The Solution to the UK’s Financial Problem Is Here!

Instead of giving billions of pounds to banks that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.

You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 10 million people over 50 in the work force.

Pay them £1 million each severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire.

Ten million job openings – unemployment fixed

2) They MUST buy a new British car.

Ten million cars ordered – Car Industry fixed

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage -

Housing Crisis fixed

4) They MUST send their kids to school/college/university -

Crime rate fixed and tuition row quietened

5) They MUST buy £100 WORTH of alcohol/tobacco a week …..

And there’s your money back in duty/tax etc.

Sorted and all for only £10 billion!
 

Greenhouse gas emissions drop with recession

UK greenhouse gas emissions dropped significantly during 2009 at the peak of the economic recession.

Government statistics revealed that the GHG emissions fell at least 8.7 per cent from 2008 figures. Carbon dioxide, the most common GHG, went down 9.8 per cent.

UK GHG emissions, which fall under the Kyoto Protocol, were recorded at 566.3 million tonnes in 2009 compared to a total of 620.5 million tonnes during 2008. The figures, published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), indicate that UK emissions have dropped 26.5 per cent since the 1990s. In order to meet its first legally binding carbon reduction, the UK is required to decrease emissions by 23 per cent by 2012.

The numbers show that this commitment will be met and exceeded as GHG levels drop across all sectors. The largest declines, however, were seen in the business and industrial sectors, which recorded drops of 36.5 per cent and 11.8 per cent, respectively. Energy sector emissions fell 11 per cent.

Read more: http://www.wi-kan-iko.co.uk/2011/02/greenhouse-gas-emissions-drop-with-recession/

Double-dip fears calmed by manufacturing boost

Research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) found that 31% of small and medium sized manufacturing firms expect the volume of total new orders to rise, with domestic orders expected to increase over the next quarter.

Furthermore, a separate report by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, discovered a strong demand for boosting production had been reported in the industry for the first time in seven months, calming fears that Britain may slip into a double-dip recession.

Read full article: http://www.growingbusiness.co.uk/double-dip-fears-calmed-by-manufacturing-boost.html

Employees help fight recession

Small business employees have been helping their companies beat the recession, as new research has revealed that 45% have accepted a pay freeze, agreed to less hours, or even worked more hours for no extra money.

The study also found that more than half of small firm bosses have attributed their worker’s acceptance of changing circumstances to their dedication to the business.

Jonathan Elliott, managing director of business comparison service Make it Cheaper, who conducted the survey, said: “This research shows that our small businesses, which represent 51% of the UK GDP, can be proud of their staff and safe in the knowledge they will be supportive and inventive when times are tough. Companies are becoming leaner and so will be more profitable as and when things improve.”

Read full article: http://www.mybusiness.co.uk/YTQdFW5o6VWuDg.html

Small firms paralysed by recession ‘trauma’

Peter Cullum, the multi-millionaire owner of insurance broker Towergate, has warned that too many businesses are still “traumatised” by the recession and are failing to prepare for the future.

Mr Cullum said he thought now was the time in the economic cycle when businesses should be planning a series a “transformational changes” from which they could profit when the economy recovers.

“A lot of businesses are traumatised by the shock of what has happened in the last two years. It’s all keeping our costs to a minimum and fingers crossed and hoping things will get better. I can understand it but its almost an abdication,” he said.

“More so than ever you have to reinvent your business model. I meet with quite a lot of our competition and all the same discussions take place: ‘It’s hard work; we have downsized; the banks are unfriendly’. But to do the same thing is not a solution. You have to have transformational change that will enhance your business. It is hard work. We have list of things at the moment, some of which will not prove successful.”

Read full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/7960394/Cullum-Small-firms-paralysed-by-recession-trauma.html

Companies postpone IT spending in preparation for “second recession”

The slight recovery in business demand for desktops and PCs follows a 20pc decline in the whole market last year.

In contrast, consumer spending on PCs increased 23pc in the last three months, driven by demand for laptops and netbooks. This took the overall growth in PC sales growth to 15pc, Gartner said.

Ranjit Atwal, a research director, said he forecast a recovery in PC sales of around 12pc this year in the UK. This lagged second quarter spending in France and Germany, where PC sales grew 30pc and 23pc respectively.

Read full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/7960391/Companies-postpone-IT-spending-in-preparation-for-second-recession.html

Will Your Business Survive in a Downturn?

A challenging time for business can be the best time to secure your long term future and prosperity. It is even more important to be smarter than your competitors.

