Sometimes, having an outside eye look over your business’s finances can be a helpful way to make sure everything is running above board.
This is where management accounts come into play. Not only is it a useful service to have for your financial and compliance queries, but also a way to look deeper into how your business is running.
At HW Associates, we believe management accounts can help your business. Here’s why.
What are management accounts?
Management accounting provides your business with monitored reporting to provide a clear picture of your business’s health.
Rather than leaving it until the end of your financial year, you will receive an analysis of your accounts to a time scale of your choosing, whether it’s monthly, quarterly or annually.
These reports will help your business identify strengths or weaknesses and can be used for creating budgets, putting together a forecast and updating your processes.
Looking ahead
Management accounts have many benefits, especially for businesses planning for the future.
Although management accounts use historical data, the purpose of the reports is to use your previous sales and performance to predict future performance.
By looking at your cashflow, management accounting can spot trends and use them as a basis for budgeting and forecasting. With this information, you’ll be able to plan how best to use your money and identify ways to invest it into your business.
It isn’t just the future that management accounts can help with, but also where your business currently stands. You’ll be able to track your previous and current business goals and check to see whether you’ve deviated from these plans. If this is the case, you’ll know where things may have changed and how to rectify them.
Giving you control
By providing you with regular reports, HW Associates will help you gain the next level of control of your business.
As you’ll have all of the necessary financial data in your hands, you’ll have the power to make decisions at a strategic level. Management accounts don’t make decisions for you but give you the tools and knowledge you need to find the best options for your business.
In your reports, you’ll have an accurate and up-to-date copy of your cashflow and profit and loss. This data will help you plan your taxes efficiently, as you’ll know how much capital you have and how much you’re likely to owe HMRC for your tax bill.
Management accounts can also help tighten your financial security – because everything about your inner framework will be under the microscope, we can expose any risk of fraud or malpractice.
Performance insight
Many businesses find themselves experiencing dips in performance throughout the year. If you’re a seasonal business, this especially rings true.
Your management accounts will show you your peaks and troughs over your financial year and allow you to plan accordingly. Whether it means you look into cutting costs, or saving a little extra during the busier times, you’ll be able to form a strategy to circumvent these issues.
We’re here to help
Every business can benefit from practical advice and support from an accounting team. At HW Associates, our team will prepare management accounts to guide you through your professional lifecycle.
Talk to us today about management accounting.