Protect and project your value in a post-Covid era

The coronavirus recession is unlike anything business owners have experienced before, with many companies plunged into uncertainty.

Yet, despite initial fears that the pressure would be too great, many have been able to protect their value over the past six months by reorganising their supply chains, setting-up remote operations, making some tough financial decisions and providing the forecasts to project their value to those who can make a difference to the business and its bottom line.

But the planning hasn't stopped. As the coronavirus continues, ongoing financial modelling continues too, tracking the companies' progress alongside the business environment.

They haven't done this alone. With the right accountant on-board to develop a clear plan, monitoring and measuring along the way and underpinned by good risk analysis, such businesses have been able to take account of the present circumstances and set their forecasts in context. For example they have considered.…

• To what extent has the coronavirus impacted on sales and profits?
• Whether impacts on the business are going to be temporary or permanent?
• How long will it take for the business to recover?
• If the business will return to pre-pandemic levels, or whether there will be a “new normal”?
• What impact the coronavirus has had on the customer base?
• How the competitive environment of the business is changing during this pandemic?
• How they can best position the business to be successful following the pandemic?

So a deeper degree of forecasting for your business environment in the short, medium and longer term beyond the pandemic, while particularly difficult at this time, could prove valuable.

To do so, ensuring that information is up-to-date is a very good habit to have for your business and particularly in the present circumstances, where updating projections regularly, having analysed the information and spotting trends or issues early, either positive or negative, is crucial.

It is clear that many companies will have significantly reduced earnings potential for likely several quarters until a vaccine is widespread and we can return to something resembling 'normal'. Until then, the priority is to re-energise organisations to act rather than react. So, from cash flow forecasts to forecasting demand. From sales forecasts to cost of sales forecasts. From forecasting earnings to projecting growth, as a business owner today your focus has to be on incorporating change into the plans for the future profitability of your business.

At GSM we help companies plan ahead in this way, to identify and minimise risk, to save on costs and prepare financial forecasts for businesses considering their past and present performance and financial statements, as well as the prevailing economic environment.

To gain greater value from your accountant and to arrange a no-obligation meeting with a GSM Partner contact us today on 020 7935 3793