He is a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP), Certified International Turnaround Manager (CITM), who brings over 35 years of senior operating leadership, $85M+ asset and investment recovery, 45+ M&A transactions worth $1.2B, and $80M fund management expertise to advise companies. John is the Past Chairman of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA), Past Chairman of the Association of Interim Executives, Senior Fellow at the Turnaround Management Society, serves on public and private boards of directors, and advises companies, and private equity investors. He’s enshrined in Turnaround Management, Restructuring and Distressed Investing at the Industry Hall of Fame and frequently writes articles on turnarounds and outside leadership.

We speak with him on all things turnarounds over the next pages.

What is the most important step to turnaround success?

Obtain leadership guidance early. Turnarounds and the Zone of Insolvency are fraught with risk. Businesses fail because of mismanagement – sometimes it is denial, sometimes negligence, but it always results in loss. There is a different set of skills required.

I recommend hiring outside independent directors and advisers to help shape the process. You need these guys to increase cash flow, provide valuable guidance, contacts, and credibility. Install a board with transition and turnaround experience in value-building situations.

Companies committed to going through significant business change (turnaround, transition, generational ownership transfer, entering new markets), anticipating a major liquidity event, need guidance.

Outside directors often increase cash flow and business growth. According to a Forbes/Lodestone Global survey, 97% of companies reporting increased revenues and EBITDA, since adding a board with outside directors. They bring a new set of skills and ideas to produce benefits, while you maintain control. They provide an external source of accountability and add credibility. When it comes time for a liquidity-seeking event, outside directors send the message that you are an organisation with leadership, guidance, and stability.

Benefits of Outside Directors

Create a culture and structure that will withstand third-party accountability to add value to the business. Start thinking as a rebuilt and growing company and prepare for a potential future life as a public company or increased scrutiny of investors.

What should you expect during the turnaround?

The process goes through five stages: changing management focus (leadership), analysing the situation and developing plans (viability), emergency action (crisis control), restructuring business (change), and return to normality (going concern). It is key to coordinate the functions and focus of the company to complement each other.

Can you detail the key steps that are involved when turnaround services are required?

You need clear thinking to quickly determine what is wrong, develop strategies that no one else has tried before, and implement plans to restructure the company. The problems are rarely obvious. Instead, there are often two or three underlying systemic ills that must be fixed. You can’t focus on the symptoms but must find the real causes.

There is a process for guiding an entity through corporate renewal. It involves using a transferable set of skills to revitalise the property and restore it to a sale-worthy state. Then, you sell the entity and realise returns.

Bring Leadership. Change Management Focus

In times of crisis and transition, who can handle the crisis management role? This is a predicament. If there is a qualified leader within the company, then delegate the job of ‘turnaround’ to that person and provide proper support. If there is not a qualified leader in the company – and there often isn’t – don’t hesitate to go outside the company to locate a professional for this job.

The leader must get directly involved in making decisions to achieve the ultimate goal — turnaround and sale at increased valuation. They must be held accountable for performance and timely results. Most importantly, they must get things moving. On the revenue/sales side, look at where and how revenue is generated and keep it coming. On the throughput/production side, get the product or service out the door. How else can you bill for it?

To complete the turn, hire a marquee manager to lead the enduring team. This permanent team adds to value equation.

Set Strategy

An effective strategy is key to implementing change. You must establish a new vision, distil this direction into concrete goals and objectives, and create a guide for all stakeholders to follow. Rebuilding momentum is critical to success.

Focus on a new perspective of what is going on and fix it. Question:

• Is the business viable? Turnable?
• What is the purpose of the business?
• Should it be saved? Why? Are these reasons valid?
• Is there a core business that can be the foundation for the emerging business?
• Are there sufficient cash resources to fuel the recovery?
• Are there existing managers capable of leading parts of the company?

Remember, not all companies are salvageable.

Identify effective turnaround strategies. Operational strategies include increasing revenue, reducing costs, selling and redeploying assets, and establishing competitive repositioning.  Strategic initiatives include adopting sound corporate and business strategies and tactics and setting specific goals and objectives that align with ultimate stakeholder goals. Too often, goals are misaligned with the ultimate direction and lead to confusion, wasted time, false starts, and employees sent in the wrong direction.

Build a Quality Management Team

The value of a company increases sharply with a strong, permanent, credible team who can demonstrate their ability to produce consistent sales, profit and cash-flow results. Establish continuity in the organisation to allow everyone to expect orderly change and opportunity.

Capitalise on available under-utilised human capital — those remaining middle managers. Chances are they are dedicated to the company and its success. Guide them to their next level, and they will take the company to the next big step.

Acquire New Business/Sales

There are only two ways to increase sales: 1) sell new products to existing customers, and 2) sell existing products to new customers. Most under-performers have forgotten, or never had, the basics of marketing and promotion. Clearly promote what your products and services can do for your customer to satisfy their needs; differentiate why your product stands apart from the competition.

Become market driven, adapt to changing conditions and improve your competitive position. Deliver only what customers are willing to pay for.

Establish a Sound Capital Structure

Create reasons for investors to invest and for buyers to buy. A sound strategy with a viable marketplace, efficient delivery and production vehicles, high probability of future cash flows — coupled with a cohesive marketing-oriented management team — will entice the investment community. Securing new capital becomes much easier when investors see high probability of return and a viable exit strategy.

