As we head into the last quarter of the calendar year, small businesses operating with a December fiscal year end should be activity engaged in business planning for next year. As you craft your budgets and forecasts, it can be a good time to ask yourself whether you should do some restructuring. Consider these possibilities:

• Before you take this year's P&L and simply replicate it for next year, evaluate whether your current method of accounting for revenues and expenses accurately reflects your business. Does it give you the information that you need to really manage all aspects of your business? An area of your business, for instance, could have grown to the point that it should become a profit center so you can determine how well it is doing. You may have avoided carving the business unit out in the middle of the year. A new fiscal year provides a good time to start with a new approach.
• Are you trying to develop members of your management team as part of a succession plan or exit strategy? Do they seem hungry for increased responsibility? Do you feel overwhelmed because your span of control is too broad? Consider whether now is a good time to delegate profit and loss responsibility for a division or unit of the business. It could prove to be a win-win scenario. It can empower and train your staff, while removing something from your already crowded plate. It can also facilitate incentive programs, making it easier to tie some portion of pay to performance.

For nearly 20 years Warren Whitney & Sherwood has worked to help clients through good and difficult economic times. Our clients appreciate that we become part of their team, providing strategy, implementation, and counsel based on years of experience in many companies and industries. Please call us if you would like to talk.

 

Anne takes roles such as IT Director, Project Manager, Business Analyst, and IT Auditor with her clients.  Her industry experience includes insurance, financial services, transportation, government, and non-profit organizations.