Departments Benwood Consultancy
Select one of our departments below for more information:
At Benwood Consultancy our aim is to help you fulfil your ambitions for your business.
Profit enhancement
Let us look objectively at your profitability and growth potential.
We are now able to offer a unique Business Improvement Toolkit that not only shows you the key trends in your business, but also includes a Price Sensitivity Analysis. It will give you a report on your business's performance and guide you to the key areas where improvements can be made.
We can then explore with you all the ways to improve the profitability of your business and produce a 3-year Profit Improvement Plan for you.
Our new system highlights critical trends, strengths and weaknesses, analyses cash flow and helps differentiate "the wood from the trees". The key indicators of business performance for your own company are clearly demonstrated, graphed and explained. Get them right and the rest should fall into place. Many businesses have already succeeded using this proven system.
Business assessment
Most small business owners don't have the support of a large management staff or board of directors to lend a variety of perspectives to major business decisions. It is hard to be objective about your small business when you are involved hands-on for 12 or more hours a day.
An outside business assessment is the quickest and most affordable way to get an outside opinion of your business issues and potential. We offer a comprehensive overview of the state of your business. In just one day of your time, we can help you get on track for greater profitability.
We will spend time discussing your business with you and your employees, as well as reviewing key financial information.
The objectives of the review are to:
- Help you assess where your growth potential is
- Identify any problem areas that may keep you from reaching your goals
- Focus on high-impact areas with the most return for your efforts
At the end of the review, we will help you to prioritise your opportunities and suggest practical cost-effective ways to achieve your goals.
Strategic planning
It is the easiest thing in the world for a business, large or small, to
adopt the policy of “same as before”. And it might work. But
we all know of businesses with international profiles, or only gossiped about
at the local, which have failed because they had no clear strategic direction.
The experts on business management, who might be accused of competing with
economists for having numerous, contradictory views on their own subject,
do seem able to agree on one thing - businesses benefit from a clear strategy.
It is the world of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with which we
are most familiar. And within that world, the majority are owner-managed businesses.
As you would expect, the strategic direction of such businesses is closely
tied to the strategic direction of the owners. And, let’s face it, they
are probably far too busy to stop and think strategically. After all, it is
a full-time job, running a business!
This is where we can help. Inevitably, we have experience of hundreds of different
businesses. Not only do these vary in size and in the type of products and
services they offer, but also in the way they are structured financially and
as regards management. We are familiar with the kind of challenges they face
and the opportunities they enjoy. We are also familiar with a huge range of
different approaches to these challenges and opportunities. Even more usefully,
we have knowledge of which ones tend to achieve the desired outcome and which
ones fall flat! The deep understanding we gain of our clients’ financial
affairs from our accounting and taxation work, coupled with our general experience
of businesses, provide the springboard for adding value to the strategic planning
process.
These alone, however, are insufficient. It is also necessary to gain a full
understanding of our clients’ aspirations to enable us to play a part
in helping to achieve them. To this end, we are able to provide a forum for
discussion of strategic matters, which will often provide the necessary encouragement
to take a step back, temporarily set aside the detail, and think strategically.
We can encourage our clients to formalise their aspirations and document their
aims and objectives, and communicate them to us. From that base, we can then
help to explore the approaches to achieving the desired goals.
Examples of some of the strategic planning matters we have discussed with clients
include: -
Succession planning : what is the medium to long-term future of the business?
- Can we sell it, and are there likely successors amongst the staff?
- Can we pass it on to other family members?
- Should we just run it profitably then close it down when we retire?
Changes of business direction : can we be more profitable?
- Shall we diversify or change direction as regards products and services?
- Are there new geographical markets and what are the challenges?
- Is it better to contract work out or do it in-house?
Risk minimisation : how can we reduce the dangers presented by external factors?
- Should we restructure the capital of the business and reduce or increase gearing?
- Should we hedge against exchange rate or interest rate movements?
- How can we reduce reliance on a small number of customers or suppliers?
Personalities : can the differing aspirations of the owner-managers be reconciled?
- Where are the similarities and the differences?
- Can a structure that suits everyone be created?
It would not be unreasonable to suggest that strategic planning is the service we provide which adds the most value, and is perceived to add the most value, to our clients. Even if we do nothing more that provide a forum and an impartial chairman, this can act as a catalyst to our clients to make radical improvements. The input we can provide, however, based on our general business experience, our knowledge of the financial position of the enterprise, and our understanding of our clients’ aspirations, can provide substantial additional benefits.
Systems review
All successful businesses need good systems in place. This will ensure that work completed is efficient and effective, as well as being profitable for the practice.
All repetitive work can be systemised - sometimes with IT, others simply by managing routine tasks differently. Good systems do not just create efficiencies - they spread best practice, and by taking care of basic, business routines they stop you and your people reinventing the wheel.
Review how you work in this way and bring lasting benefits to:
- Customer relations
- Marketing
- Sales
- Administration
- Training
Establishing good systems benefits from a team approach and can be made a stimulating activity. So long as best practice procedures are recorded in a clear and legible way, you will have achieved your aim.
If you want more than compliance from your accountant, contact us now for your free initial consultation.
Graham Thompson FCA
Tel – 01642 607 047
E-mail –graham@bensonwood.co.uk