As important to infusing cash for working capital needs, is to make certain cash won’t be diverted into past sins. Establish relationships with creditors so they will work with the new management team — give them upside when the turn is complete. Consider a “creditor’s committee” approach to keep them plugged in and participating. Pre-packaged bankruptcies are also available to ensure cooperation. You can always purchase assets out of bankruptcy to ensure a clean structure, a strategy being utilised more often as buyout funds get more comfortable with the process.

Implement Processes

Use systems and processes to drive the business and control the day-to-day environment, which allows management to run the critical elements of the company. Many managers waste time on tasks where results would be essentially the same, managed or not. Focus on the important things — controlling cash and costs, increasing sales and enhancing value creation. Manage these.

Processes define guidelines and expectations — watch for the benefits derived from communicating what is expected. This will re-establish delegation of authority and expectation to those who can turn the events of the company. When results are recurring, this stimulates value.

Nurture Resources

Leverage all resources —people/facilities/advisers — to complete the turnaround. Set up an incentive structure that pays only when they accomplish the goals set forth in your long-term strategy. A robust incentive structure shares the risk; if successful all will gain. If not, you’re not subsidising poor performance. Incentives should be based on performance that will take a company beyond its sale. After all, they are a key asset your buyer is looking for.

What’s your final word of advice?

Do not expect miracles overnight. A turnaround can take years of hard work to achieve. Outside advisers are a catalyst to speed and direct the process and increase probability of success and returns. Owners must make hard decisions and commitment to enabling the process to take place. Ultimately, the success of a turnaround rests upon the shoulders of a business's most valuable assets; owners, advisers, leaders, creditors, lenders, its management and employees, all dedicated to turning around the company – get buy-in. Good luck.

Strategic Management Partners, Inc.

522 Horn Point Drive, Annapolis, Maryland 21403

Telephone: 410-263-9100   

Facsimile: 410-263-6094

Web Site: www.StrategicMgtPartners.com

Email: Strategist@aol.com or John@StrategicMgtPartners.com

MPs squarely blamed the “recklessness, hubris and greed” of Carillion’s directors for the debacle.

Carillion’s collapse wreaked financial havoc on public services across the UK. Thousands of workers saw their jobs vanish overnight. Yet Carillion’s directors walked away relatively unscathed. One year after the company’s demise, Anca Thompson from Excello Law explores how corporate accountability can be imposed on public services firms.

In 2016, Carillion was the UK’s second largest construction company with annual revenue of over £5 billion and 43,000 staff globally. Yet the company was clearly not too big to fail. As the media trawled through the wreckage left by Carillion’s collapse, many commentators asked: “Where were the regulators?”

A joint report by two House of Commons select committees found that directors had prioritised executive bonuses and shareholder dividends over pension payments for staff - even as the company veered towards bankruptcy.

"The chronic lack of accountability and professionalism now evident in Carillion’s governance were failures years in the making. The board was either negligently ignorant of the rotten culture at Carillion or complicit in it."

The report stated that: “The chronic lack of accountability and professionalism now evident in Carillion’s governance were failures years in the making. The board was either negligently ignorant of the rotten culture at Carillion or complicit in it.”

Carillion’s auditors, KMPG, also came in for criticism, with one MP saying he would not trust the firm to audit the contents of his fridge. MPs found that Carillion’s Finance Director thought that making adequate pension payments for staff was “a waste of money”.

The joint committee recommended a wide-ranging overhaul of the UK’s systems of corporate accountability. The Financial Reporting Council’s Code of Corporate Governance, issued in July 2018, is perhaps a modest first step in the right direction. Yet a year after the Carillion fiasco, the question still being asked is: how can effective corporate accountability be imposed on public services firms?

At the point of its demise, Carillion held live public contracts to build Crossrail, HS2, hospitals, schools, roads and other critical infrastructure. It was also responsible for maintaining railways, 50,000 military houses and half of the country’s prisons. When profit-making companies become crucial to building and maintaining essential public infrastructure, the ordinary public interest in good corporate governance becomes a national interest.

The anniversary of Carillion’s collapse saw plans to exert tighter controls on public service contractors being backed by 65% of 750 directors. These plans would involve the creation of a new Public Service Corporation and enhanced legal obligations for companies to balance their responsibilities to shareholders and other stakeholders, including employees, creditors, pensioners and local communities.

Yet a year after the Carillion fiasco, the question still being asked is: how can effective corporate accountability be imposed on public services firms?

Section 172 of the Companies Act, 2006 already sets out a general director’s duty to promote the success of the Company and in doing so “have regard” to the interests of the company’s employees, the community and the environment, for example, when running a company. Having such notional general duties on the statute books is well and good. However, the crucial thing is how such duties are defined, monitored and enforced.

While paying increased lip service to ideals of corporate responsibility is a positive step, the real question is how meaningful reform will be brought to fruition through specific regulation and law. A key question is how to monitor the impact a company has on local communities. Whole towns and cities can come to rely for their economic survival on a single large corporation. The government’s £60 million incentive for Nissan to build new lines of cars in Sunderland springs to mind. Yet companies providing key public services clearly must have a particular duty to consider the public good.

The way that oversight of public services companies is exercised will be critical to securing successful change. The precise extent of directorial accountability should be specified in practical and comprehensible terms.  What criteria will guide a board of directors facing such broad responsibilities?  What is the balancing exercise when directors’ duties to employees and shareholders, for example, stand in stark opposition? Should community, government, taxpayers or employee representatives have a seat on the boards of companies performing public services?

The suggested solutions have ranged from the reform of directors’ limited liability to breaking up the Big Four accountancy firms, who were roundly criticised for their lenient handling of Carillion’s books. Others suggest that if directors were largely paid in shares - which they could not sell for a number of years - then it would be in their personal financial interest to ensure the long-term viability of companies.

