Summary:

One of the main problems that managers and directors of SMEs have is that they spend too much of their time working in the business, rather than on it.

At SMS, we believe that management should dedicate some of their time, on a regular basis, to consciously stop, draw breath, review the company situation and decide what actions need to be taken. Our approach isn’t unique, all large organisations do it, i.e. we hold management meetings.

Our Approach:

Assuming the client has already gone through the process of introducing and preparing a Business Plan or Budget and Management Accounts are being prepared on a regular basis, the SME has the basic building blocks in place to set up the structure for conducting regular Management Meetings, whose frequency will generally be dictated by the frequency of the preparation of Management Accounts.

SMS will arrange, prepare the Agenda and Chair these meetings.

The Meeting will consist of the presentation of the Company’s Management Accounts and Key Performance Indicators, which will have been previously issued to the Management Team. Major points will be highlighted, explained and discussed in more detail and questions asked about the results from all parties to ensure that the figures are fully understood.

The next item, probably the key one, will be the Management Report. Even if there is only one Manager/Director it is vital that all members of the team explain what is happening in their area of responsibility to the other attendees, which can be a written Report or a verbal presentation. They will outline the problems they are encountering, the areas that are going well, what future plans they have, the resources they will require, etc.

SMS will use the various Reports to assess the performance of the business as a whole, what issues need to be addressed, etc., by critically examining and questioning the management team.

Other areas will also be included on the Agenda for discussion, which may include: Capital Investment, Employment Issues, new Budgets, etc.

In addition to chairing and preparing the Agenda, SMS will make notes during the meeting and write them up as Minutes, highlighting any Action Points that need to be implemented. These Minutes invariably form the basis for the Agenda for the next meeting.

The frequency of the Meetings is usually linked to the frequency of the preparation of the Management Accounts and KPIs.

The fees for the above are based on the number of meetings that are expected to be held during a year and their estimated duration, along with an allowance for preparation and writing up the Minutes.