By Seamus Parfrey  

In the short term a business can run into serious difficulties through cash flow issues even though it may be very profitable. Improve your cash flow management and in the process you can reduce your business problems.

1.Credit Control

Make sure that you have a credit control system in place including setting credit limits and payment terms for customers and following up on all debts on the due date. Stop providing credit terms to bad payers to avoid bad debts and to save management time. Understand your large customers payment systems and use them to ensure you are paid regularly and promptly. Deal with all      customers queries immediately. Offer a discount for immediate payment.

2.Reduce Costs

Determine whether an expense is necessary before you incur it. You will be surprised what you can save by questioning its absolute necessity in advance.

3.Suppliers

Review your suppliers current offerings and see if you can improve them either with them or from new suppliers. Try and reduce the cost to you and also extend payment terms.

4.Stock

Avoid holding unnecessary stock as it has to be financed. Only order what you need when you need it. Sell off old or outdated stock for a quick cash injection. Avoid having stock that will become obsolete. Identify what stock your customers buy and when so that any seasonal stock items are properly planned. Place limits on stock to be ordered. Have a strategy to identify and reduce slow moving stock.  Apply the 80/20 rule to stock and plan accordingly     (20% of your stock will provide 80% of your sales).

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Written by Noel Murphy and published by the South African Institute Of Professional Accountants Journal Quarter 3 2012

Although many articles on time management are geared toward busy executives and managers, the principles are for everyone. You can use your time more effectively to accomplish more tasks, achieve more goals and fulfil more of your needs. By applying time management techniques, you'll feel less hurried and stressful, knowing that you are in control of your most valuable possession - your time.

Try not to think of time management as a set of complicated procedures or difficult skills to be mastered. Instead, think of it as a series of behaviours which are consciously practised until they become natural and routine habits. Practising and using the following techniques will help you in your job and at home.

1. Plan your activities Planning saves time, gets better results in the long run, and ensures that your efforts will be in the right direction. You should consider both short-term and long-range goals in your plans. They should be flexible enough to allow for unexpected obstacles and opportunities. Put your plans in brief, written form and routinely check them to ensure that you're on the right track.  
   
    
2. Establish your priorities There will never be enough time to accomplish all your tasks and goals. Therefore, rank them according to their importance and urgency to you. An activity is important if it's something you really want to do, such as improving your communication and leadership skills. An activity is urgent if you have to do it immediately, such as submitting your tax returns before an impending deadline. If you spend more time on urgent activities than on important ones, you need to practise better time management. 
   
     
3. Eliminate unnecessary tasks Carefully analyse your routine to see if it's efficient. There's a good chance it's loaded with time-consuming non-essentials. Get rid of them if they hinder you in achieving your primary goals.  
   
    
4. Get organised Organisation takes less time than is wasted working in a disorganised environment. Avoid wasting time searching for things by establishing specific locations for all your tools, materials and paperwork. Frequently used items should be kept close to where you work. Organisation applies not only to objects, but to people as well. A major responsibility of company officers is to organise the efforts of members so as to obtain maximum desirable results with minimum investment of time. Lack of company organisation results in failure to attain goals, and thus wastes time.

 By Seamus Parfrey  

When you make the mistake of adding the date to the right side of the accounting statement, you must add it to the left side too.     

ACCOUNTANT'S MAXIM

A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.

C. E. HOOVER

An accountant is a man hired to explain that you didn't make the money you thought you had.

ANON

Did you ever hear of a kid playing accountant - even if he wanted to be one?

JACKIE MASON

Is Chapter Eleven the result of following the Ten Commandments?

ANON

A budget tells us what we can't afford, but it doesn't keep us from buying it.

WILLIAM FEATHER

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By Noel Murphy

Joke 1

A Cork accountant dies and goes to Heaven. He is met by St Peter who goes through the usual questionnaire.

"What sort of accountant are you?" says St Peter

"I work in private practice," is the reply.

"Name?"

He gives his name. St Peter goes through some files and pulls one out.

"Oh, yes. We've been expecting you. You've reached your allotted span," says St Peter.

"How can that be?" says the accountant. "I'm too young to go. I'm only forty-eight"

"No, that's impossible."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well we've been looking at your time sheets and the hours you've charged your clients. By our reckoning you're at least ninety three."

JOKE 2

A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and says, "Want to hear an accountant joke?"

The guy replies, "Well, before you tell that joke, you should know that I'm 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, and I'm a Cork accountant. And the guy sitting next to me is 6' 2" tall 225 pounds and he's a Cork accountant too. Now, do you still want to tell that joke?"

The first guy says, "Not really, I don't want to have to explain it twice."

JOKE 3

A man walking along a country road comes across a farmer droving a huge flock of sheep. He stops and chats for a while and then says, "Tell you what, I'll bet you €100 against one of your sheep that I can tell you the exact number in that flock."

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