Taking shape: What is the data telling you about your recovery?
As lockdown eases, and businesses move beyond the damage limitation measures forced on them by COVID-19, economists are divided on how quickly the UK will bounce back. The fact that more customer-facing firms can trade again is clearly good news for the economy and there has recently been a slight upturn in consumer confidence. Yet with so much uncertainty, and government support only a short-term solution, many fear a tough road ahead.
Of course, the health of the economy will impact your own recovery even if it doesn’t follow the same trajectory. A lot depends on the sector you work in and how well senior leaders responded to the crisis. But wherever you’re starting from, you’ll need a solid bank of financial data to get back on track.
At the height of the pandemic, you may have quickly moved to weekly or daily reporting so your senior team could understand the business’ financial position as it shifted, sometimes dramatically. Hopefully, they have managed to steer it out of immediate danger – but this is no time for complacency.
By continuing to report at the same level, you’ll gain a better understanding of what shape the recovery is taking and see where the growth opportunities lie.
A good financial management system (FMS) allows you to maintain frequent reporting and start to map short-term and long-term trends based on real-time rather than historic data. All this information creates new touchpoints to improve forecasting accuracy and inform decision-making at the top. After all, a lot has changed since mid-March and firms now need a clear idea of where to focus their efforts and resources.
But financial data should not be viewed in isolation. You need to align it with that of the wider business, taking insights from marketing, sales, customer service and HR to see what actions will spark a faster recovery. Cross departmental spreadsheets and data from siloed systems can quickly become outdated and only tell you so much, which is why many are now opting for a finance system that integrates with other departments – particularly useful with so many teams still working remotely!
Staff surveys are a rich source of information and might determine whether a company could reduce costs with more remote working, or target funds for training and wellbeing activities more effectively. Sales data may suggest rising demand from a previously untapped market segment, while changes in customer behaviour might indicate it’s time to ramp up investment in e-commerce and digital marketing.
As long as you have a complete and up-to-date set of figures, you could lead your business towards a V-shaped recovery, even if the rest of the country is on track for a U or worrying L-shaped one. It means you’re well-placed to deal with any future shocks, such as another lockdown, and allocate and track budgets according to what will deliver the most value during this critical time.
The coming months are going to be all about flexibility and many are taking the opportunity to review older systems that may be both time-consuming and error-prone. Your senior team is going to depend on you when they need to quickly cost up new initiatives, understand the impact of government support coming to an end and adjust the business strategy in line with new constraints and opportunities.
To find out more, download our free guide, Building Momentum: How to help fuel business recovery.
