Surfing the Waves of Growth

Surfing The Waves
Of Growth
5 Winning Strategies For
SMEs & Small Corporates

Surfing The Waves Of Growth:
5 Winning Strategies For SMEs & Small Corporates
Dear Business Owner,
Your Business Growth Starts Here.
For SMEs and small corporates, the past years have been among the most demanding ever
in the history of Irish business.
The perfect storm of a property bubble, a banking collapse and global recession have
placed unprecedented demands on businesses, and to have survived until now is a sign of
tremendous mental strength and resourcefulness.
The time comes, however, when mere survival is no longer enough. At DBA, we believe this
time has arrived, and it's now appropriate for businesses to adopt the strategies that will see
them return to active, vibrant growth.
Within the pages of this booklet, you will find an overview of how we believe you can make
your business ready to surf the wave of growth that is evident all around us, whether in lower
unemployment, reduced debt levels, encouraging levels of Foreign Direct Investment and a
growing sense that the general consumer is ready to spend again.
By definition, the information contained within the following pages is of an overview nature
only, but if you would like to know more on any of the topics raised, please don't hesitate to
contact us for a no-obligation consultation on how we can help your business to maximise the
opportunities of national economic growth.
We successfully guide a broad range of businesses, including small corporates, SMEs, sole
traders, company directors and entrepreneurs.
We provide a friendly, professional service, and adopt a partnership approach that ties our
own success to that of our clients.
So why not talk to us today – and let your business growth start right here.
DBA Accountants
Contact DBA Accountants today
on +353 47 81022,
or log on to www.dbaaccounts.ie
to find out more about the
pathways to growth.
Page 1

Contents
How To Secure Finance 3
Successfully Managing Your Cash Flow 5
Take The Less Taxing Route 7
Go For Growth 9
Plan Today For Succession Tomorrow 11
Some Businesses That We’ve Helped
On The Road To Growth 13
About DBA Accountants &
Business Advisors 16
Page 2

Securing adequate finance is the
lifeblood of any business, but it's
surprising how many businesses leave it to
chance, and put themselves at the mercy
of their normal lenders.
There is some truth in the fact that a
lender will ‘back the man’, but the reality
is that your bank will be far more
impressed by a robust and credible
Business Plan that sets out the basis for
any finance required, the likely payback
period, and the market conditions upon
which the plan is based.
The more thorough the plan is, the more
apparent it is that you’ve thought through
the full implications of what your business
is trying to achieve – and not merely
looking to borrow for some vague notion
of ‘growing the business’.
Central to any credible Business Plan will
be cash flow projections for the short to
medium-term. These should be realistic
and achievable, and also subject to a
‘stress test’ on the part of your bank. In
other words, what happens if your
projected cash flow drops by 10% or
20%?
The credibility of future projections will
be much enhanced if they’re
accompanied by recent financial
statements. Any significant leap from
past to future levels of cash flow will raise
an inevitable red flag on the part of the
prospective lender, so achievability has to
be a central consideration.
If, however, there are exceptional reasons
to suggest that current levels of cash flow
can be drastically improved – such as the
imminent launch of a unique new
product or the development of a new
geographical market – then you should
make a strong case to your lender that
this is the situation. A reputable
accountant or financial adviser can help
you frame this in the most persuasive
manner, in a format which the lender is
accustomed to dealing with.
You are also much more likely to receive
a positive decision from your lender if
you are currently up-to-date with your
creditors – including Revenue. If you’ve
been financing your business through
non-payment of tax, alarm bells will
ring loud and shrill.
You should also be prepared to address
the issue of security or personal
guarantees. Rightly, your bank has a
duty to protect itself and its
shareholders, and will be much more
likely to lend if there are adequate
levels of security in place.
This could be anything from assigning
the property assets of the company, or
a personal guarantee from parents of a
young start-up, for example.
How To Secure Finance
Page 3

