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Cut out the excess fat on your costs

A recent study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development concluded that making job cuts should be the last resort in the current economic downturn, after revealing that the cost of laying off an employee could be more than £16,000. Against this another study revealed that 69% of Financial Directors feel under pressure from board colleagues to find more ways to cut costs.

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New Year is crucial time for cashflow

With the countdown to the New Year underway, new research reveals businesses are in for a tough time during the first quarter of next year. Bibby Financial Services is calling on business owners and managers to ensure they have their finances in order to help them avoid recessionary pressures and making cuts to their business.

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Give your business a ‘cost healthcheck’

A recent study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development concluded that making job cuts should be the last resort in the current economic downturn, after revealing that the cost of laying off an employee could be more than £16,000.

Against this another study revealed that 69% of Financial Directors feel under pressure from board colleagues to find more ways to cut costs. With Britain now officially in recession, how does a business keep costs in check to maintain a healthy bottom line without necessarily making redundancies?

Green today gone tomorrow

It’s a special occasion and you’ve decided to spend your hard-earned cash on a hot air balloon ride for you and your true love. As you float through the sky without a care in the world, you feel calm, entirely protected by the glorified wicker basket which holds you aloft. It’s a picture of romantic bliss, complete with chocolates, strawberries and a bottle of Dom Pérignon chilling in a bucket for later. But whatever you do, don’t look down!

Happy New Year…?

To say that the markets have been turbulent in 2008 would be a complete understatement and the prospects for 2009 seem much the same. My prognosis is that while the markets may drop further, though providing a three to five year horizon is anticipated, this will look a good time to invest in hindsight.

Managing your cashflow

I recently visited a growing IT business in the M5 corridor – that hot bed of entrepreneurial  IT businesses.

During my conversation the MD described how they had grown from the original 2 partners in a small office in Hounslow to their present stunning barn conversion on the outskirts of Reading with some 8 staff onsite and a further 3 programmers working from their homes at far flung locations as far away as Scotland and Lincolnshire.
 They had started by providing programming and general web support for local businesses but progress was slow.  However, they were asked to develop a specialist wireless interface for a client.  They had to go through a steep learning curve to deliver this project and on successful completion they realised this could be useful to other clients.  More particularly it could be developed into a specialist niche market product.  The beauty of this would be that it would have world wide potential and move them in a direction that not only interested them but would given them a platform for growth.

Getting gold in 2012

A Government Minister has described 2012 as the most important year since 1908, it will change the financial landscape in this country forever. No, not the Olympics, but “Personal Accounts” the Governments latest attempt to get the British Public to plan for their retirement after the ill-fated Stakeholder Pension Schemes and 2012 is currently pencilled in for the launch of these schemes.