When you want to extract problematic teeth, you do not do-it-yourself (DIY) or learn dentistry, you visit a dentist. When you want to fix your expensive luxury car, you do not DIY or learn how to fix your vehicle, you take it to a specialist auto technician or mechanic. When you want build a new house or property, you do not DIY or learn how to construct property, you appoint a reputable builder or construction company.
The same principle applies when you want to grow and prosper a small and medium sized enterprise (SME).
SME’s must also partner with professional accountants and trusted business and financial advisors who would enable it to manage and control its finances and taxes efficiently and effectively, improve performances, accelerate its growth and create sustainable long term value.
Most of the time, SME’s struggle to grow its revenues, profitability and cash flow. It also struggle to build strong brand values and increase its relevant share of the market. Moreover, the current difficult trading conditions exacerbates its plight. In order to overcome these challenges, SME’s must focus on providing excellent customer services to its existing customers, look for and attract new customers, improve the quality of its existing products and services, offer new products and services to customers, find new markets for its products and services, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations and mentor and coach its staff.
In addition, SME’s must also manage its finances as follows:
- Compile and manage budgets,
- Manage working capital and assets,
- Raise capital to finance growth and expansions,
- Manage and control business risks,
- Implement and control financial technology,
- Design, implement and maintain systems of internal control,
- Calculate and pay salaries, wages and benefits and pay over deductions,
- Process bookkeeping and accounting transactions, compile monthly management reports and annual financial statements,
- Comply with the Company’s Act, labour, taxation and other relevant laws and regulations,
- Pay suppliers of goods and services, and creditors accurately and on time,
- Build good relations with bankers and providers of credit in order to boost chances to raise future funding,
- Manage cost and accurately cost products and services,
- Do financial, tax and business planning,
- Measure and monitor business performances,
- Attract, train and develop and retain talented and skilled finance staff of which there is a scarcity in the market.
SME’s must adequately implement and perform these tasks efficiently and effectively. Otherwise, business performances may suffer. In addition, business risks will increase significantly which will negatively impact the achievement of the goals and objectives of the SME’s. In addition, the legitimate interests, needs and wants of stakeholders will not be satisfied and met. Under such circumstances, SME’s could experience cash flow problems and be forced to scale down in order to survive, will lose the trust and support of the stakeholders and/or resultantly close its doors and lay off staff.
Many owners of SME’s have blind spots with regard to the capabilities and resources required to successfully run a business and create long term value. Because of this weakness, they must seriously consider to outsource certain functions of their operations especially the finance, accounting and reporting, taxation and risk management functions. Outsourcing these functions would save the owners time and cost and alleviate stress. The owners would also be able to focus on the core functions of their businesses i.e. servicing and satisfying existing customers, attracting new customers and managing operations and staff.
The financial, accounting, risk management and taxation functions of the business should be outsourced to professional accountants and trusted business and financial advisors who must be members of professional finance and accounting organizations. Such professional accountants should also provide value added services and give guidance on matters of finance, risks, strategy, operations, performance, governance, compliance and acquisitions to enable SME’s to improve its performances, accelerate growth and create sustainable value over time.
The additional benefits from outsourcing to such a service provider should be as follows:
- Effective and efficient managed cost which will lead to cost reductions and savings, optimized usage of cost, accurate costing of products and services that will assist in the determination of the profitability of customers, products and services and reliable pricing of products and services.
- Optimally managed resources that will support the achievement of the goals and objectives of the business.
- Excellent relationships with bankers, investors and other suppliers of capital and credit that will ensure the business has easy and quick access to funding and credit.
- Identified and optimally managed enterprise risks to accelerate growth and achieve planned objectives and goals.
- Compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
- Access to world-class expertise, knowledge, experience and services that would enable it to resolve challenges, overcome difficulties, obtain guidance and seek advice on important and pressing business matters and issues.
In conclusion, the outsourcing of the finance, taxation and risk management functions of SME’s has significant benefits for such SME’s. It has also been widely proven that SME’s that have outsourced their non-core functions have ultimately become successful.
About our company
Our company, Bethanie Management Consulting CC, has the expertise, experience, resources and capabilities to create value for SME’s and large businesses.
The benefits that clients will derive from our services will significantly exceed the cost of our services. For more information about our services, download our brochure by clicking here.
You may download our business profile by clicking here.
Our pricing structure
We have 3 service packages including the estimated pricing i.e. premium services package, intermediate services package, economy services package.
To learn more and view our pricing packages click here.
Contact us
Please call us at 011 042 9768 or 072 296 1281 (Virgil). Or chat to us on WhatsApp. You can also email us at virgil@bethanieconsulting.co.za. Or you may contact us by completing our online form for a call back.
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