On the other hand, if the UK’s corporate governance regime becomes too draconian, do we risk scaring away foreign investors and the jobs they bring? Would such a move be wise when many investors are already concerned by the uncertainty surrounding the actual political climate of indecision when we exit the EU and how?

Whatever solutions the government eventually alights upon, the way that any new corporate governance regime is defined and implemented will require a great deal of fine-tuning in order to strike the delicate balance between free enterprise and good corporate citizenship. I think the times are moving towards a sensible compromise that will certainly benefit civic attitudes and society overall.

In 2018 RAK ICC made two key appointments to its team. The appointment of Alan Bougourd as Registrar in February was followed in April by the appointment of Dr Sameer Al Ansari as CEO. These appointments were made as part of the firm’s journey towards achieving global brand recognition as a premium jurisdiction for company formation.

Dr Sameer, a UK qualified Chartered Accountant brings over 30 years of expertise and deep industry knowledge in private equity and investment banking, having managed private equity (PE) funds, investment banks (Shuaa Capital) and investment companies (Dubai International Capital). Dr Sameer was also a Board Member of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) for 12 years.

Commenting on Dr Sameer’s appointment at the time, RAK ICC Chairman, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saqr Al Qasimi, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr Sameer as the CEO of RAK ICC. As a much-respected senior figure, his time as a Board Member at the DIFC and Hawkamah as well as his extensive knowledge of the private equity and institutional investment markets reflects his tremendous know-how and it is clear that he will lend substantial credibility to RAK ICC.”

Alan joined as Registrar after having worked in the Guernsey financial services industry for over 25 years, including six years as the Head of the Registry on the island and brings the experience needed to ensure world-class standards of compliance and service at RAK ICC. To hear more about their appointments and the company, Finance Monthly speaks with Dr Sameer and Alan.

RAK ICC is responsible for the registration and incorporation of international companies in Ras Al Khaimah - what are the most important legal considerations that should be taken into account by your clients? How can non-residents avoid difficulties when attempting a company formation in Ras Al Khaimah?

Alan Bougourd: The most important legal considerations to be taken into account, once establishing a sound rationale for operating an International Business, are the stability of the jurisdiction and the legal certainty it provides. As the leading business jurisdiction in the region, the UAE provides a business-friendly environment in a strategically important location. RAK ICC operates under Common Law legislation and companies have access to the Common Law Courts of the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) and the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), as well as the local courts in Ras Al Khaimah.

What would you say are the typical issues that RAK ICC faces when advising during the first stages of company registration and incorporation?

Sameer Al Ansari: I am pleased to say that the formation of a RAK ICC company is a relatively straightforward process. We work in close partnership with a large number of agents. Some of them are global firms and others are local businesses, so there is an agent suited to meet the requirements of every potential shareholder. Some of the global firms will have representation in the location of the shareholders and others deal directly with their clients from the UAE - whatever the scenario, the agents are well placed to explain the benefits of, and the requirements for, a RAK ICC company in meeting the international requirements for compliance.

How are these resolved?

Sameer Al Ansari: Choosing the right agent for the individual circumstances of the client is key to a successful on-going relationship. We are updating our Register of Agents to make this process easier. The agent will of course need to meet its own compliance requirements and many of the these are around identifying the client, the underlying beneficial owner, the activities of the company and the source of funds, so being able to provide this information comprehensively is key to getting the relationship off to a good start.

Alan Bougourd: We know that in addition to the RAK ICC company, clients will be looking to open bank accounts, either in the UAE or in other financial centres or indeed in their locality. RAK ICC and its agents work closely with many banks to ensure that their requirements are understood and can be clearly conveyed to clients. As banks increase their due diligence, the key requirement is an understanding not only of the company but also its counterparties in the jurisdictions in which it operates.

You were both appointed as CEO and Registrar respectively earlier this year – what are the responsibilities that you were tasked with and what are the changes/achievements that are expected from you?

Sameer Al Ansari: As CEO, I am tasked with the transformation of RAK ICC into a leading premium jurisdiction whilst also maximising the growth of value-added, knowledge-based, technically advanced and innovative business practices in Ras Al Khaimah – a task I have enormous confidence in meeting, despite global challenges. Reputational risk is a serious matter for our government, however, we are well positioned to become a high-quality jurisdiction and I am delighted to now be a part of RAK’s journey as it plays an increasing role in this sector.

HH Sheikh Ahmed said at the time of Alan’s appointment that: “Evolving client priorities are driving a shift from traditional offshore centres to high quality jurisdictions. Mr Bougourd’s appointment is a clear signal of RAK ICC’s goal of achieving global recognition as a premium jurisdiction for the provision of company formation services with a focus on high-level compliance in line with global standards. We trust that, together, they will work to further align the strategy of RAK ICC to the government of RAK in its overall drive towards building a diversified economy.”

The appointment of Alan and myself, marks the beginning of a journey and will be followed by key appointments to further develop the reach of RAK ICC in the global marketplace. We will be making key appointments to support development in key markets as we look to develop strong long-term relationships and I would encourage anyone that is interested in developing a relationship with the UAE to contact us. We have seen an increased demand from companies looking to move to a quality jurisdiction that is strategically located and is able to meet their requirements is an efficient, sustainable and cost-effective manner. More and more companies are investing time and effort in our systems, processes and product offering, so we ensure that we continue to develop these strengths.

