Yea!   A new financial year!   Assuming this time you really mean to make sure this year will be better than last year, what would you improve, where would you start?   Here are my suggestions:

1. Do a financial de-clutter

Sit down with your key people including advisors/accountant, and review last year.   Were objectives/targets met (did you have any?), was there waste or inefficiency, was planning pushed or just allowed to happen, are you better off now than 12 months ago, do you have useful information for decision making, what can be learned from last year (2 or 3 key findings)?

2. Systems

Do you just do enough to lodge quarterly BAS, or do you get reconciliations, useful regular reports, financials that explain what is happening in the business and compare actual to forecast, or produce spreadsheets if these are more useful to you?   These are not a nuisance, knowing what has happened and fixing problems is your key job.

3. Projections

Provide for at least the next 12 months, preferably 2 or 3 years.   It's not about having sales go up 3% and expenses up 2%;   look at the growth drivers (where will the sales come from, sales conversion rates, average sale prices, add-on sales and new products, gross margins per product, expense savings).   Also, consider capital expenditure, industry and economy trends, tax payments, etc.

4. Planning and Strategy

The projections tell us what we'd like to achieve.   Doing a 'One Page Plan' as well tells us what's needed to make the numbers happen.   Issues to consider are the target market and the solutions they need, our sales channels and marketing strategies, revenue sources and major cost areas, main targets to be achieved, resources required.   Who will be responsible for driving the growth strategy?

5. What about the Unexpected?

Consider a few 'what-ifs'.   Where would the extra working capital come from if sales took longer and also increased, what if banks won't lend without more property security, would the ATO require prompt payment every BAS, a recession starts, the stock market has a major fall?   Plan for the unexpected and consider scenarios for each; balance optimism and realism.

6. Balance 'Big Picture' and Efficient/Effective

Big picture thinking has its place.   But, everyone gets busy in the details, like chasing sales, finding the money every week, removing obstacles.   Keep an eye on the big picture, make sure things are attended to efficiently and effectively, watch for where the problems keep occurring (could be a someone, or a system error).

7. Well-Being

Everyone's most hated job, managing people.   People don't want to get involved in others private lives, but when it's at your workplace and your money you may have to take a stance.   Listen to the grape-vine, listen to how people are feeling, encourage people to tell you their concerns.   Handle these confidentially, constructively and proactively.

This might seem like a big deal, but really it's not.   It's all about making sure you'll be better off next year.   Not everybody though wants to spend time on things 'unless they get a fast result'. So let's break it down to a few steps:

1. Look at the financials for the year just past, and the trends too over 2 or 3 years.   Are things improving, more cash available, taxes paid, do things feel okay?

2. Work through a one-hour 'Complimentary Review' with us – no charge for this (useful for the de-clutter and systems).

3. Work through a 'Business Profitability Improvement' with us.   This provides huge value at little cost, and results over a few hours in a plan to make things happen, and modelling of profit and cash forecasts.

4. Regularly monitor the key areas;   like monthly sales, number of new customers, prospects, marketing strategy for effectiveness, quarterly financials (especially target and actuals), what's needed/who is responsible for getting it done.