Industry Advice on Finance, Business & Tax for the New Zealand Market

A good governance board will hold you accountable to your business goals by prompting regular discussion and reflection. Here are four key business growth questions your board should be asking you on a regular basis. These questions are designed to challenge you so you can identify opportunities to take your business to the next level.

Before you consider raising equity, it’s important to get your finances in order. Here are ten questions to ask yourself to help determine the financial health of your business.

You’re ready to approach investors and apply for business funding… or are you? Sometimes in business, you have to jump in feet first and learn to swim as you go. Other times, it pays to do some research before you take a leap of faith. Raising capital usually falls under the latter. You might only get one chance to impress potential investors or lenders, so you want to walk into these discussions confident and maximise your chances for funding.

Businesses with strong balance sheets are more likely to survive economic downturns and be ready to thrive when the going gets good again. So what does a strong balance sheet look like, and how can you take steps to strengthen yours?

Keeping the balance sheet “out of the red” is a top priority for any business owner. To do this and “stay in the black”, it’s important to be regularly scanning the horizon for any signs that you could be heading towards rough financial waters. There several indicators of potential financial trouble.

Deciding to change accountants can feel like a big step, but as your business grows it may become a very necessary one. So how do you know when it’s time to make the switch? Here are five questions to ask yourself before making this important decision.

You know money is coming in, and it is definitely going out – but for some reason you don’t feel like the business is actually running a profit. Sound familiar? This could be because there are blockages in your working capital cycle (WCC), and it is important that you identify these before they become a large burden on your daily business operations.

Most businesses will need bank funding at one time or another – whether it is to purchase new plant and equipment, move to larger premises, or employ more staff - read on for tips that can help maximise your chance for success.

Taken together, the balance sheet and profit and loss statement represent a complete financial picture of a company and provide valuable “decision-relevant” information. Ratio analysis, in particular, is a useful management tool that can help improve your understanding of how well your business is performing financially and can be used to spot trends over time.

For most SMEs, having a full time CFO in place is often not feasible – particularly one that can provide strategic thinking, progression and profitability. So here are the four main reasons that implementing a virtual financial controller or VCFO is a viable option to help your business grow.

Businesses often face rising costs across their supply chains, from raw materials to wages, leading to significant margin pressure that can erode profits. To combat this challenge, it is crucial for businesses to implement effective strategies. This article outlines three key strategies that can help alleviate margin pressure and enhance profitability.

For small to medium-sized businesses, there are a number of factors that can inhibit the future expansion of a business – changing markets, the loss of a big client, inability to accurately scale resources. There are five main issues that constrain business growth.