Starting the Voyage

When taking the reins of a business, often it is incredibly intiminating.  Will I take this ship and it's cargo on to the shore or will I successfully navigate this port and steer it to its profitable destination?

Almost always, the answer is in the planning, whether it is for piloting an ocean going vehicle or guiding a business to success.   Have you done adequate planning?  These questions should help:

• Do we have timely, accurate financial information?  Without an accurate understanding of what assets the company has, its debt load and the income effect of its decisions, it is guiding a ship through dense fog without any radar or other instruments.

• Do we have accurate cash-forecasting?  A company can be making a profit and run into a crisis when it unexpectedly runs out of cash.  This can occur due to large purchases of inventory, a slowing of payments of accounts receivable or other actions of the company which do not take into account the available cash to finance them

• Do we have access to sufficient sources of liquidity?  Just as an ocean going liner needs sufficient fuel, all companies need sufficient liquidity to profitably complete its voyage.  How are you going to fund your company's operations?  Has your bank committed to meet your needs?  Do you have enough invested in the company?  Make sure your plans are adequately fueled by the cash you need to execute them.

• Do we understand our cost drivers, and do we understand the links between our operating plans, financial plans and budgets?  Do we even have budgets?  Understanding the cost drivers of the company, such a quality control, packaging, certain manufacturing operations and items that create necessary costs to operate and how to control them, is critical to the success.  Just like understanding the tides at sea, understanding what is buffeting your business is critical in steering it.

• Can we identify investments that may no longer be meeting our financial objectives?  So many businesses have become emotionally attached to various units and hope that somehow they will recover and become magically profitable again.  Know what makes you money and get rid of the ones that don't.

• Do we have the right strategy in place to attract and retain the talent we need?  Not only today but for tomorrow.  If you don't have superior talent working with you, you end up doing it all yourself and the results are not often pretty.

If this sounds complex, that’s because it is. The successful companies often turn to specialists for guidance in analyzing where their organizations are now and how best to safely steer to the planned destination.

Call us to help you get there safely.