LONDON, UK, August 22, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- Ash Mehta, CEO of Orchard Growth Partners spoke at a recent CFO Forum held by Cityzone/Directorzone. The event attendees included Chief Financial Officers, non-executive directors and also several independent financial advisors. Ash's speech discussed the difficulties of strategic planning and how smaller companies often struggle to produce a sound financial plan due to lack of internal strategic planning skills. "The economic environment makes this a difficult time for SMEs to manage their strategies," Ash explained. "Companies need to know not only what their strategic options are but when best to implement their preferred strategy." For more information, call 0845 3700 303 or visit http://www.orchardgrowth.com.
The session also included a survey of CFOs which illustrated that in this uncertain economic environment there is no consensus on when to undertake key strategic options such as fundraising, acquisitions, launching new products or developing new geographic markets, with opinions varying very widely. "These results demonstrate the need for flexible budgeting," Ash commented. "Building flexibility into strategic financial planning is the best way to deal with these times of economic uncertainty."
"The feedback from the attendees was very positive," Ash continued. "They valued the insights in the process for creating a strategic plan, which in SMEs is often managed by the Finance Director or Financial Controller and strongly overseen by the Chief Executive Officer. This highlights an inherent weakness in the process; the CEO or CFO may have vested interests which can lead to a sub-optimal strategic plan. In contrast, larger companies usually have business planning departments which manage the process in an impartial way ensuring that all ideas and inputs are incorporated into the strategic planning process. Understanding the root of the difficulty was well-received." Ash is currently involved with planning the 2010 series presentations, forums and networking events at Cityzone.
About Orchard Growth partners
Orchard Growth Partners provides companies across the UK with financial director services, whenever and wherever growing businesses need it. Orchard Growth specialises in providing interim and part time FDs for growth businesses, providing top level financial expertise without the usual costs and complications of employing a full time finance director. Orchard Growth's finance directors have both financial and commercial acumen, and are experts in strategic business planning and business growth consulting.
Orchard Growth Partners also provides extensive help to growing businesses that are seeking venture capital funding, or other types of small business fund raising. We have extensive connections with the business angel network and provide tailored help for growth businesses at all stages of the capital fund raising process. Our financial director services also assist owners with planning their business exit strategy and also prepare for initial public offerings. Orchard Growth Partners pride themselves upon providing the financial expertise to guide a business owner through the growing pains of business expansion, freeing them to concentrate on running their business.
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