A small business is rife with concerns on a daily basis — I know since I run one myself. I would be kidding if I said I wasn’t inclined to write this post after I saw this news piece about KPMG closing its’ small business accounting service in the UK. I’ve seen in the past 3 or 4 days many “other” small businesses commenting about this on social media and how this does not come as a surprise. I am fairly surprised with it myself and can only attribute it to being a sensible c
You’ve made it through the first year of business. Kudos! Now, ensure that all your year-end compliance is up to date. We list 5 important compliance processes to prepare for: 1.Accounting books: Close your accounting books to see how your business translates in terms of numbers. Why is this important? There is a legal requirement for the company to circulate the financial statements to the shareholders and informing them about how the initial investment (Share capital) has b
“Go big or get beaten!” the mantra for every business idea. But did you know - You may end up packing your bags (while aiming big) when things are just at step 1? From experience, we want to highlight some important things people don’t consider before jumping the incorporation (registering a company) bandwagon. Note that this has been written from a corporate compliance perspective and is a technical read. 1. Issued and Paid up capital Apart from the usual checklist revolving
Picture this: A promising Start-up bags a big investment. What follows is heaps of paperwork and tight deadlines to be met (pre-Investment and post Investment) before money hits your bank account. Year 2010 – Scene at the legal/ paralegal/ chartered secretaries’ office? The whole team crunch hours into drafting>> reviewing>> editing every single document to support the pre-funding/ post funding requirements. Let’s translate this into some numbers, Company (mostly the start-up
Cash, or lack thereof kills most small businesses within the first few years of starting up. Inevitably a good awareness of what you need to survive and thereafter to succeed would make a world of difference. Here are 5 tips that could make planning for working capital easier, Understanding inflows - This is not your invoice “due-date”. This is the number of days most of your customers take to pay you. Outflow patterns - Similar to the above, know your own payment cycles. How
When it comes to a Company's accounting needs, there is sometimes a lot of internal confusion. Should we start with a DIY-Software type thing or go ahead and directly outsource it? We collated these ideas to throw light on how each of the accounting roles differ. A Software – The Gate Keeper Before you employ your first accounting professional, be ready to invest in a quality software that captures your numbers. By quality we mean the software should be easy to setup and use,
"Why does my cash flows show a monthly spend of $3468 when I know our monthly expenses are capped at $2800?" At the heart of this question lies the most important fact pertaining to good financial management. Why is cash flows more important that profits in your business? The fundamental difference is this - your profit and loss is a log of all income you are supposed to receive (all invoiced items) and all expenses you have to pay (all supplier bills for a period). What is l
In the world of accounting, it's not a word we use often - Design! But when you delve into the idea of design, it becomes apparent that it's very much a fabric of our lives. Every great product of our times is seeped in good design. Finance is not an exception in this regard. As management accountants, one of the jobs we are constantly involved in is the creation of cloud-based finance departments . We focus on three core areas as a part of the agenda, 1. People 2. Process an