21st century businesses are operating in an environment never before seen by SMEs. Globalisation, the speed at which technology is changing, and the empowerment of customers are all factors which have made modern business arguably more competitive than ever before. These are not problems exclusive to large firms; SMEs are also affected. SMEs can however […]
Continue reading
At a recent seminar it was reported that those businesses which have completed Auto enrolment have taken on average 18 months from the start of the thinking process to their staging date. And these are the large organisations that are able to pull together a task force to manage the project. How long will a […]
Continue reading
In our article ‘Getting the most from your accountant’ we touched on 5 ways that, as a business owner, you could improve the relationship with your accountant. The ultimate goal being to see your accountant as an investment in the growth and development of your business. As part of our ongoing commitment to building valuable, […]
Continue reading
With yet another banking mis-selling scandal hitting the headlines shortly before Christmas last year, the title of our related article ‘Can you bank on your relationship manager?’ now seems more appropriate than we could ever have envisaged. The link is made with tongue firmly in cheek of course; many bank managers are keen to support […]
Continue reading
There has been much publicity in recent months over an ‘SME lending crisis’. The Breedon Report, published in March 2012 predicted a gap between supply and demand of up to £190bn by 2017. Britain’s banks have been accused of ‘ruining the country’ as a result of the lack of lending. This has resulted in many […]
Continue reading
A Guest Blog by Alex Canham of Herrington & Carmichael. A number of businesses now look to outsource non-core functions, particularly in creative areas, to third party contractors. This may be in the form of marketing design work (such as a brochure or an article), software development/maintenance work or a musical composition. However, are commissioning […]
Continue reading
Those who have studied SME failure rates will be well aware that small business is in fact risky business. Typically, 25% of UK SMEs fail in Year 1 and almost half of all businesses started fail within their first 3 years. However, it need not all be doom and gloom. Ensuring compliance with relevant regulations, along […]
Continue reading
Many business owners simply see their accountant as a cost and someone to whom they send a bag of paperwork at the end of their financial year – some even refer to them as the “necessary evil”! Whilst this may suit some business owners, those with growth ambitions should consider their accountant as an investment. […]
Continue reading
Every business, regardless of size or sector has one thing in common – that is the need to effectively manage the relationship with their bank. Banks have been heavily criticised in recent years over mis-selling scandals and an apparent reluctance to lend to small businesses. However following conversations that we at Tectona have had with […]
Continue reading
There are many motivations behind setting up a business and in many cases the personal wealth of the owner-manager is tied up in the business, often for a long period of time. If the financial investment made by the business owner is to be recouped and hopefully significantly increased, careful consideration needs to be given […]
Continue reading