Making sense of the numbers in the current climate

Geoff features in the latest edition of Northern Insight and continues his assessment of business in the crisis. 

Hope Ahead? 

Last year I likened the pandemic to an earthquake, wondering when the tsunami would arrive. There are now differing opinions as to whether it will. Through furlough, lower VAT rates and deferred payments, extended bounce-back loans, rates relief and moratorium on evictions, the Government has helped to smooth out what could have been catastrophic challenges for many businesses. The question now is, will there be a crash when this support ends, or will it be death by a thousand cuts, with businesses struggling on until they realise that they are unviable for a range of underlying reasons and eventually give up?

In my previous article, I suggested somewhat cynically that the Government would solve the unemployment crisis by appointing an army to crack down on those who defraud Covid-19 support initiatives. Lo and behold, the Chancellor recently announced the creation of the HMRC Taxpayer Protection Taskforce with more than 1000 new inspectors. Businesses which have not played by the rules or failed to keep accurate records can expect an unpleasant ride in the coming months.

Practical Steps

To survive, businesses must be flexible and agile, ready to seize the many opportunities that will inevitably arise from lockdown freedom. As an essential first step, they must have accurate, up-todate financial information and cash forecasting on a 12-month minimum basis, to identify problems looming and have time to react to them for good or for bad.

Please click here to read the full article on page 10.