One of the biggest business networks in the UK is "hidden" in plain sight - it's the network of the UK’s 4.7 million registered companies and their directors, other officers and owners. Many directors and owners are (or have been)…
In my previous blog on financial reporting I described steps 1 to 3, that make up the bookkeeping phase in which accounting records are created. But that looks at the past. It's already happened; it's done and dusted. Hence the…
Do your eyes glaze over when you look at financial reports? Mine do - and I've seen it happen with lots of other people. I've talked about this with both 'producers' of reports (FDs, CFOs, accountants etc.) and 'consumers' (Owners,…
Accounting is taking a new direction. We’ve all seen it — cloud-based software and automation has stormed the gates but, in the settling dust, lie hidden challenges that we must address before embracing the new age. More and more I’m…
In my last blog I introduced the 6 steps in the financial reporting process. Now I'm going to discuss the first 3 of those and some related problems - and I'll give a few tips on how to solve them.…
In this series of blogs I'm going to discuss the financial reporting workflow in SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). I'm doing so as an entrepreneur, so I'll be focusing on business issues, not technicalities. I'm not an accountant. But I've…
One of the fundamental challenges in understanding financial reports is the numbers! Sure, we can pick out a value from a table. We can find the a column, run our eyes (or finger) down it to a row that interests…
Accounting is often described as 'the language of business'. Unfortunately most of us are not fluent in it. I've been a tech entrepreneur for over 30 years, so I've attended hundreds of SME board meetings. Some were for my own…