If one company takes action to respond to the situation and one company just hopes for the best, who is the most
likely to survive and be ready for the upturn?

If you want to do nothing and hope for the best, don’t read on. You will have plenty of time for reading when your competitors manage the downturn better.

So where to start. Take a look at the world around you and assess the risks. What is the effect of a downturn going to be on those areas that affect your business:

Sales & Marketing – Redouble Sales Effort

Sales are the lifeblood of your business but a lot of MD’s/Owners do not like the sales side of business and rather let it happen. Not anymore. Good salesmanship is not actually that difficult. It is mostly common sense – know
who is buying and not buying. Talk to the ones who have not placed an order this month and understand why.

Is there any fundamental change likely in their buying pattern?
Do you know how much share of business you have with each of your customers?
Can it be increased?
It is much easier to get business from existing customers than capturing new ones. Are there some obvious customers who you do not trade with?
What about an action plan to start a dialogue with them?
Is your service good?
What can you do better?

Examine your pricing. When did you last increase prices? You may have to find the courage to put prices up but if you don’t – Are there some low cost marketing actions that you can do?

Websites are not expensive and can replace expensive and quickly out of date brochures.

ACTION STEPS

• Put a Sales & Marketing Plan together now
• Review your pricing strategy
• Sell, Sell, Sell

Operations & Resources – Doing the right thing, efficiently

When times are good we all get into a “nice to have” syndrome. Things get added because we think it might make life easier or better. In tough times decide what is really essential and what can be done without.

Look at your headcount. Make a 10% headcount cut part of your contingency plan. Usually there is someone whose performance is not satisfactory but the issue has not been tackled. If they need to go, should you start the process of removing them anyway? Make sure you use an HR Specialist to help with this. It can be done but has to be done correctly.

Often things can be made simpler and better. Time for radical thought. Look at how you’re doing things and see what can be done to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

Usually the people doing these things know most about them. So if you have staff involved in these activities get them involved too. Set up improvement teams. Give the projects titles and make a fuss of them. Review them regularly. Do it now while you still have the luxury of time and cash.

Communicate with your staff, management team, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to keep them informed of what is happening with the business.

ACTION STEPS

• Review your staffing- consider outsourced services
• Reduce inefficiencies and waste in your business
• Implement good, operational business processes

Finance – Cash is King

Cashflow has to the number one priority. If you run out of money the business is dead and all the hard work you have done is down the pan. And maybe your house with it! So do you know your break-even? Do you do a monthly cashflow forecast for the next 3 months?

These are two essential measures of the health of your business. If you do have them, we would recommend you start to do them right away. Most businesses know their costs base pretty well and what orders their customers are likely to place in the next month.

Forecasting sales for months 2 and 3 can be more difficult. Moving annual totals come highly recommended to cover the future trends in sales. You will quickly spot the turning points when sales go flat and subsequently start to turn down.

Clearly if the sales trend is down and approaching your break-even you need to take action. If you are not in this situation you should at least have a contingency plan to reduce costs. You also need to know how long these are likely to take to come into effect. It takes time to reduce costs. Your cashflow forecast can be used to see how this works.

Review your credit control processes. Do you get a signed order for everything? Do you get proof of delivery for goods? Make sure you have processes in place to follow up quickly with late payers.

ACTION STEPS

• Review your cashflow now
• Look at cost reduction and where savings can be made
• Focus on getting money in that is owed

Conclusion

The old adage “failing to plan is planning to fail” is so apt for recessionary times. So start as you mean to go on.
It’s easy to make lists, much harder to actually make things happen.

If you’d like some help with this give us a call and we’d be delighted to help. You’d be surprised what can be achieved in a short space of time.

And how much more gets done with regular review dates with us to help you make sure that you really do implement your action plan.

Recovery May Take Two Years

The UK will have to wait another one to two years for a full economic recovery, according to a survey of 406 professional services firms.

Some 92 per cent of the business owners and managers surveyed by insurer QBE expect at least 12 more months of low or negative growth. Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of all respondents think a full-blown recovery will take two years.

Read full article: http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/news/business-news/1269983/recovery-may-take-two-years.thtml

Over 140,000 Companies Show Real Signs of Financial Distress in Q4 2009

Over 140,000 companies experienced Significant and Critical financial problems in Q4 2009; 6% higher than in Q3 2009 but 14% lower than the same period in 2008, reflecting:

ICAEW guide to taking advantage of economic upturn

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has published guidance on how businesses can take advantage of the economic upturn when it happens. ‘From Survival to Sustainability’ covers issues such as looking at new markets, managing cash and understanding risk.