How have the first few months of your appointments been thus far?

Alan Bougourd: Both of us have very much enjoyed meeting with Agents to understand their requirements and to ensure we build long-term relationships with them, in support of their own business objectives, to our mutual benefit. For Dr Sameer, it has been fascinating to adapt his extensive business knowledge to this key market for economic growth and for me, to adapt living and working in the UAE. However, I am enjoying working in a multi-cultural environment and aligning working practices to the highest international standards.

We both have travelled internationally to understand the requirements of international clients and to ensure that RAK ICC’s practices are aligned to the global market and international registry environment.

Dr Sameer, as the organisation’s CEO, what are your short and long-term objectives and goals for the development of RAK ICC?

Sameer Al Ansari: My short-term objectives are to ensure that RAK ICC is meeting the needs of the market it serves and longer term, we want to ensure that we have the appropriate strategy to take full advantage of the changes to the market for International Business Companies. We recognise that the market will be adapting to changing requirements for transparency and substance and are committed to ensuring that RAK ICC will develop its Regulations and Products to align with the future requirements of this market place. We are at the final stages of developing a five-year strategy which we look forward to rolling out in 2019.

Recent independent research of UK employees commissioned by expenses management software company Expend has highlighted that Generation Z and Generation Y employees are the most negatively impacted by facilitating their employers’ expenses. Over a quarter (27%) of Generation Z employees (18-24 year olds) have not been able to pay off credit card bills because they have outstanding company expenses due to them from their employer.

This appears to be making younger employees the least tolerant of existing processes for expenses - 82% of UK Generation Z employees find being out of pocket from expenses very unfair and 42% would move jobs because of a poor expense policy.

The average amount of debt for a University leaver is now £50,000, and yet the average starting salary for most graduates is £19,000 - 22,000. According to the ONS, wage growth slipped to 2.7% from 2.8% in the three months to May 2018. However, despite the slowdown in wage growth and increased cost of living, young employees are still expected to float expenses for the business. These factors combined mean that younger workers are more financially sensitive than ever before, and yet are still expected to pay their employer’s expenses and go out of pocket each month, which can have a significant impact on their personal finances.

Expend’s independent research, which was commissioned in conjunction with OnePoll, showed the scale of this impact on employees’ finances and willingness to circumvent expense policies. Out of all age groups, Generation Z workers are most likely to circumvent the expenses policies of their employer, with over a quarter (27%) stating they would spend more than they normally would to make a company expense worthwhile, if they could get away with it. Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) of Generation Z employees stated they would profit from business expenses if they could get away with it.

The picture for Generation Y/Millennials (25-34 year olds) isn’t much better. Research from independent think tank The Resolution Foundation has shown that UK millennials are now some of the worst off financially in the developed world, only behind Greece. The home ownership rate in their late 20s, at 33%, is half that for the baby boomers at the same age (60%). Our research showed this age group would be the least inclined out of all respondents to take a job if it had a poor expense policy, with 40.87% saying they wouldn’t.

On the other hand, the older age groups are disproportionately tolerant of the existing system of expense, with the 55+ age group is the least likely to circumvent expenses because of a poor expense policy, and only 4.90% saying they would expense items they shouldn’t if they could get away with it.

Johnny Vowles, CEO of Expend said, “younger employees have a hard deal at the moment with rising living costs, wage growth described as ‘anaemic’ by the ONS and higher than ever student debt. While the current expenses system is just the way things have always been done, for some employees this could be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Organisations need to look at how all processes are impacting on their younger workforce, to encourage recruitment of happy workers but also to minimise the business risk. Disenfranchised younger workers more open to circumvent expense policies and profit from them than even before, so employers also need to gain greater oversight over their company finances to protect themselves.”

(Source: Expend)

All directors and owners of a company should be aware of the declaration of solvency - particularly if considering solvent liquidation. The declaration of solvency must be submitted before claiming entrepreneurs relief through members voluntary liquidation (MVL). Business Rescue Experts, licensed insolvency practitioners and specialists in MVLs, are sharing what is involved in solvent liquidation.

What is the declaration of solvency?

The declaration of solvency is prepared before solvent liquidation - providing information on the company’s finances up to five weeks before the winding up resolution - and is split into three different parts:

• Statement of assets and liabilities of the company
• The sworn declaration of solvency by directors
• The endorsement of the proposed liquidator

What is the statement of assets and liabilities?

As mentioned above, this is the first part of your declaration. This statement, in simple terms, represents the company’s financial information ahead of the solvent liquidation. It’s important that all available information is included to avoid a false statement. All assets must be listed, as well as liabilities, and it must also set out the costs of the procedure and any interest returns due to creditors. Similarly, you must outline the returns available for the shareholder once the capital distribution becomes available.

Sworn declaration of solvency

Unlike the statement of affairs - sworn by a statement of truth - the declaration of solvency must be done so by a solicitor or notary. There will be costs involved, typically around £10 per swear. The wording is also critical to the declaration and must comply with insolvency legislation.

The proposed liquidator

The proposed liquidator of the case will present the declaration of solvency to the shareholders of the company. From there, resolutions can be made for the business to enter solvent liquidation, and the liquidator will also endorse the document. This will then be made public and placed on record at Companies House.

Once the procedure begins, the assets of company will be realised to pay off the remaining creditors. The balance will then go to the shareholders by way of capital distribution. Any eligible shareholders can also claim entrepreneurs relief.

What if I provide false information?

