What is your exit strategy? What plans are currently in place? It takes two … We’ve often heard the phrase “businesses don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan” but this task involves future planning and because it’s so difficult, many business owners just don’t bother. If it’s a 5 year plan you’re looking [...]
New Investors to ISAs 2013
Great News - the stock market is starting to receive some good data i.e. Oil production in the US will rise by 25% by 2014 according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) – because of this and other positive signs, the FTSE 100 is now trading today at over 6100 today (Jan 10 2013). I [...]
Making use of Hargreaves Lansdown Research Work
I’ve been working hard evaluating Hargreaves Lansdown latest top 150 funds report – published in November 2012. At a glance, it enables you to compare the performance of over 700 investment funds in the marketplace. That’s the good news – the bad news is you can now easily compare any ISA funds you currently own, [...]
Building Confidence in the Decision Making Process – Low or High?
How confident are you in explaining how the following terms relate to people within your organisation? Your personal understanding, combined with intellegent input from staff, who truly understand the critical issues, could be crucial to your on-going success. These issue include: On Finance … Balance sheet, gross margins, net margins, ROI, ratios, bank recs, cash [...]
ISA Nightmare
I’ve just had a run in with one UK ISA supplier – however most of them are pretty poor on communication – the initial dispute was on interest rates – they said I’d signed up for 3.75% 3 year deal and I had to argue strongly that the rate agreed in their office was 4.25% [...]
12 Key Steps to Budgetary Control Success
Businesses don’t plan to fail – they often just fail to plan properly – if at all. The skill is knowing where to start and how to do it. Unfortunately – the devil is in the detail! For most companies, establishing a formal budgeting process within the organisation is key to its continued operations. It’s [...]
Depreciation – learn how to use and ‘appreciate’ it ….
Introduction At year-end, company balance sheets should try to show the value of the ‘big ticket’ items i.e. the fixed assets at a prices which represents their value if they were to be sold on to another company e.g. land, buildings, vehicles etc. The current values of the fixed assets shown on the balance sheet [...]
Management Accounting compared with Financial Accounting
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING (CIMA) vs. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING (CA) It is important that management accounting is clearly distinguished from financial accounting. The first piece of great news is that management accounts are not audited and not even required by law – that means you can ‘DIY’ if you want to and there are no large accounting bills [...]
The current banking crisis explained (humour)
Young Stelios bought a donkey from a farmer for €100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day he drove up and said, ‘Sorry son, but I have some bad news. The donkey’s died.’ Stelios replied, ‘Well then just give me my money back.’ The farmer said, ‘Can’t do that. [...]
Special for SEPG members in Harrogate
CIPD – SEPG Members - Follow on from ‘Crunching the Numbers’ Presentation at meeting on Jan 16, 2012 Given the discussions following last night’s presentation, I would be delighted to try and arrange a follow-up a one day ‘Finance Awareness/Update’ programme, exclusive to Harrogate SEPG members at the Britannia Leeds Bradford Airport Hotel in Bramhope. [...]
