Cloud Accounting

It’s all in the preparation

As the old adage goes ‘if you fail to prepare then prepare to fail’. Nothing can be truer than when it comes to Brexit. With continuing uncertainty surrounding a deal or no-deal outcome, it’s vitally important for businesses to be prepared.

You may think that as an Owner Managed Business (OMB) operating solely in the UK that Brexit is something that will only impact the larger organisations who import and export to and from the UK. However, the reality is that we, as yet, don’t fully understand the full impact Brexit (no-deal or otherwise) will have on UK businesses.

Now is the time to prepare and to take stock.

Understanding your business is key and identifying areas of the business which may be affected by Brexit is essential. It’s crucial to speak to your accountant as they are one of the most trusted advisers for the OMB sector and will be able to ensure compliance, together with offering insights into how Brexit may impact your business.

There’s no doubt that Brexit will increase the administrative burden on any business and managing time will be key to ensure this increased burden does not have a detrimental impact on your day to day operation.

You may have grown the business from a small start up venture to one that employs many staff and you are confident that your business strategy is correct. Brexit will impact all businesses and corroborating with your accountant to sense check the strategy will ensure viability in a period of uncertainty.

It’s also a good time to revisit forecasts and projections, stress testing those figures to ensure they remain reliable should the economy fluctuate.

The ability to access and assess important business data quickly and accurately has never been more paramount, and this is a perfect time to review the management and accounting software used by the company. Brexit will bring about changes and legislative updates which, if the software is not kept up-to-date, could see the business breaching certain requirements. Cloud-based software will ensure you are using the latest version and it is therefore compliant with the changes, Brexit will bring.

For the latest government information during the transition period, please visit https://www.gov.uk/transition.

Brexit Checklist

With Brexit just around the corner, it’s key to put some actions into place:

Start now to prepare;

Understand how Brexit may impact the business and identify areas of concern;

Speak to your most trusted advisors, the accountants;

Review systems and software to ensure up-to-date;

Review and test strategies, forecasts and projections.

Whilst uncertainty continues, putting a few actions in place and speaking to your accountant will ensure your business is in the best place to survive the impact that any Brexit outcome will bring.