The passing of one of the most volatile economic years for 50 years and perhaps since 1929 was celebrated as usual with fireworks and partygoers rejoicing and singing auld lang syne.

And it seemed that for a short while the economic trials and tribulations of 2008 had been forgotten.

But then as quickly as the New Year festivities had approached they passed and we woke in 2009 to the same woes and economic uncertainty that we thought we had left behind. It would seem though, that the only certainty for 2009 is that it’s going to be a tough year.

So as we enter 2009 what actions should we be taking to prepare our businesses and ourselves for the year ahead?

I know it's a cliché but it doesn't seem five minutes since I decided to start my own blog and posted my first post on 31 December 2007.

December has been a very busy month as we try to shoe horn five weeks of work into just three!

One common theme seems to be the continuing difficulty obtaining finance from the banks for both working capital and investment . . . but are banks just been difficult?

This has been a question I have asked myself as I have tried to negotiate deals for clients and that clients have asked me.

The chancellor has announced his pre budget report. The main tax changes and how they will affect individuals and businesses are outlined in this article:-

The government announced not so long ago a number of measures and policy changes, all of which were geared towards increasing the general liquidity within the economy. However, whilst they have had some impact, many of our banking institutions do seem to be reluctant to lend to each other and to us. This is reflected by the gap between the Base Rate and the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which has been at its largest for many years. As banks and other lending institutions slow down their lending to companies liquidity will become a significant issue for businesses. At the same time we have seen instances where credit facilities and loans have been restricted as banks become more selective about those they provide funding to. More recently we have seen examples of financial aid packages that the banks have turned away which may have been approved more readily by banks 18 months or so ago.

After months of talk and speculation finally a US bank has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the equivalent of administration in the UK. But will the demise of Lehman Brothers impact upon SME’s?

I have recently completed some work that has involved a significant amount of company secretarial matters. This work has reminded me that The Companies Act 2006 that was recently implemented, from April 2008, made some changes in terms of the company secretary requirement.

About three years ago all of the managers and partners at nicholsons were put through their management paces by Mary Birch, a specialist management trainer. One of the key themes to this training was delegation. Wikipedia defines delegation as "the handing of a task over to another person" Sounds simple until you try. There always seem so many reasons (or excuses) why you can't delegate and therefore you continue to plough a lonely furrow. I will openly admit that this picture, until recently was me! Now though I am starting to really understand the power of delegation! BUT its not just about passing tasks on to other people. I think that there is so much more to consider.

Last week I spent the week on Holiday. For the first time in around 9 months I cut myself off from the office and found time to wind down and relax!

Whilst away I read a book by Rob Parsons called the heart of success. The book considers in some part what success looks like today and from which perspectives you should look at it from. It also tells some well structured stories that really tug at the heart strings.

Are businesses prepared for disaster?

As a resident of Market Rasen, the epicentre of the largest UK earthquake in 25 years, Richard Hallsworth, a partner at Nicholsons, is concerned that businesses may be failing to prepare detailed enough disaster plans.

Whilst it would appear that the earthquake, which measure 5.2 on the Richter Scale, did not result in a significant amount of damage to local businesses and the infrastructure that supports them, it will hopefully have made business owners think about the effect such dramatic events could have on their business. Or has any thought of disaster planning, like the shock waves, faded away?

For many business owners the disaster recovery and continuity plan is one of those things that always gets put to the bottom of the pile until it is too late.

Today many businesses rely heavily on IT systems, whether it’s to control manufacturing processes, run telecommunications including collection and sending of emails, and to manage their financial affairs, including paying suppliers and employees online.

So what would happen if there was a critical loss of data or damage to the IT infrastructure of your business? How long would it take to replace hardware and restore data?

Happy New Year!- Just a quick message to wish everybody a Happy New Year!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

The idea behind my blog is to enable me to pass on my thoughts behind the things I learn and experience

I hope that you find some of the future posts interesting and look forward to interacting through your comments on my posts!

Richard