Financial insight at a critical time

Uncertainty in the business environment and the accelerated pace of change in 2020 mean that senior decisionmakers need to draw on all the resources and support available to them.

Mr Machray said it is important to remember that leading a business can be a pretty lonely place.

He said: “That’s very true just now when the pressures are greater than ever, and everyone is looking to the owner or senior manager for answers. It is a strength to admit you don’t have all the answers and to learn from others. Leadership development is about sharing ideas, exploring solutions with the teams and mentors you have. Get your goals clear, share those with the people around you, plan, and get on with the implementation. There’s a huge amount of accelerated change in business just now, so building good leadership capabilities within growth businesses across our key sectors is critical for the future of northeast Scotland.”

The new financial mentoring programme that One is developing with the professional services community will bring a new dimension to its support to businesses.

“At critical points in any business, you need clear financial insight and understanding, and that’s where financial mentoring will help. It is all about knowing and interpreting the financial information you have available and asking whether you have a clear understanding of the messages this information is giving you. It’s also about identifying what you don’t have in place and aiding you to get the missing pieces so that you have all the necessary information to monitor and plan sufficiently. Doing this will help you to make well-informed decisions and provide you with the tools you need to run and grow your business. Also, the financial mentors can help and support on how to talk to investors, banks and government agencies, and how to put systems and procedures in place to succeed. It will also ensure that businesses seek the right professional support at the right time to progress their growth plans,” said Mr Machray.

Coronavirus continues to disrupt the economy, creating challenges for some businesses and new opportunities for others. Good leadership, planning and financial management, along with clear goals and strong teams, will be critical to securing jobs, the green recovery and delivering growth.

“Business mentoring, leadership development and financial mentoring are three things that can make a huge difference to the success of businesses. One invests in and delivers these activities because they help individual businesses to achieve their goals and enable sectors to diversify, innovate and grow. Sustaining ambitious and growing businesses will ensure north east Scotland’s economy provides jobs and rewarding careers for our young people, delivers a net-zero future, and creates prosperity for people and communities. So it is especially important that businesses engage with the sector teams at One and make the most of these support programmes over the coming months,” said Mr Machray.