There's no debate that a manager with no financial experience can run a business with some success. But there are limitations to that success, growth and development can be markedly inhibited by failing to make the best use of financial strengths while minimising weakness, by not keeping an eye out for errors or abuses, and by lacking adept investment when it's most needed.
Can you cook? Yes? No? Certainly, it's a handy skill to have. And I'm not talking about Michelin star chefs - just being able to cook for yourself, from your own choice of ingredients. It has many advantages: you can be sure of always having what you want, rather than relying on someone else; you can tailor everything to your own specific needs; you can be healthier; and you can even save money. It might not seem an essential skill for everyone, but once acquired, it can make a meaningful difference to your life.
If you're managing a small business, perhaps one you built yourself, then understanding financial matters can also be a very useful skill. Now, that might seem something of a tenuous analogy, but bear with me: through a greater familiarity with finance, you can take more control of your own business's affairs; you can have greater freedom in controlling the direction of your company; you can identify the changes that will help the organisation be healthier; and, of course, you can save money.
Finance for nonfinancial London.
However, it might not appear to be the easiest skill to pick up - after all, if you started the business yourself, or if you came in at an early juncture, then finance probably wasn't what got you involved. Many in that situation will have brought a different skill, directly relevant to the industry they operate in. If that's true for you, if you've never concerned yourself with financial management, here are a few pointers for why you might want to take that route after all - and how to get there.
Targeting the future
Even without any financial management, you would probably still have an idea of your business's current position, whether or not it's making a stable profit (or losing money like wine through a sieve). But what about the future? Your company needs to move forward, lest it start to fall backwards. Without control of your finances, it's impossible to set reasonable and effective plans for the future; being able to fully understand the position of your organisation allows you to identify areas of potential improvement, and to define targets that are achievable. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses gives you the power to use the former to minimise the latter.
Protecting the present
Even if you do have a firm idea of your current position, though, delving into the details is a different matter. But these details can play an important role in protecting your business. No-one likes to think that their employees may be letting the company down, but it's a possibility that needs to be borne in mind; any loss of funds, whether deliberate or accidental, will be damaging for the company - if it persists, the long-term growth, and indeed survival of the company will be hit. Familiarity with your company's financial processes allows you to highlight anything that doesn't quite add up - whether through error, or more nefarious behaviour - and to take hold of a problem before it takes hold of your business's future.
Growing from today into tomorrow
Financial management isn't just about day-to-day concerns, however. Your organisation can benefit greatly from medium- to long-term investment, provided that that investment is handled wisely, at the right level, and targeting an area that brings the most cost-effective benefit. It's only with an understanding of financial issues that you can be confident of investing capital successfully, of knowing what you have available to invest and where it's most needed.
Helping yourself to get ahead
It's very common for managers to not have financial experience - and consequently, the means for learning the necessary skills are easily and widely accessible. The examples listed above are just a few of the many key benefits you could gain from making yourself familiar with financial matters, yet that familiarity isn't something that needs take a lot of your time; just a short training course will be more than sufficient to give you a significant boost. Developing your own financial skills can enrich your company no end - and the transformation from a company without able financial management to one with goals, security, investment and growth is one that no business can afford to miss out on.
