Are your Accountants Superheroes? - Opportunities

Opportunities - Not Despair

While there may only seem to be bleak consequences to an economic downturn, the reality is that tough times can also create real opportunities for positive change.

Change can be an uncomfortable process so in good times, when a business is thriving, it can be difficult to justify significant upheaval, even if it will ultimately result in improved efficiency and profitability.

In a difficult economic climate, however, directors, managers and staff are likely to be much more receptive to initiatives that give a business a better chance of survival.

The same is also like to be true of clients and suppliers, so perhaps you might invite key suppliers to suggest ways you could work together to make changes that benefit you both. Forward-thinking suppliers are likely to be only too pleased to have the chance to contribute to making positive changes.

In a recession, the “survival of the fittest” rule certainly has the ring of truth, so canny businesses need to use market conditions to their advantage.

So this could be an ideal opportunity to make a business acquisition at a much more favourable price than a couple of years ago. This could also be a good time to invest in assets and stock (while making sure you are not tying up too much of your working capital).

And the failure of weaker competitors in your marketplace offers you the perfect opportunity to step in and snap up clients.

If your enterprise is in a position to develop new products, technology or business initiatives, it might be tempting to delay this work – but remember that the lead time for developing new products or initiatives tends to be one to three years, and with the current recession predicted to last another one or two years, investing in initiatives now that will come to fruition when the market recovers is a wise move.

In tough times, it’s easy to focus on short-term measures to minimise the pain of a recession. Recognising opportunities to refresh your organisation in the longer-term is likely to bring real rewards in more prosperous years to come.

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