I am delighted to announce that I have been invited, and unanimously elected, to take up the position of Vice President of the ITC Powertalk Public Speaking organisation in Lichfield.
The speech that I delivered earlier in the evening was very well received and possibly contributed towards my being nominated for this role.
I look forward to assisting in bringing more people to this organisation to learn the skills and receive the mentoring for improving their own public speaking techniques and presentation structures.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Monday, 10 May 2010
Alexander Daniels Launch Event
It was a great pleasure to be invited along to the Hotel du Vin in Birmingam recently.
One of Britain’s most prominent business leaders helped to boost Birmingham’s standing as a financial services centre by officially launching the Baskerville House offices of new financial recruitment consultancy Alexander Daniels.
Lord Digby Jones of Birmingham was among more than 80 guests including representatives from leading Midland companies and accountants, lawyers and other financial professionals at the firm’s launch event.
The former Trade Minister and Director-General of the CBI spoke optimistically about the economic outlook for the Midlands and applauded Alexander Daniels for bringing high quality value-added financial recruitment services to the city.
Digby gave one of his highly amusing, passionate, yet poignant trade mark speeches; full of his pride in the West Midlands and his determination to improve the region's skill sets, much criticism of our current political system, and his astonishment at how this country repaid it's greater ever leader, Winston Churchill, for saving the free world - by giving him the sack in the 1945 General Election.
The major networking occasion was hosted by experienced founder directors Jamie Rodden, Nick Pearce and Ian Mourbey, who were joined by the firm’s backer entrepreneur Andy Foote.
A highly successful launch event that was well attended by the business community and enjoyed by all - well done Alexander Daniels.
Friday, 16 April 2010
10 Top Tips to Improve Your Cashflow
Although many businesses still use profitability as their main Key Performance Indicator (KPI), if you run out of cash then you have no business left to operate (and the measure of profit or loss becomes completely irrelevant).
Good cash management is imperative to every business, but never more so than in the current economic climate. With optimism slowly returning to the business community, there is incredible pressure on companies to return to a growth profile at the earliest opportunity. This can be very dangerous because if working capital is already stressed, and business picks up, then the need to increase working capital at a time when lenders are looking to keep it held back could push the company into a scenario of slow cash flow strangulation or, even worse, to over trade.
By properly organising the credit management area of a business and injecting some structure and metrics into the cash collection process, as well as getting “stuck-in” to the traditional chasing routines (phone calls, Dunning letters, instigation of legal action etc.), you can make a huge difference to your working capital at a time when it really counts.
Here I highlight my “10 Top Tips to Improve Your Cashflow”: -
1) Credit Check – it is key to the whole process that you ask any prospective customer requesting a credit account to complete a form detailing their trading status, registered address, company number, VAT number etc in order that their credit status can be reviewed by one of the industry standard providers, such as Dunn & Bradstreet, and an opinion can be formed as to what credit level (if any) would be appropriate to start trading on.
2) Purchase Order – you must make sure that a valid purchase order is obtained from the customer in line with their accounting policies and system. By omitting this stage you are running the risk of the client suggesting that whoever made the order request wasn’t acting on behalf of them, and this could therefore cause delays in getting paid on that order.
3) Terms & Conditions – ensure that terms (i.e. payment due 30 days after the date of invoice) are fully known for each customer, and that each customer is aware of them too (you would be surprised how often these details are not fully known internally or externally!!!).
4) Daily invoicing – wherever possible, raise invoices on a daily basis. The earlier the date of creation (and therefore the tax point), the sooner the invoice will become due and payable, and the more efficiently you will be able to unlock the cash from it. Never leave the invoicing process to one large batch run at month end, otherwise you will add a significant amount of days to the cycle and risk greatly damaging your cash flow.
5) Forecasts – ensure you have a minimum of at least 12 weeks forward forecast visible, but preferably longer. This will give you a rounded cash position for the business, highlight pinch points and what action needs taking as a result, and help to define each month’s targeted collections for the Credit Control team.
6) Targets - set monthly collection targets for the credit control team and, if possible, write this on a white board in full view in order that the credit control staff can visualise this target. In addition, give them a daily update beneath this figure so that progress can be monitored as the month progresses. A target and actual daily average collection figure can really help to motivate the team towards achieving their goal.