A false declaration of solvency is a serious threat to the future of your company. It’s important to note that you cannot be suffering from the early signs of insolvency before opting for this procedure, so you must seek advice at the earliest possible opportunity. An insolvent company is one where liabilities exceed the assets, and, therefore, your business is not suitable for solvent liquidation.

If your company is found to be insolvent, your company could be placed into creditors voluntary liquidation (CVL). Similarly, an MVL could become a CVL if creditors come forward with outstanding debts that have not been paid and submit claims against your business. If this does happen, there is also a chance that you - as a director - could face criminal charges. While you could face disqualification, for a period of up to 15 years, imprisonment is also an option in the most severe cases.

Ultimately, you must always ensure your company is solvent and there are no creditors to worry about. If not, you must seek advice from insolvency practitioners immediately.

Interested in scaling your company, or has the scaling process already begun? We connected with Dan Kiely, CEO of Voxpro - powered by TELUS International, a leading provider of customer experience, technical support, and sales operations, to discuss how to scale your business, and the importance of maintaining focus on customer service as your company grows.

What is scaling your company all about?

If you’re scaling your company, congratulations! It’s an exciting time for all involved. At Voxpro - powered by TELUS International, we use the term ‘blitzscale’, which was coined by Reid Hoffman, Co-founder of LinkedIn and PayPal. Learning from the growth of other companies, we’ve realized that if you don’t scale fast enough, you’re going to lose your lead, or even worse – someone could take your idea.

In the early days of developing Voxpro, we had an idea for a new approach to outsourcing, and knew we had to act on it immediately, before anyone else did. We blitzscaled – we opened more offices, hired more people, and signed on more partners. After doubling our workforce and quadrupling the number of countries where we had a home base, we increased our services in two years. Then, in the summer of 2017, we partnered with TELUS International - a customer experience and digital services firm with a footprint across four continents. By joining our two companies, we are now backed by TELUS International’s robust global infrastructure and have an enhanced ability to offer a more comprehensive suite of solutions to the brands we serve to enable new go-to-market opportunities and growth in the digital and IT services market.

Scaling your company is about finding the right partners, but it’s also about hiring all-around good, hard workers, having a mission you really believe in, and creating a strong brand for your employees. Our experience as a former start-up, then scale-up translates into our innate ability to do the same for other brands, helping them scale their customer experience operations while they grow their business.

Why do you believe scaling customer experience and scaling business operations go hand-in-hand?

As your business grows, your customer base should ideally grow at the same or a similar pace. Growing your customer base means an increased number of support inquiries, and keeping up with demand to deliver a strong customer experience is crucial to maintaining your brand’s integrity and attracting and retaining customers. Take our partner Airbnb for instance. They went from hosting 300,000 homes on their site in 2013 to 3,000,000 homes in 2017. To meet the needs of their customers, Airbnb recently launched its Experiences and Places platforms, connecting their renters to local activities and hidden gems in the cities they are visiting. Giving power to the people, Airbnb increased its offering while managing a positive customer experience to meet the interest of its users.

As CEO of a growing company, what are some of your critical practices for relaying important information to your employees, and keeping the business moving?

When we created Voxpro, we set in place a series of values that we hold ourselves to every day. Sometimes, setting and understanding a company’s values can be overlooked, but not for us. Our values aren’t just words on a page, rather they drive our great company culture. These values also guide the partnerships we form, such as with TELUS International. They are a like-minded partner with similar values, and together, we are building upon our shared commitment to fostering and sustaining a caring culture focused on team member engagement and development, and giving back to the communities where we work and live.

Our powerful C-Suite leadership team that includes Jeffrey Puritt, President and CEO of TELUS International, keeps a pulse on our culture and employee engagement, identifying issues and putting forward solutions. We know that people want to be in an inclusive environment, even as a company begins to scale. Our values strive to ignite a sense of entrepreneurship, ownership and operational beauty in people. Through operational beauty, we encourage our employees to grow both personally and professionally. Having a purpose and mission that your employees can get behind will add motivation, plus heart and soul, to a company. This is ultimately reflected in the customer experience that we deliver.

The FinTech industry is seeing a number of companies scale at the moment. Are you seeing any emerging trends?

We partner with a number of companies who are in that “sweet spot” in the scaling process – they’re no longer a start-up, but they aren’t quite on a level of recognition internationally, or globally mature yet. Many times, these organizations are feeling the growing pains and recognize the need for a strong customer experience partner to ensure continued customer satisfaction and reduce customer loss. It can be a big step for companies to recognize that they need additional support, and a BPO provider in a lot of instances can be the smart choice when expanding.

Regarding FinTech, two of our partners who are leaders in the space come to mind. Both companies were searching for a partner to help manager their customer service as their businesses quickly grew. We partnered with them by offering a customized selection of services. Multi-channel, multi-lingual, and social media management were of importance to one, while our partnership with the other FinTech company focused solely on managing safety, fraud, and risk. In each instance, we were able to rapidly onboard and provide the necessary support, so their customers did not feel any strain from the expanding organization. Each of these partners’ needs are vastly different, and that’s what makes what we do and what we can provide so exciting. It’s not a one-size fits all model.

In what ways can scaling companies manage the customer experience for their clients in times of hyper-growth?

When rapidly growing a business, executives must come together to answer difficult questions in order to strategically plan for the future – “Can we do this alone? Do we need advanced services? Can we afford to make a change in staffing?” For some companies, outsourcing a sector of their business becomes an option, but sometimes companies are tentative to do so. It’s important for executives to understand that it’s more efficient and productive to focus on what you’re best at - your core competencies and what has made you successful to date - and seek a trusted partner in other departments, especially customer service.

