The holidays are over, which means it’s time to get back to business.
As you know, the beginning of the new year is an ideal time to assess how your company is tracking — and your clients will be busy doing the same.
The end of the fiscal year is also settling upon your client’s businesses, meaning they may be feeling financial strain with tax bills arriving. While every business experiences leaner times, your client may be ignoring important warning signs of more significant financial trouble.
To help your clients conduct a “business health check”, we have put together a list of useful questions that directors can use to to assess whether the company may be showing signs of financial distress.
While end of year planning has just concluded and it is still on the quieter side in terms of taking on new opportunities, consider sending this list to your clients to include as part of their business assessment:
- Are you being chased by creditors?
- Are you behind with your Inland Revenue Obligations?
- Are you unsure of how you will meet your PAYE obligations from January?
- Are you constantly at (or past) your overdraft limit?
- Are you waiting for that “next big” contract/sale?
- Are you struggling to pay yourself a fair wage?
- Are your shareholders constantly putting money into the company?
- Were the holidays unnecessarily stressful?
Direct your clients answering “yes” to four or more of these questions to seek specialist advice before the situation worsens. Good advice, early, leads to better options for these businesses rather than proceeding to liquidation after tax season.
Gerry Rea Partners welcomes you to refer any of your clients in a difficult financial situation to take advantage of our free (no obligation) confidential consultations. Simply have them call our toll free number: 0800 343 343.
If you have any questions for our highly experienced partners, please contact Simon Dalton at sdalton@gerryrea.co.nz.