In today's episode, Christina interviews Stewart Roberts, owner of Maia Kai, on the importance of understanding finances in business. Stewart shares his extensive experience in the back office accounts and funding side of recruitment for over 24 years. He highlights the value of non-exec finance advisory services for recruitment agencies and emphasizes the need for directors to have a solid grasp of their financials. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• It's crucial for businesses to prioritize understanding their finances from the very beginning.

• Hiring a non-executive financial director can provide valuable insights and guidance, even for smaller businesses.

• Monthly management accounts can help businesses stay on top of their numbers and make informed decisions.

• Outsourcing tasks like bookkeeping, accounting, and IT can be cost-effective and efficient for businesses of all sizes.

• Accountants should not only provide financial services but also actively help businesses succeed and grow.

BEST MOMENTS

"I think people think if they get these softwares it's going to actually eliminate the need of their accountant."

"I always say to get monthly management accounts. I know a lot of people would say quarterly. I think monthly, really, you've got to know what your numbers are on a month by month basis."

"I think that accountability piece is really important, especially in those smaller organisations, when there's no one to have those hard conversations with."

"People don't understand things like VAT, corporation tax and things like that, so what they will quite often do is they'll look at their bank account and use that as a judgment on how successful their business is."

"I've had some bad luck with accountants, right? And a big part of that was over-reliance on automation by the accountant without something strong enough on my part, as well as theirs, to make sure that where we were relying on automation, that things were getting picked up, checked."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/

https://twitter.com/christinamc80?lang=en-gb

https://www.green-umbrella.biz/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinarobinson2/?originalSubdomain=uk

HOST BIO

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them!