Business planning Flashcards
What do you understand by Business Planning?
A business plan is a document which sets out the specific goals of the business over a set period.
Why is business planning so important?
To identify training needs
To seek investment if needed
To show resource needs
To determine financial needs
What would you find in one?
- Division of the business into components
- Measure of current performance
- Profitability of each component
- Financial performance targets
- Identification of any investment required
- Indication of allocated staff resource
- Assessment of how sensitive the plans are to changes in the main forces that might affect those plans.
Why would you produce a business plan that covers a one, three and maybe five year period?
They help businesses make better decisions, to set better objectives and benchmarks (strategic planning).
To seek loans/investments.
To be able to catch critical cash flow challenges early.
How would you measure your performance against the agreed plan?
Ensure that the business plan includes measurable KPIs. Record information and monitor against this.
If you set up your own business what would you put in your short term business plan?
What would you want to measure or evaluate?
What would be your main aspiration?
- How the firm markets itself over the short, medium and long term
- Measure/evaluate cash flow
- Aspire to provide high quality service to customers
- Other KPIs- securing investment, growth targets
How would the changing environment, i.e. Covid 19, reflect in your plan, would you replan
At minimum, this would require a reconsideration of the plan to ensure that it is still for for purpose. We have re-planned, setting more appropriate financial targets.
What current challenges is Covid and/or Brexit bringing to Business Planning?
Difficult to plan with any certainty what challenges/growth opportunities with have over the coming years.
How is your company dealing with this challenge?
Shareholders have accepted reduced targets, acknowledging difficulties with securing building supplies from Europe
Focusing more resources on construction contracts and delivery of planning applications to ensure rich supply of sites to bring forward
Focusing on training
Where are your firm’s Terms of Business
Set out within out Engagement Letter and Terms and Conditions of Business. They set out services to be provided, our liability, payment terms and termination/suspension of work.
