We are the Peter Charles Team

”Time and time again I rediscover that the first and most crucial factor in any difficult business situation is to get useful numbers early enough to tell everyone concerned which problem to solve and which problem to solve first.

"Recording history is only part of what we do. We really add value to a business when we look to the future. A good finance function will provide clarity, both to define where you are and where you are going.

"In the desire to fix a problem, managers often leap to a solution without doing a thorough investigation of the root cause. The experienced consultant adds value by using a structured approach to fault identification, with solutions properly identified against time and cost criteria.

"In big organisations it is easy to lose visibility of what is happening and why. Sit down with an end user and track an activity from the minute it enters the business until it reaches the accounts. It is all about who is doing what and why. Helping people doing things better is a great motivator, why waste your life doing the wrong thing?

"Project management is a temporary management structure to achieve a finite goal in an agreed timescale and budget. It puts planning in place to ensure everything gets done, nothing is missed and all dependencies are considered. You have to take charge, and be in charge of whoever is on your team for that project: whether that is the office junior or the CEO.

"We like to understand a problem from the data up, using the data to make a picture that provides insight into where to go next.

"Cashflow forecasting is important for any business but essential when liquidity is an issue. Getting a clear picture of cash in and cash out is crucial, especially where record keeping has collapsed or is inconsistent. In addition, creditor management and cash conservation techniques create vital breathing space to get on with day-to-day work.

"When setting up Shared Service Centres it is important to work with all the stakeholders and ensure there are no subtle nuances that may prevent procedures working properly. I look at the interface between finance and the rest of the business.

"It's amazing to discover how many companies project some degree of contempt for their customers. An external eye can help them to see themselves and their proposition, and enable them to generate a demonstrable love and respect for those who hold the key to their company's future prosperity.

"Every once in a while, you need someone to come up with a brand new perspective on a problem.

”A company's problems can often stem from poor accounting or out of control costs, but they can also stem from a lack of sales. In such cases, it is vital to develop and execute strategies to enable them to differentiate, win new clients and grow revenues. Remember, cost cutting is short term and finite but any sales increase is potentially infinite!

"Persuade your internal and external Brand or Marketing Teams to meet with both the Finance and Customer Services teams and they will get a more complete and more multi-dimensional view of your communication issues and objectives.

"Ann O'Sullivan - An incisive financial profesional

"We've all seen TV programmes where people build their own houses. Often, they say 'I'm going to project manage this myself' but they fail, they just don't have the requisite skill sets. Your business is the same. But if you buy-in specific project management skills you ensure the project is delivered on time, to budget and crucially, exactly what the business needs.

"Invariably the path to organisational success is underpinned by a partnership with its people but there's no standard or fixed HR solution to this. HR needs to be commercial and must evolve according to business objectives.

"Words and numbers matter. Having the right content for your audience is a key part of the communication strategy for any organisation. Part of what Peter Charles Limited does is to help their clients weave the words and the numbers together in order to tell their story in the most compelling way.

"Merger and acquisition integration should be planned early. The earlier the better. But the question then is how to turn the skeleton strategy into a winnable action plan. The key is to know how to structure the integration and understand how to find and deliver true synergies.

"We talk a lot about 'focus'. But focus will never become an operational reality unless people have the understanding, the right and the obligation to challenge what doesn't serve the business priorities.

"Information and communication are the drivers for clear decision making. Ensuring complicated data is presented with clarity is the goal, but this must always be built upon perfectly relevant and accurate building blocks for the real value to be seen.

"Quality management and process improvement are always best achieved through the core principles of lean administration and the associated soft skills aspects of the management of change.

"Unless the Finance Department is fully integrated into overall business processes it ends up operating in a vacuum, leading to mistakes and a less-effective overall business. Processes throughout an organisation must be defined and robust, with the Finance area fully considered in their design.

"Information is the lifeblood of business. Good information is the blood of good business.

"Implementation, re-engineering, integrating and streamlining of finance systems: expert in both the functional and business aspects of ERP, in particular but not restricted to, SAP FI-CO and Oracle Financials.

"Even when accurate data is available, without clear organisation – 'information engineering' – the business may not have all the requisite information for effective decision-making and control.