Today I want to write about a topic very close to my heart. It is so, due to the fact that it plays a pivotal role in aiding businesses to take high quality and informed decisions.
What are board packs?
Board packs are a fancy name given to the set of documents and reports given to Owners/Partners/Directors before a meeting which give them all necessary information about the subject matter to be discussed in the meeting.
In other words, board pack is the key strategic tool which is used by top management to take decisions which affect the future of the organisation as a whole.
What makes up a board pack?
Just like every company is unique in its owned right and the needs of each business is special, board packs are also unique and are designed to meet the needs of the company, people involved and the situation at hand.
Having said that, a broad framework of which statements, documents and reports would be the bare essential of a good board pack.
- Latest available Income Statement
- Sales Analysis
- Customer wise
- Product wise
- Product Line Wise
- Based on Geography
- Based on Demography
- Project specific reports such as a feasibility study on putting up a new plant or business plan for starting a new business
- Cash Flow Projections for the next quarter
- Analysis of key performance metrics for the business
- Debt-Service Coverage Ratio
- Debt-Equity Ratio
- Liquidity Ratios
- Working Capital Management Metrics such as Debtors and Creditors Turnover, inventory Turnover etc.
The list above is by no means exhaustive, but gives you an idea of the reports that may in included in a board pack.
Board Pack For SMEs
There is a myth that SMEs do not require such board packs and that these are only meant for larger companies.
I would just like to ask – “Do SMEs not take key decisions which affect their future?” If the answer is that they do, then it is evident that they would also need information to support the decision making process.
In fact, I would go one step further and state that it is more important in SMEs.
SMEs unlike their larger counter-parts have limited resources in terms of both liquid funds and work force. Thus, it becomes imperative that such resources are deployed in the best possible manner to reap the best possible results.
SMEs have relatively much lower margin for error and hence decision making is an onerous and difficult responsibility for the top management.
However, statistics shows that more than 80% of SMEs do not have a formal decision making framework in place.
So it can be said with much confidence that in such a scenario those SMEs that do focus on their decision support functions and take board packs seriously can use such packs as a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic and highly volatile business landscape.
Board Packs and Inscite Advisory
Inscite Advisory is a next generation professional services firm which has made it their mission to empower SMEs with the tools to make better and more informed decisions.
Towards this end, Inscite offers a host of engagement options aiding SMEs in regular preparation of board packs.
To understand how a well designed board pack can enable growth of your business, you can get an absolutely no cost no commitment call back from our experts.
Note:- Call backs are only till slots last.
Happy Accounting.
Cheers.
