Business Analytics & Data Management

For most of us, having 2020 in our rearview mirror is a welcome sight.

As most entrepreneurs will tell you, developing a business plan is one of the first critical to-do’s for establishing a new entity. Once that item is checked off the list, there’s often an eagerness to move straight into execution. But hammering out the details of your organization’s “what” is only a starting point. Particularly in professional services, there’s tremendous value in solidifying the very meaningful – albeit intangible – elements around team and culture, which are big drivers in enabling effective execution.   

Business owners spend their days developing smart strategies, taking calculated risks and working hard to grow successful companies. When they decide to leave or retire, the last thing they want to see in the rear view mirror is their company starting to stumble. That’s why they should plan from launch day for two eventualities: their own personal retirement and the business’ future success.  

The Big Picture In today’s heightened regulatory environment, it’s hard to imagine that just a decade ago, banks handed over charged-off accounts to outside recoveries agencies without much thought. After all, the bad debt had been written off and the banks had already invested considerable resources during the collections process trying to get those customers reestablished. 

Market conditions are constantly changing, which means businesses must have the flexibility to adapt to operate successfully. But all the flexibility in the world could not have prepared businesses for the impact of the novel coronavirus. Almost immediately after COVID-19 began spreading across the United States, the economy took a huge hit that included major job losses. 

Late last month, I had the pleasure of attending and facilitating a couple of on-demand panels for the American Banking Association’s (ABA’s) first-ever Risk and Compliance Virtual Conference.

Earlier this year, I was chatting with a prospective client whose professional experience looked much like mine, and many of our consultants, before coming to Spinnaker: a senior VP from a fortune 500 financial institution who’s hired countless consultants to solve complex problems.

Steady and reliable cash flow is essential to a company’s daily operations. Knowing when to expect revenue gives owners confidence in paying their own expenses, but understanding cash flow cycles is just as important to business growth – and having a buffer in case of a crisis. Good cash flow analysis can confirm that there’s money to keep the lights on, but deeper analysis can uncover ways to best capture cash from every revenue stream.

Before I invite guests to visit, I always clean my house. I tell companies striving for a winning digital transformation, particularly in my industry niche, to do the exact same thing. 

Taking the time to look at where you’ve been and where you want to be headed can ensure you chart the right course going forward.

It's fair to say that most business owners are working toward greater profitability and growth. And while growth presents businesses and their employees with countless opportunities, the downside is the potential of having to stroke a big check to the Internal Revenue Service come tax time. Pile on ever-changing tax codes, exemptions, regulations and deadlines – and it’s no wonder that everyone is reaching for headache relief during tax season.

Think about how much the tried-and-true adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” says.

For many small and early-stage businesses, serving customers and running day-to-day operations can be enough to overwhelm the day. But it’s critical that these organizations carve out time to tend to their financial health daily, or at the bare minimum several times a week. With so many different metrics to track, it’s important to identify those that give you a line of sight into how your business is performing, as well as those that help you pinpoint issues brewing below the surface.