7) Telephone chasing – as soon as an invoice becomes overdue (i.e. beyond terms) then the process of telephone chasing should begin. This will let the customer know that you are organised and systematic and serious about getting your cash in. During the call, ensure that there are no issues or disputes with the invoice – if there is an issue, it is imperative that this is resolved internally immediately in order that the customer’s query can be resolved, and that any further barriers to payment are removed. For repeat business clients, it also gives your team the opportunity to create relationships with members of the client’s Bought Ledger team which, if done well, can then help to make the collection process more efficient on a month by month basis.
8) Dunning letters – the Company should operate a strict regime of chasing letters to be activated on 15, 30 and 45 days beyond terms, with the vocabulary getting stronger with each. If a customer believes they are about to be taken legal then this will often unlock the outstanding cash.
9) Directors/Sales/Operations Team Members – if the telephone chasing and Dunning letters are getting nowhere, then a further step before going legal is to ask your Directors or members of the Sales and Operations teams to help. They may have relationships with key individuals in the customer’s company built during the initial marketing or sales negotiating process. Again, a call to the right person in the customer’s team can often help to unlock the cash quickly.
10) Legal action – if the telephone and letter chasing produces no results, don’t be afraid of going legal. There are many solicitors out there who will undertake the initial legal letter to customers for £2 + VAT each. No business likes to have CCJ’s entered against them, but will often wait for the legal letter to arrive before finally paying up.
Remember, the longer you leave it to chase overdue cash, the harder it becomes to eventually collect it!!!
If you need any further assistance with your cash management process then you should consider the services of an Interim Finance Director who can help you to ensure that the requisite systems are put in place and are fully functioning to their best effect. Email phk@intervallum.co.uk to arrange a meeting to discuss this further; Intervallum Limited can make a huge difference to your working capital at a time when it really counts.
Good cash management is imperative to every business, but never more so than in the current economic climate. With optimism slowly returning to the business community, there is incredible pressure on companies to return to a growth profile at the earliest opportunity. This can be very dangerous because if working capital is already stressed, and business picks up, then the need to increase working capital at a time when lenders are looking to keep it held back could push the company into a scenario of slow cash flow strangulation or, even worse, to over trade.
By properly organising the credit management area of a business and injecting some structure and metrics into the cash collection process, as well as getting “stuck-in” to the traditional chasing routines (phone calls, Dunning letters, instigation of legal action etc.), you can make a huge difference to your working capital at a time when it really counts.
Here I highlight my “10 Top Tips to Improve Your Cashflow”: -
1) Credit Check – it is key to the whole process that you ask any prospective customer requesting a credit account to complete a form detailing their trading status, registered address, company number, VAT number etc in order that their credit status can be reviewed by one of the industry standard providers, such as Dunn & Bradstreet, and an opinion can be formed as to what credit level (if any) would be appropriate to start trading on.
2) Purchase Order – you must make sure that a valid purchase order is obtained from the customer in line with their accounting policies and system. By omitting this stage you are running the risk of the client suggesting that whoever made the order request wasn’t acting on behalf of them, and this could therefore cause delays in getting paid on that order.
3) Terms & Conditions – ensure that terms (i.e. payment due 30 days after the date of invoice) are fully known for each customer, and that each customer is aware of them too (you would be surprised how often these details are not fully known internally or externally!!!).
4) Daily invoicing – wherever possible, raise invoices on a daily basis. The earlier the date of creation (and therefore the tax point), the sooner the invoice will become due and payable, and the more efficiently you will be able to unlock the cash from it. Never leave the invoicing process to one large batch run at month end, otherwise you will add a significant amount of days to the cycle and risk greatly damaging your cash flow.
5) Forecasts – ensure you have a minimum of at least 12 weeks forward forecast visible, but preferably longer. This will give you a rounded cash position for the business, highlight pinch points and what action needs taking as a result, and help to define each month’s targeted collections for the Credit Control team.
6) Targets - set monthly collection targets for the credit control team and, if possible, write this on a white board in full view in order that the credit control staff can visualise this target. In addition, give them a daily update beneath this figure so that progress can be monitored as the month progresses. A target and actual daily average collection figure can really help to motivate the team towards achieving their goal.
7) Telephone chasing – as soon as an invoice becomes overdue (i.e. beyond terms) then the process of telephone chasing should begin. This will let the customer know that you are organised and systematic and serious about getting your cash in. During the call, ensure that there are no issues or disputes with the invoice – if there is an issue, it is imperative that this is resolved internally immediately in order that the customer’s query can be resolved, and that any further barriers to payment are removed. For repeat business clients, it also gives your team the opportunity to create relationships with members of the client’s Bought Ledger team which, if done well, can then help to make the collection process more efficient on a month by month basis.