Also, when rapidly scaling, the need to incorporate digital services and next-gen technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning continues to grow. It’s important to have a trusted partner already invested in these capabilities and have a knowledgeable team in place able to harness the power of innovation to drive your new business outcomes and customer loyalty.After all, your customers are what drive your business and solidify your reputation in the market.

It’s important to keep your customers happy while scaling, of course, but what about your employees? How should growing companies respond to the challenges of retaining current employees and recruiting new ones?

As part of your growth, it’s inevitable that you’re going to have to hire and onboard new employees and also ensure the ones you currently employ continue to be inspired and engaged through all the changes. Ingraining your company’s values in new hires should be a top priority as these new employees have the potential to either help or hinder the execution of your company’s mission and strategy. Set yourself to a standard, and don’t stray away from it.

We have Voxpro University, which serves as a training resource plus a compilation of our branded learning and development tools, and TELUS International University, which enables our employees to earn a subsidized degree while working. These types of programs serve as a platform for all employees to learn about our culture and grow personally and professionally with us in order to meet the business needs of our partners’ today and tomorrow.

About Dan Kiely:

Dan Kiely is an entrepreneur through and through. Heading up Voxpro - powered by TELUS International, Dan thrives in the entrepreneurial realm. He dreams big and encourages innovation in all aspects of his company. Dan is now also a member of the TELUS International leadership team with TELUS International President and CEO, Jeffrey Puritt.

Companies are losing out on $20bn globally in unclaimed VAT, research by recovery experts, VAT IT reveals.

The figure is largely due to the complex and time consuming European rebate system, resulting in businesses not claiming back money that is rightfully theirs.

The company says the global figure is a result of more than one-fifth of companies who incur VAT in foreign countries claim they are unable to recover it, due to procedures being too complex and burdensome.

Global business travel is worth $1.4trillion, with 5% relating to reclaimable VAT. Industries such as engineering, pharma companies and IT firms are among the worst affected, as well as large companies with complex global structures. VAT IT has argued that the eye-watering figure is serving to restrict company growth and investment.

European Managing Director, Ann Jones, said: “Companies are effectively leaving fortunes in the hands of overseas treasuries which they could – and should - rightfully reclaim. This is money that bosses have said goodbye to, but which could be reinvested across businesses. Much of the reason for this is down to nothing more than a lack of knowledge and the difficult-to-manage reclaim procedures designed to hinder - not help - companies in this process.”

“These problems extend across Europe, US, Africa and Asia. Of course, foreign governments do not wish to give up VAT so easily, so firms must step up to the plate themselves. The findings come at a time when cash flow issues are becoming increasingly problematic for UK companies, as the impending exit from the Single Market and Customs Union creates increasing financial uncertainty.”

CEO of VAT IT, Brendon Silver, said: “Reclaim procedures are long, complex and time consuming when undertaken in house but this isn’t just a bureaucratic issue, there’s a shift that needs to be made in the general attitude businesses have towards their tax reclaims. We have seen that despite the directive stating that any refund due must be made within six months of the date of submission, many administrations do not respect this deadline. It becomes clear that when some companies wait up to two years to receive a refund, they are simply just putting off claiming in the first place.”

(Source: VAT IT)

Why now is the time to establish your own small business accountancy practice. But should you go it alone or join a franchise?

 Setting up in business is a strong and powerful idea because of the sense of achievement and potential for personal and financial rewards, but the journey can be off-putting because of the planning and potential risks involved and is never a decision to be undertaken lightly.

Some people have the confidence and experience to establish their own practice and operate independently. Others decide to take advantage of the benefits of joining a franchise, which for the fees that you pay, should provide a well-known brand name and technical and marketing support to enable you to grow a more substantial practice faster and more efficiently than doing it alone.

Surveys and statistics continue to illustrate that there is a major appetite in the UK for self-employment, despite the economic turmoil of the last 10 years, with the level of self-employment in the UK continuing to rise steadily, increasing from 3.8 million in 2008 to 4.8 million at the start of 2017.

This growth in business confidence leading to new business start-ups, combined with an ever-evolving accountancy and tax advisory market, including the advent of Making Tax Digital, provides a big opportunity for those ambitious enough to set up their own practice servicing this burgeoning market.

Small businesses cannot warrant the services of an on-site accountant, neither can they justify the cost of a larger firm, hence the need for a quality bespoke service.

In fact, this was the reason why the successful small business accountancy franchise TaxAssist Accountants was formed back in 1995, when the founder realised that small businesses were being overcharged and underserviced and that servicing this market through a franchised network would work well. This mature and established network, based in visible shops across the country, is now ideally placed to service clients seeking assistance with their tax and accountancy needs as regulations become ever more complex.

TaxAssist has grown to become the largest and most successful franchise accountancy network in the UK, with franchisees seeing the potential of establishing a practice servicing small business and the benefits of operating under the TaxAssist brand with the additional support provided all in one place.

Here are some factors to consider when deciding whether to do it alone, or to join forces with a quality franchise:

1.       Have you got the right temperament for self-employment?

Like many others, you may dream about working for yourself, but do you have the high levels of business acumen, commercial awareness, energy, motivation and communication skills to be effective in business? You will inevitably have to work hard, and may end up working longer hours than you did in employment. It will not be an easy ride, you will need a lot of resilience, especially during those early years while you get established.

You may have a certain set of skills, but not others. Do you want to employ people/services to plug those gaps or use a franchise to benefit from the established brand, plus the additional benefits of training, marketing, client lead generation, advice and support?

