2024 is shaping up to be the year of Central Banks across the globe, will economic conditions give some the impetus to reduce or further raise interest rates? Or will 2024 be one of the quietest for Central Banks with interest rates staying on course. Interest rates alone are one of the major drivers of business confidence in an economy and often the ‘canary in the coalmine’ for signifying tough times ahead.

Either way the importance for business owners to start 2024 by reviewing where their business is at is more important then ever. An age old tool I like to use to review where a business is at is a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). A SWOT analysis provides a great overview of what it is you should be prioritising in 2024 to take advantage of your strengths, mitigate weaknesses, strive for opportunities and watch out for impending threats.

Our Focus for 2024 as your advisors

I have thought long over this one and I believe that due to the ever increasing cost pressure environments our businesses face, from suppliers and labour, focus on EBITDA (Earnings before Interest Tax and Depreciation) is one of the most important metrics to track in 2024. EBITDA is a businesses measure of profit and more commonly known as a measure of the cashflow of a business, and we all know Cashflow is KING!

It is often SME’s that are slower than large businesses to react when the market changes so by focusing on your EBITDA you will be able to track and then react if your profit margin starts to shrink.

In february we will be reaching out to clients in business to find out if they would like to attend our EBITDA Workshop to be held later in February and March.

At my EBITDA workshop I’ll be covering: how to track your EBITDA on a regular basis, how to identify the key drivers for your businesses EBITDA and some reporting tools to help you make your business accountable to improving your EBITDA.

Self Managed Superannuation Funds

For clients that are managing their self managed superannuation fund, we have some trustee training workshops coming up in March. Our superannuation workshop aims to keep you on top of your roles and responsibilities as a trustee, talk about upcoming changes and discuss pension and estate planning.