Written by Randall M. Schulz, CPA

In your business, you know that it takes timely and accurate information to get ahead.  From proactive planning, meeting tight deadlines, adhering to budgets and more, you need the facts to be successful.  And that can mean asking some tough questions about your company along the way.  Although it may not always be easy, asking tough questions can be the best way to move your company to the next level.  Do you ask yourself these questions periodically?

• How are we monitoring progress at our company? 
• What happens when things get off track, do we determine what we could do better to prevent making the same mistake again?
• Do our managers really know all the costs of doing business?
• How well do we understand job margins and the costs we can control?
• How effective is our sales/ marketing process?

It may be difficult as a business owner to find the time to ask these questions.  You may consider performing a Business Review.  What is a business review?  A Business Review is essentially a “check up” of your business.  As a business owner you are busy concentrating on so many different functions within your company on a daily basis it is often difficult to step back and look at the “big picture.”  Taking the time to review the issues that exist within your company simply doesn’t happen or gets pushed off because there are so many other tasks to complete.  As a result, the underlying issues that exist may be stunting the company’s growth and preventing you from experiencing even greater success.

A Business Review includes the following steps: 

Step One:  Establish a working knowledge of your business - Look at your goals for the coming months, where you stand financially and operationally, and what's happening in your specific industry area.

Step Two:  Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats - What are your core competencies?  Where could you stand to improve?  Look at your strengths and weaknesses both internally and externally as you look to the future and how to get ahead.  What opportunities and threats exist that you haven’t identified?

Step Three:  Plan for the future - Identify specific opportunities and changes you can implement to enhance your business and increase profitability along the way!

Step Four:  Make it happen - Draft an outline summarizing everything discussed along with a summary of key issues identified and observations made by your team.  Meet to discuss your findings, to prioritize issues, and to discuss going forward steps and processes to be taken.  Assign specific tasks with target due dates to a champion and meet regularly to monitor progress and maintain accountability.

Learning is a continuous process.  Do not be afraid to admit you do not have all the answers and seek counsel from those who can provide wisdom and answers during difficult times.

You may also consider hiring a third party to perform this review.  Such an exercise can help answer the challenging questions regarding the operation of your business.  The process identifies and prioritizes key issues facing your business.  It also brings together key management members to discuss what they need to do to improve the bottom line.

 So who would be interested and would benefit from a Business Review?  A business owner with a desire to improve his or her business or an owner with a need for key employees to work together more effectively.  The management team benefits from the process in a variety of ways with the goal of increased communications, goal setting, vision casting, and process improvement taking place along the way. 

When was your company’s last check up? 

Consider performing one soon, it may just save the life of your company!

Randy Schulz is a Vice President at Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C., Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, an independent member of the RSM McGladrey Network. Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C. provides accounting, tax and consulting services to clients from offices in Evansville, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, and is the largest locally owned CPA firm in Southern Indiana. Randy can be reached at rschulz@hsccpa.com, (812) 464-9161 or (502) 584-4142.