Recently, there have been discussions about the need to shake things up a little bit in the Singaporean start-up environment. This is mainly to free up much-needed capital for well-managed start-ups.
Did you know that nearly half of all start-ups in Singapore fail to see their fifth birthday? In many cases, the reason for such a high fall-rate has been ‘a tough business environment.’ However, this is not always the case. Accounting service providers and accounting firms in Singapore will tell you that most of the time, the culprit is just poor management.
But how can you tell if a business is poorly managed? Here are a few telltale signs to look out for.
Negative feedback from customers
The most important stakeholder in any business is the customer. Disgruntled customers will find a way to complain in this multi-channelled society. Whether it’s directly to your staff through face-to-face encounters, online platforms or even through regulators, negative feedback is inevitable. Nonetheless, when the negative feedback is on an upward trend, you are bound to lose business. If you are unable to deliver improvements and address those concerns, this can be detrimental to the reputation and business over time.
Disgruntled customers will lead to dwindling sales figures. Your service terms can give you trends in customer responses, while you come up with the strategies to act accordingly on those feedback. With the help of accounting firms, they can take a look into your finances and figure out how you can financially fund those improvements or make your next strategic move to improve your business processes.
Indifferent managers
Sales numbers that are plummeting should be a matter of high-alert to any manager worth their title. It should trigger urgent action to correct and counter the situation. However, that could change with managers having an ‘indifferent attitude’ about the events going on at the company. If they are habitually late for meetings and are poor in handling other important company matters efficiently, the fate of the company could be managed in the wrong hands.
Managers are responsible for how the company is run, and an indifferent attitude is a clear sign that managing the company well is not a priority.
Micromanagement
Sometimes the problem with the managers may not be indifference, but too much management. Or micromanaging employees. Where employees are micromanaged, it shows distrust and leads to demotivated teams. This snowballs into poor customer service, product quality, and employee attrition.
High employee attrition
A direct result of the above points is high employee attrition. It can bring a negative impact on your company especially if the highly talented team members who exit from the company. Your employees are one of the biggest assets in the company. Hence, this can have an impact on customer service, innovation, and productivity of the company, which spirals to business loss.
Frequently missed targets
With more staffers gone or on their way out and staff morale at an all-time low, business targets like revenues and cost management can be often missed. This is not because the targets were too stretching, but simply because the team is not motivated or understaffed. Thus, no creative solutions are brought to the table. At the same time, the team needs time to work together harmoniously and gel cohesively to produce a great outcome.
Cash flow challenges
Finally, all these signs can be detected in the cash flow. After all, cash flow is the bloodline of any business. Poorly managed companies often have more cash flowing out than in. When the trend persists, the company will be cash strapped and unable to run its affairs effectively, rendering it vulnerable to closing down.
It is always good to have an accounting services company, like Ackenting Group, ready to help you keep tabs on the cash flow. Our expert accountants will help to create effective sales policies and determine the “when, where, and how” your cash needs will occur. Our affordable accounting services include providing you with forecasting tools, cash management policies and regular updated financial information to help improve your cash flow so you can run your business smoothly.
If you require any assistance on accounting services, feel free to drop us an email at johnwoo@ag-singapore.com or contact us at +65-66358767. At Ackenting Group, we offer a complimentary 30 minutes online consultation for us to better understand your business requirements.
