Author: James Vanreusel

CASH MANAGEMENT

Make sure you always have enough cash in the bank… The next two months we’re taking a deep dive into cash management to make sure you always have enough cash in the bank. We’ll be looking at gross and net burn rates, your cash runway, analysing your receivables, strategies to get paid and associated performance indicators for you to monitor. Recently, I was hired by a tech non-profit with a brilliant product and yet serious financial issues. An anxiety was manifest in my first board meeting. After exchanging introductions, the chairman voiced his primary concern: “What’s our cash flow...

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FRAUD -
 WHAT TO DO NEXT

Last month, we started looking at internal controls and how they can help you and your company avoid fraudulent behaviour by your employees. This month, we’ll look at the steps to take when there is fraud. The COO of a national organisation accumulated a number of internal control offences. Her first violation was not to disclose a major conflict of interest. She overrode the company’s internal controls around procurement and gave a seven- figure contract to a company for which she is a board member. The next offence, was directing the accountant to divert funds from district offices to...

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TIGHTEN UP THOSE PURSE STRINGS WITH INTERNAL CONTROLS

The admin officer in your accounting department deposits the daily cash register at the bank at the end of each day. However, one month your lead accountant alerts you to a recurring discrepancy between the monthly cash income at the office and the cash deposited at the bank. A visit to the bank manager reveals daily ATM footage of your admin officer depositing the cash income at the ATM and also taking some of the funds and putting it into her pocket. Or, you hire a manager to open a branch of your company in San Diego, California. He...

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BEING IN A MASTERMIND IS A SLAMDUNK

James Vanreusel shows how being in a Mastermind has helped him… I spent 16 years as an employee, spending the last 5 years as a full-time CFO. I acted as the #2 person behind the CEO, and played this role with near perfection. I’m great at analysing strategic opportunities and challenges and preparing options with which the CEO can make the final decision. But until a few years ago, I had never faced the pressure or responsibility to make the final decision. As I launched my own company I had to shift my mindset from a supporting role to...

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