8) Dunning letters – the Company should operate a strict regime of chasing letters to be activated on 15, 30 and 45 days beyond terms, with the vocabulary getting stronger with each. If a customer believes they are about to be taken legal then this will often unlock the outstanding cash.
9) Directors/Sales/Operations Team Members – if the telephone chasing and Dunning letters are getting nowhere, then a further step before going legal is to ask your Directors or members of the Sales and Operations teams to help. They may have relationships with key individuals in the customer’s company built during the initial marketing or sales negotiating process. Again, a call to the right person in the customer’s team can often help to unlock the cash quickly.
10) Legal action – if the telephone and letter chasing produces no results, don’t be afraid of going legal. There are many solicitors out there who will undertake the initial legal letter to customers for £2 + VAT each. No business likes to have CCJ’s entered against them, but will often wait for the legal letter to arrive before finally paying up.
Remember, the longer you leave it to chase overdue cash, the harder it becomes to eventually collect it!!!
If you need any further assistance with your cash management process then you should consider the services of an Interim Finance Director who can help you to ensure that the requisite systems are put in place and are fully functioning to their best effect. Email phk@intervallum.co.uk to arrange a meeting to discuss this further; Intervallum Limited can make a huge difference to your working capital at a time when it really counts.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
PHK’s Budget Comments on ITN National News
Many thanks for all the kind comments and emails that I have received since appearing on the ITN National news on budget day, where ITN were filming from the “marginal” constituency of Burton-upon-Trent.
I was asked to go along by the Chamber of Commerce to give the view of the business community, and was more than happy to do so.
On the day itself, after a "live" feed on the news before the budget speech was made, I was questioned for my opinion on the budget on “live” national TV just moments after the Chancellor had sat down (and with little or no time to reflect further on the points delivered), and was then subsequently filmed for a recorded piece for the news bulletin at 6.30pm.
For those of you that have asked, some of the footage can still be viewed at the ITN site via the following link: -
http://www.itnsource.com/jp/shotlist/ITN/2010/03/24/T24031035/?v=0&a=1
It was a thoroughly interesting experience, although I feel the real budget decisions are yet to be made and won't come until after 6th May.
I was asked to go along by the Chamber of Commerce to give the view of the business community, and was more than happy to do so.
On the day itself, after a "live" feed on the news before the budget speech was made, I was questioned for my opinion on the budget on “live” national TV just moments after the Chancellor had sat down (and with little or no time to reflect further on the points delivered), and was then subsequently filmed for a recorded piece for the news bulletin at 6.30pm.
For those of you that have asked, some of the footage can still be viewed at the ITN site via the following link: -
http://www.itnsource.com/jp/shotlist/ITN/2010/03/24/T24031035/?v=0&a=1
It was a thoroughly interesting experience, although I feel the real budget decisions are yet to be made and won't come until after 6th May.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Immediately Available Interim Finance Director
Paul Hooper-Keeley of Intervallum Limited has just completed an assignment with a Private Equity backed business and is now immediately available to take on a new project. He can be contacted via phk@intervallum.co.uk and 07958 155705.
Monday, 8 February 2010
LDC Opportunity Club
A big thank you to LDC and the excellent LDC Opportunity Club event that they hosted at the Piccadilly Le Meridien last Thursday evening.
An evening of fine wine tasting was provided by Edward Parker Wines, with Edward Parker on hand to tell us about the "Walking With The Wounded" project where he will lead a team of enthusiastic volunteers and wounded servicemen on an attempt to walk unsupported to the North Pole in April 2011 in support of "Help For Heroes".
LDC CEO Darryl Eales commented on his starring appearance in the previous Sunday Times Business section, arguing that LDC were a benefit to the tax payer (who now own a large part to Lloyds TSB) due to their continuing profitability (as opposed to the continued negativity for the sake of a story in the press). He also had a few words to say about the new Formula 1 team that they have invested in (having been at Silverstone that very afternoon).
For me, it was good to have the chance to meet up with Chris Thomas, previously a Director of Hanson plc and more recently with his LDC backed MBO of Electrium (and subsequent sale to Siemens), whom I had the pleasure to work with at Bullock Construction Limited (another LDC investment), and some of the LDC team from the Birmingham office who I know.
A fine (if a very late) evening indeed.
An evening of fine wine tasting was provided by Edward Parker Wines, with Edward Parker on hand to tell us about the "Walking With The Wounded" project where he will lead a team of enthusiastic volunteers and wounded servicemen on an attempt to walk unsupported to the North Pole in April 2011 in support of "Help For Heroes".
