While many finance directors and CFOs of emerging mid-market businesses have taken to adopting digitisation naturally, either due to individual skill-set or culturally, others have struggled to gain clarity.

While many finance directors and CFOs of emerging mid-market businesses have taken to adopting digitisation naturally, either due to individual skill-set or culturally, others have struggled to gain clarity.
Identifying diamonds in the rough has never been so important. McKinsey’s Paper “The PE Company CFO: Essentials for success” 1 cites the priorities CFOs and FDs need to focus on in a PE environment.
Whilst the UK steadily and, we trust, irreversibly, emerges from the Covid crisis, other parts of the world such as India are struggling. Nearer to home the European Union countries are accelerating their vaccine programs as supply and other issues recede.
We are surrounded by all sorts of forecasts (or speculations) on how long the financial consequences of Covid will last. 1Deloitte’s economic forecast, amongst others, predicts a bounce in Q3 of 2021.
Notwithstanding geopolitical squabbles on vaccine production and supply, the fight on Covid appears to be heading in the right direction. Businesses are learning exponentially and predictions about “the new normal” abound. For instance, 1McKinsey cites that more than 20% of workers could work remotely and retain effectiveness.
The crisis is leaving its mark across multiple industries and casualties are revealed almost daily. From high street brands to smaller businesses under the radar of the press, businesses are being acquired either directly or with the assistance of Private Equity.
It is clear that there has been a seismic shift in working patterns brought on by the pandemic. For example IT Services companies have never been so busy enabling employees to maximise productivity working from home.
The current macroeconomic environment renders bold and swift decision-making a necessity – either for survival or to flourish. When there is relative stability the same boldness is required and it is the CFO / Finance Director who must provide the case for action when the status quo seems the easiest option.
As confirmed by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on the excellent 1Andrew Marr Show, this weekend, the second lockdown is inching towards completion.
Today’s precarious macro-economic environment with geo-political upheaval and a global pandemic requires an agile approach to strategic planning. For some businesses the opportunities are positively transformational, for others, fatal.
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