If you are planning on doing it alone, you will need to consider a long list of business start-up requirements, as well as working out – most importantly – how you will stand out from the crowd and attract clients.

2.       Do you have enough money while you set up your practice? 

One of the main reasons new businesses fail is because they cannot maintain a healthy cash flow. To give your practice the best chance of being a success, you should have enough funding in place from the start and keep on top of your finances with the help of a solid financial business plan.

The main four banks remain supportive of lending to franchisees of quality brands, as the risks associated with establishing a franchise are much less than ‘flying solo’. Your total investment figure will be dependent on location, working capital and level of personal drawings required.

3.       Have you got the necessary technical and marketing abilities?

Having completed your studies, obtained your qualifications and progressed your career, you are likely to have very strong technical skills. The likelihood however, is you have never had to consider marketing yourself or your practice to build a business and gain and retain clients.

This is where taking on a franchise can have a big competitive advantage over starting from scratch, as it can fill in any gaps in your skillset and provide business development support and initiatives so you can stay one step ahead of your competition.

If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to all of the questions above – congratulations – you’ve made a start on your journey to self-employment. Do your research, ask for help and advice and plan carefully and you may well be one of the 3.2 million Brits who are expected to become their own boss by 2018. (according to the ONS).

If you feel you would benefit from the additional assistance of a franchise, you are not alone. TaxAssist Accountants has grown to a successful network of over 200 franchises reaping the benefits of a well-known brand with a proven business model and award-winning training and support.

A franchise gave Martin Thomas the flexibility he desired

In 2012, after a career spanning 25 years looking after finance in the marketing services industry, Martin Thomas decided it was time to fulfil a lifetime ambition to run his own show and he joined TaxAssist Accountants.

Working for big players in the PR and Marketing services industry, including as European CFO for Weber Shandwick and FD of Burson Marsteller, spending two years in Frankfurt, four years in Hong Kong and three years in New York, Martin was looking for an opportunity to channel his creative passion and accountancy knowledge into running his own business.

After extensive research into all the options available, Martin, a qualified chartered accountant, decided to take a fresh approach and entered into a franchise partnership with two London-based TaxAssist Accountants.

“When I made the big decision to step out by myself, the initial and obvious route was to become a sole practitioner,” said Martin. “But starting up a new business in central London can be paved with pitfalls, so I started looking into different options.

“The TaxAssist Accountants brand offered a much stronger and more immediate profile than M. Thomas FCA, in terms of attracting small businesses and individuals needing Accounts and Tax Returns, which is my target market. Also, the help and advice TaxAssist Accountants Support Centre could offer me in terms of tax knowledge and marketing was indispensable.”

“The partnership with two TaxAssist Accountants came out of initial discussions with the national network. They both already have a proven track record of success of running TaxAssist shops in Central London and their extensive experience and strong credentials with the banks for financing and lending to TaxAssist operations was critical in helping raise finance for the shop in Victoria.”

“In my first three years running my TaxAssist Accountants shop in Victoria, I built a fee bank of £430,000 and a client base of 469 local businesses and individuals needing tax advice. As a small business myself I love helping other local businessmen and women to grow their businesses by allowing them to focus on what they’re good at (running their business) and explaining tax and accounting issues in simple, plain language in a friendly and approachable style.”

“The network support is exceptional. There are more than 200 other like-minded franchisees who share best practice and a national support centre, which holds regular regional meetings and innovation focus groups and provides training and helpdesk support across technical issues on accounting, tax, software and human resources and other essential areas such as marketing, PR and social media.”

“The beauty of TaxAssist Accountants for me, is in the flexibility it provides. There’s still a huge growth potential here and I might open another shop in the next few years, or on the other hand do fewer hours and take lots of holiday. Who knows?!”

Visit our website www.taxassistfranchise.co.uk or call us for a confidential chat on 0800 0188297 to find out more.

So you need a server in order to get things on the road, but don’t know where to start? Here’s some quick simple steps from Irma Hunkeler at BlueGlass.co.uk, that will equip you with the best knowledge for the buy.

Whatever the size of your financial services business, a server is a crucial component of a growing company. From ensuring you can run all your systems properly, to keeping in touch with your clients, and making sure your staff can access the tools they need to do their jobs, a server is the technical support you’ll need to expand effectively.

While once expensive, the cost of servers has come down in recent years and today they represent a cost-effective way of managing your storage needs. All the major players - including Dell, IBM, HP and Intel - offer a wide variety of servers suited to different business needs. But which is right for you? Here are some ways you can choose the best server for your company.

Know the different types of server

There are a wide variety of servers available for you to rent, all doing a number of different jobs. Some of the most common server types include:

Communications server - handles all types of communication, including email, remote access, internet and security protection

File server - stores employees’ data files

Print server - manages all printers in your business and all printing jobs

Application server - shares application software and means software does not need to be installed on employees’ individual computers

Database server - manages databases

Domain server - controls which computers and employees can access certain resources and programs

NAS server - provides shared access to business files, folders, and items like printers

Understand the business benefits of using a server

A server is designed to support many users - it means all your employees can use email, access word processors, spreadsheets, web browsers, customer relationship management software, databases and much more. In short, a server is a hub in which all your company’s important documents and files are stored.

A greater understanding of how servers benefit a business will help you work out which kind would be best for your company:

Better collaboration - servers allow for much greater sharing and collaboration among your team, with employees able to access documents, images and other files easily. This is a major plus for financial services firms working on big, cross-border projects which involve workers all over the world.