LDC CEO Darryl Eales commented on his starring appearance in the previous Sunday Times Business section, arguing that LDC were a benefit to the tax payer (who now own a large part to Lloyds TSB) due to their continuing profitability (as opposed to the continued negativity for the sake of a story in the press). He also had a few words to say about the new Formula 1 team that they have invested in (having been at Silverstone that very afternoon).
For me, it was good to have the chance to meet up with Chris Thomas, previously a Director of Hanson plc and more recently with his LDC backed MBO of Electrium (and subsequent sale to Siemens), whom I had the pleasure to work with at Bullock Construction Limited (another LDC investment), and some of the LDC team from the Birmingham office who I know.
A fine (if a very late) evening indeed.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Happy 1st Birthday Intervallum!!!
Although Managing Director, Paul Hooper-Keeley, has been providing Interim Finance Director Services to industry and commerce since early 2004, today is exactly a year since Intervallum Limited was first incorporated. And what a year it has been.......
Our thanks go to our clients over the last 12 months, Dunedin Private Equity, CET Safehouse Limited, Diamond Edge Events Limited, M Exceed Limited and Purple Cat Limited who have used Intervallum’s Interim Finance Director Services to assist in a refinancing, a relocation of head office, “a safe pair of hands” between FD’s, preparation of Management Accounts and Year End Statutory Report & Accounts, Company Secretarial services, Heads of Agreement on an earn out acquisition and advice on business start-ups amongst other things.
Other highlights of Intervallum’s first year include: -
Intervallum being recognised and nominated in the “Best New Business in the Midlands 2009” category at the Midlands Business Awards held at Aston Villa FC in November.
Paul Hooper-Keeley being invited to become a regular writer for the Institute of Directors West Midlands magazine and having articles published in the summer, autumn and winter 2009 issues.
Organising and hosting an event on “Inspirational Leadership” for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants at Stoke City FC’s Britannia Stadium in December.
Being invited to speak at the Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry event on “The state of the economy” in September.
Paul Hooper-Keeley/Intervallum profiled in the IoD news magazine in May 2009.
Accounting Technician magazine featuring an article on Intervallum Limited’s provision of Interim Finance Director Services in its July/August 2009 issue.
Intervallum Limited were proud to sponsor 2 prizes at the Masquerade Summer Ball in aid of the Brain Tumour UK charity in June.
The coaching and mentoring of 5 executives in their career development and progression plans.
Starting a new Company in the face of what was almost certainly the deepest recession to hit the world since the Great Depression was certainly a huge task – but the team at Intervallum have certainly risen to the challenge and have had a very successful first year. And with a number of new projects and opportunities currently being developed for 2010, the next 12 months looks likely to provide a very busy second year.
Our thanks go to our clients over the last 12 months, Dunedin Private Equity, CET Safehouse Limited, Diamond Edge Events Limited, M Exceed Limited and Purple Cat Limited who have used Intervallum’s Interim Finance Director Services to assist in a refinancing, a relocation of head office, “a safe pair of hands” between FD’s, preparation of Management Accounts and Year End Statutory Report & Accounts, Company Secretarial services, Heads of Agreement on an earn out acquisition and advice on business start-ups amongst other things.
Other highlights of Intervallum’s first year include: -
Intervallum being recognised and nominated in the “Best New Business in the Midlands 2009” category at the Midlands Business Awards held at Aston Villa FC in November.
Paul Hooper-Keeley being invited to become a regular writer for the Institute of Directors West Midlands magazine and having articles published in the summer, autumn and winter 2009 issues.
Organising and hosting an event on “Inspirational Leadership” for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants at Stoke City FC’s Britannia Stadium in December.
Being invited to speak at the Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry event on “The state of the economy” in September.
Paul Hooper-Keeley/Intervallum profiled in the IoD news magazine in May 2009.
Accounting Technician magazine featuring an article on Intervallum Limited’s provision of Interim Finance Director Services in its July/August 2009 issue.
Intervallum Limited were proud to sponsor 2 prizes at the Masquerade Summer Ball in aid of the Brain Tumour UK charity in June.
The coaching and mentoring of 5 executives in their career development and progression plans.
Starting a new Company in the face of what was almost certainly the deepest recession to hit the world since the Great Depression was certainly a huge task – but the team at Intervallum have certainly risen to the challenge and have had a very successful first year. And with a number of new projects and opportunities currently being developed for 2010, the next 12 months looks likely to provide a very busy second year.
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