Finance Leadership

Cash is the life blood of any organisation

Cash is the lifeblood of any organisation. As blood is essential for the smooth operation of our body, so is cash essential for the smooth running of business operations. Cash is an important element of working capital – money that is used for the day to running of the business. Without enough cash to meet daily, weekly or monthly needs, a business is bound to suffer. Working capital, also defined as current assets less current liabilities is a measure of liquidity. It is a financial metric that measures how quickly and easily an organisation can convert its assets into liquid cash. A favourable working capital position is represented by an excess of current assets over current liabilities and vice versa.

Read the rest of this entry »

The nature and type of risks facing the organisation:

One of the main challenges facing managers in today’s constantly changing business environment is dealing with uncertainty and creating a risk-focused culture within their organisations. New technologies, new concepts (such as social media and web 2.0), and changing market dynamics are all presenting managers with both threats and opportunities.

Read the rest of this entry »

Financial institutions, in particular banks and hedge fund managers have been on the receiving end of criticism over their role and part in the global financial crisis. Ask anyone why we are in this economic mess, chances are high that you will get a response along these lines, ” The banks started it; The bankers were greed; The Central Bank’s poor regulation of the financial markets etc”.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the roles of an organisation’s finance department is to monitor and evaluate business performance. Finance managers, financial analysts, management accountants and other finance professionals spend a considerable amount of time analysing the business environment, preparing budgets, forecasting financial performance and suggesting performance improvement proposals.

Read the rest of this entry »

The announcement by the US Treasury yesterday that it is close to issuing rules to force financial institutions across the globe hand over up to 5m Americans’ account details in order to combat tax evasion has caused outrage amongst banks, fund managers, insurers and hedge fund managers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past few weeks there has been increasing talk of a double-dip in the global economy. Those fears were exacerbated yesterday after the US released awful results on housing activity. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of previously owned homes declined by 27.2% in July, their lowest level in 15 years.

Read the rest of this entry »

Effective performance measurement is key to ensuring that an organisation’s strategy is successfully implemented. It helps ensure better informed and more effective decision making at both strategic and operational levels.

Read the rest of this entry »

In May 2010, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreed to bailout Greece from its debt crisis and announced a Eurozone €750bn bailout package. Greece is one of the European countries that was badly hit by the global financial crisis. At that time, the financial markets which were sinking reacted positively to the news and rebounded. The senior authorities of these institutions thought that they had brought to a screeching halt the Greek debt crisis which was threatening to cripple the entire eurozone.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past decade or so, we have witnessed a number of organisations go under as a result of being struck by crises, both natural and man-made. For example, many small and large organisations fell victims of the recent global financial crisis which struck most economies worldwide in 2007. Big trading names went under, profitable businesses lost their economic value over night and small businesses alike were wiped off the map. Those organisations who did not have effective crisis management strategies were the most affected.

Read the rest of this entry »

Almost all businesses have a vision and a mission. A vision of what they intend to achieve, and a mission which is the road map responsible for turning that vision into reality.

Read the rest of this entry »