Communication - a server can act as a company intranet and through that, your employees can communicate quickly and effectively - perfect when someone needs a quick response on a pressing issue.

Remote working - some servers allow for a virtual private network, or VPN. This means your employees can access anything stored on the server when they’re not in the office - great for on-the-go working.

Safety and security - financial services companies hold a lot of sensitive, confidential information. A server can back-up this information, so if a computer is stolen your data should be protected.

Ask yourself these questions

To work out which server will suit your business, ask yourself some questions:

Is working remotely important to your company?

If your business has a flexible working policy and allows employees to work from home regularly, or you simply spend a lot of time going from meeting to meeting, a VPN will be a must.

What is your main day-to-day business?

What do your employees do most of the day? Share files? Speak to clients? Send emails? Analyse data? Work out what your team spends most of its time doing, then work out which server best suits your needs (see the range of server types above).

Do you hold lots of critical information?

If you work in finance, the answer to this question is likely yes. From ransomware attacks, to human error, to theft, it’s easy for information to fall into the wrong hands. As well as a robust cyber security policy, look for a server that offers a data back-up, so any confidential information you hold is protected.

Do you have enough space?

Some servers are quite big! You’ll need to ensure you have enough space to hold one.

As a rule of thumb, if your business has several employees and lots of computers, and you need to run a large number of systems and applications, you should consider servers that allow for large storage. These are generally rack and tower servers.

Rack servers - this is a bit of a misnomer, as a ‘rack’ is really a storage box that allows you to fit a certain number of servers inside. If you are a large, growing business and will need several servers, consider a rack.

Tower servers - these look a little like the standard desktop PC. Affordable and easy to fit, they will help you run basic apps and systems.

For any financial services business, a server will be an essential tool in helping you to grow. As they help your team communicate and collaborate, they will also support you in achieving your end goal - delivering a great service to your clients.

Established in 1988, Target Professional Services is a UK-based company providing Data Cleansing and Verification solutions to the financial sector.  Target verifies that common data is accurate, complete and up-to-date. Where records are found to be out-of-date, Target are able to accurately trace and verify the data to ensure records held are always compliant with GDPR and other regulations within the Finance sector and in particular, The Pensions Regulator record keeping guidance. Here Lisa talks to Finance Monthly about the company’s services, the upcoming GDPR and its impact on the business, and her role in growing Target into a leading data verification and trace company.

With the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) scheduled to come into effect in May 2018 – what would you say will be the impact that GDPR will have on businesses?

The new regulations will require greater data accuracy and accountability. The potential to fine and the size of fines that can be imposed are significant, so GDPR should not be overlooked and needs both focus and a budget within any organisation.

What have Target Professional Services done to ensure that the company will demonstrate compliance with the directive in its entirety?

First of all, Target have reviewed and updated all of our internal processes where GDPR will require change. In addition, we are checking our suppliers to ensure that they will be compliant for the new regulations, so we are clear that we are using consented data. We know that some datasets will require individuals consent to continue to be used, so we are looking to ensure that consent is obtained or that type of data is not used.

In what ways can the company’s services assist others with becoming fully-compliant?

We are sharing our experience and understanding with our existing clients so they are clear about GDPR. We are constantly finding different levels of understanding throughout our client base and we work with them to improve their knowledge.

Could you tell us a bit about your career path?

Leaving school at 16 with 10 GCSE and unable to afford to go to University, I started work with Halifax Building Society and by 18, I had been promoted to Department Manager. However, I took the decision to leave the Halifax, as my aspirations were not in banking. At that time my father had invented a high-pressure valve cap for vehicles. He needed a BS5750 certification, so I studied the requirements and wrote his manuals for him. I also worked as a part-time book keeper for my mother, who ran a small independent debt collection agency, while I studied Accountancy, Law, Economics and credit control at night school. After successfully building a computerised accounts system for my mother, I identified a need in the market to transfer manual accounts to a computerised system and went on to support other businesses to successfully migrate their accounts data. With the merger of several rental companies in 1997, the debt collection business expanded, as did my role. Along with designing and implementing the CRM database to support the expansion, I took over the management of the Customer Service and Field Operations, before finally buying the business in 2001.

You’ve managed to build Target from a small debt collection business to a leading data verification and trace company – what were the challenges that you were faced with and how did you overcome them?

The debt market was very competitive and I had one very large client when I took over the business.  I knew that I had to change the dynamics and the markets the company operated in. We entered the Pensions Market bringing innovation and competitive pricing at a time of regulation change. Target has focused on Customer Service, Data Quality and flexibility to ensure that our business does not become stagnant and stale. We bring innovation to solve the problems legislation brings to the industry and to ensure that our clients are always ahead of any changes.

What would you say are the company’s top three priorities towards its clients? How has this evolved over the years? 

Our philosophy in working with our clients remains the same today as it’s always been. We look to develop long standing working relationships with all of our clients and understand what they require from us. Every client is different so we also look to be flexible in order to suit each client’s needs.   Target has always been industry innovators and this is still a driver for us today, as tracing and data availability changes and develops.

Looking into the rest of 2017 and beyond, what does the future hold for you and Target?

We see opportunity to apply what we do to many different industries, especially with GDPR soon upon us. We predominantly work in the financial services sector and then mostly, in the pensions sector, but tracing and data screening is of value elsewhere. We are exploring such opportunities and offering solutions in new markets. Contact us if you think we can help you. Through a partnership approach we may be able to offer you a service that gives value to what you do.