: Descriptions of various types of trend, and an exercise. Instructions: Look at the graphs and read the descriptions. Important vocabulary is in bold. Then do the exercise.
Vocabulary: *dramatically - a lot *fluctuated - moved up and down *gradually - slowly *jumped - incresed quickly *peak - the top *rose - increased *plateau - a flat place *trough - a fall, then a rise. Delete the scoop?
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If you’re looking for a quick fix for cash-flow problems, good luck. But if you’re serious about making strategic changes, read on.
SIMPLE FORMULA: collect your receivables as fast as possible and slow down your payables without jeopardizing your relationship with suppliers.
If you're just looking for a quick fix, you can extend your accounts payable period by using a credit card to pay suppliers. With a check, you only get a day or two of float – or the time between when someone deposits your check and when the amount is removed from your account. But if you pay with a credit card, your vendor gets paid and you don't have to pay the card down for several more weeks. Of course, you don't want to charge more than you can pay off in a month or you'll get slapped with some hefty interest charges.
That's a simple – and fairly short-sighted – solution. But if you're serious about improving cash flow, here are five tips.
1. Perform a Good Forecast
Quite often small and mid-sized businesses aren't prepared for all the costs associated with growing quickly. More sales could mean more employees and a bigger inventory.
2. Evaluate Your Terms
If you're having trouble with cash flow, check to see how well your customer terms and supplier terms are balanced.
If your average payable is 24 days and your average receivable is 47 days, that's 23 days that you have to float, which means you have to go out and get working capital
3. Enforce Payment Discipline
In order to shorten your receivables period, you'll need to have a good collection system in place. You should ask yourself: *How long is it taking to get paid?
Enforcing payment discipline should also be part of your payables operations.
4. Segment Your Customers, Suppliers and Inventory
When looking at your inventory, you want to observe the volatility of sales. Do you have too much cash tied up in products that sell only sporadically? Would that money be better off used in your "bread and butter" items that turnover more quickly? "You might end up having tons of money tied up in inventory without actually meeting your customers' needs.
When breaking down your suppliers, you want to separate them into your regular suppliers versus your one-off buys. With your strategic suppliers, you'll have a better chance of negotiating better terms and discounts.
Perhaps most importantly, you should take a close look at your customers. Who really is a "key customer?" Just because your sales department thinks they're important – i.e. they generate a lot of revenue – that doesn't mean it's a profitable account. Norm Brodsky wrote last year about one business whose biggest account was actually a big money loser, ultimately adding to its cash flow woes. The solution isn't necessarily to cut that account, but to approach the customer with the situation.
5. Make it a Companywide Priority
If improving cash flow is a priority, make sure all of your employees understand that. Remember that your employees will be motivated by the targets you set for them. Obviously, collectors should have collection targets. But even your sales staff should be on board. If a salesperson only has a revenue goal, he or she will work to meet it, regardless of whether the invoices are paid on time or in full. Instead, institute a policy where, if something is written off, the revenue is backed out of commissions.
"If employees have a target, that's what they focus on," DeHaro says. "Make sure management teams support working capital objectives." Delete the scoop?
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The phrase turnover is vanity, profit is sanity came to mind last week while writing the essential finance chapter of my new Double Your Business book.
When I visited them, they had a big office and a number of staff. The business had grown to a decent size turnover but they were making practically no profit at all.
I realised then that their biggest problem was not sales, but management. We sat down and spent just a couple of minutes looking at their annual accounts. Delete the scoop?
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According to statistics published by the Small Business Administration (SBA), seven out of ten new employer establishments survive at least two years and 51 percent survive at least five years. This is a far cry from the previous long-held belief that 50 percent of businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within five years.
1. You start your business for the wrong reasons. 2. Poor Management 3. Insufficient Capital 4. Location, Location, Location 5. Lack of Planning 6. Overexpansion 7. No Website Delete the scoop?
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However, it hasn't stopped policy makers from trying: in an effort to fight what may have been a disorderly collapse of the financial system, unprecedented monetary and fiscal initiatives were undertaken to stem against market ... Via jean lievens Delete the scoop?
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Bill Trueman, CEO of UKFraud.co.uk, said: "My first question is always to ask executives ‘do you really know how safe your own organisation is? Some do reply confidently. Most do not. Fraud can happen anywhere, anytime, but it is relatively straightforward to deter or discover at an early stage with the right systems and procedures in place. Anti-fraud consultancy has published a list of 10 common early warning signs that could alert management that fraud may be occurring in their organisation.
1. Erratic reporting Erratic, incomplete, late or excuse laden management reporting is often a classic sign that something is wrong. Action: Insist on up-to-date reporting, within a set timetable and then build this into the internal GRC (Governance Risk and Compliance) systems.
2. Apparent process laziness A weakening of anti-fraud and data security systems can happen naturally, over time, and is normal – especially when things get busy. Action: Make sure you implement the suggestions of your internal compliance managers and organise appropriate training to reinforce attitudes and practise.
3. Organisational change and the desire to dump data An excuse of, “oh I’m sorry those files were destroyed” should be cause for alarm. Action: Take care to establish and log where paper documents are and when they should and should not be stored.
4. Data inconsistencies or absence in the archives Whether it is archive data or cross reference checks that are missing or wrong, factual inconsistencies will also occur naturally. Action: Make sure that all files are electronically stored, with appropriate back-ups as part of your compliance systems and that no-one has the access to any files that include a DELETE capability.
5. Audit-time delays: Excuses, confusion or wild goose chases when disclosing to auditors, be they internal or external, can be a telltale sign too. Action: Ensure that everyone treats audits as important and make sure that they are completed on time and properly, and with appropriate audit skills.
6. Behavioural anomalies Research shows that internal fraudsters are most likely to be either ‘youngsters who cut across the processes and systems’ or ‘middle aged executives with the authority and a gripe.' Action: Get HR more closely involved.
7. Gossip-mongers in overdrive Staff whispers and rumours “that all is not right” should always be taken seriously. Action: Listen, take all such rumours seriously and investigate the reality.
8. Twitchy non-execs When non-execs' comfort factor ‘goes south’ or when they have a ‘bee in the bonnet’ about something that does not add up or make sense, they often have good reason to worry. So must you. Action: If non-execs have concerns about particular issues, one should fund their thinking by allowing them to bring in the appropriate specialist experts that can investigate matters more deeply.
9. Unofficial IT work Technical staff working around the enterprise conducting unsupervised IT activity, often outside normal hours can also be a worrying sign, both from a risk and a cost perspective. Action: Do the IT security staff look and think further than just password expiry issues? ...
10. Scapegoating The fraudster’s hope is that should the balloon go up the scapegoat takes the blame, at least long enough for records to be destroyed and evidence removed. Action: Make sure that you have strong and cascaded accountabilities. Delete the scoop?
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