Within business there are often jobs that we hate doing, can’t make the time to do or don’t have the skills for. When we finally get around to recognising that we need expert professional help to sort the chaos it does of course cost us more than if we had kept things under control along the way. And that’s without thinking about the business impact of not having the right information, working inefficiently and so on.
Once every 3 years I recognise that my garden hedges are so out of control that I need to get a professional in to sort them. They now look great and I wonder why I lived with the chaos for so long. This year I found a fabulous new, good value, supplier and have vowed to get him annually in future and keep things under control. Do you need to make a similar vow in relation to your business’ finances?
A very good point raised here Caroline, and others agree with us. “A financial director is fundamental: if you can’t afford a good FD, then perhaps you shouldn’t be in business“Source: William Kendall, CEO of Green & Black’s, referred to and quoted in “A-Z of business”, Director November 2002 p19
“As businesses grow, they have to professionalise the management team and give it freedom to make changes. In recruiting for key roles, a company needs a finance director. Most growing businesses leave the recruitment of a finance director until far too late. A good one will easily pay for himself in a year. Entrepreneurs understand sales and often understand cash but rarely understand margin. Entrepreneurs should remember that turnover is vanity, but it is only out of the sanity of margin and the reality of cashflow that sustainable growth will be secured. A seasoned finance director is the key to the company’s future.”