on +353 47 81022,
pathways to growth.
Your bank is also much more likely to
do business with you if there is a direct
relationship between the amount you
wish to borrow and the amount you're
willing to put on the table yourself.
For example, if your bank will invest
€200,000 when you yourself invest
€100,000, then you have established
a rough rule of thumb for your bank’s
appetite for risk – or their level of
confidence in your business
proposition.
The bottom line is that you simply can’t
invest too much time in the task of
keeping finance flowing through the
veins of your business. Preparation is
the key, and you should never leave a
request for finance until the last
minute, as a refusal will potentially
have fatal consequences for your
survival.
It’s much better to err on the side of
‘asking in advance’ than treating a
finance application as an after-
thought!
…..How To Secure Finance
Page 4
PQE Technology Ltd is a successful and expanding
company in the engineering sector. Throughout
our development the tight management of our
company’s performance has been vital. An
important tool in this area has been the production
of regular, timely and accurate management
accounts. DBA Accountants have provided an
efficient and flexible service in this area that has
given us all that we require, in addition to their
duties as tax advisors. As we go into the next
exciting phase of our development I am delighted
to have DBA Accountants continue to be
part of our team.
- Paul Quinn,
PQE Technology Ltd
”

The first principle of successfully managing
your cash flow is to have regular and up-to-
date reporting in place. Depending on the
complexity of your business and the
manpower resources at your disposal,
management reports can be prepared on
anything from a daily to a monthly basis.
The typical data that your business needs to
have to hand on a constant basis includes:
 Invoices, sales and purchases and bank
statements and any other documentation
from the previous period.
 Reconciliation of all bank accounts.
 Reconciliation of the Debtors Control
and Creditors Control and VAT reports.
 Consolidation reports.
 Business analysis report.
And most importantly, of course, are the
regular Board or Management meetings to
discuss the elements above.
Budgets & Variance Analysis
Preparation of a budget is an art in itself,
but it's equally important that you analyse
the variance from that budget – upwards or
downwards – on a regular basis.
Variances may sometimes be short-term or
once-off in nature, but if it’s longer term,
then the budget probably needs to be
reframed as a matter of urgency.
Also, you need to react quickly to any
significant variance in budgets. A shortfall in
invoicing in January, for example, will
inevitably lead to a shortfall in cash flow in
March, so don't wait until a one-off variance
quickly becomes the norm and leads to
serious financial trouble.
Debt Collection & Credit Terms
To some extent, and within the limits of the
arrangements you’ve made with your
creditors, you can control the tap in terms
of outflow of cash. But what some
businesses consider to be out of their own
control is inflow of cash from customers.
This need not be the case, however. While
we fully acknowledge the tightening in
general cash flow in recent times, the fact
of the matter is that most debtors will get
away with whatever you let them.
Good fences make good neighbours, and
the first building block in successful and
timely debt collection is a clear setting out
of your credit terms. It's not enough to
merely reproduce this on the back of your
invoice – you need to have that ‘difficult
conversation’ with the new customer at the
very outset.
In other words, start as you mean to
continue, and let your customers know that,
once you’ve negotiated and agreed your
credit terms, they are gospel and will be
implemented in full by your accounts
department.
Successfully Managing Your Cash Flow
Page 5

on +353 47 81022,
pathways to growth.
Stock Management & Inventory
Control
Depending on the nature of your business,
you may need to have a greater or lesser
amount of stock in situ, but every
percentage point that you can reduce it by
will result in a significant improvement in
your cash flow.
If you're in the retail business, for example,
you may believe that your customers want to
touch and feel the widest possible choice of
goods, but remember that your best-selling
20% of stock probably accounts for 80% of
your income.
Surely, therefore, you could decide to cut
back on some of those slower selling items
without eating into sales in any major
fashion. The impact on cash could be
genuinely transformative for your business.
If, on the other hand, you hold high levels of
stock as part of a manufacturing process, it
may be appropriate to investigate Just-In-
Time Stock systems, or perhaps invest in
automated stock control systems which will
allow you carry lower levels of raw
materials.
…..Successfully Managing Your Cash Flow
DBA Accountants have been looking after
my accounts and have assisted me in
putting systems in place to manage my
growing business. We are in touch with
DBA Accountants on a regular basis and
the feedback and support we receive
throughout the year is invaluable,
“hand holding” us through all issues.
- Hugh McElvaney,
McElvaney Waste Management
“
”
Page 6

Whether you're an SME, a small corporate,
a sole trader or a company director,
planning is the real key to an effective tax
savings strategy.
Every year in Ireland, millions of Euro in
unnecessary tax is paid by Irish businesses
and individuals. The choice is simple – you
can keep it in your own pocket, or let the
taxman have it.
As a minimum, you should never leave
things until the tax deadline – saving on
tax requires significantly more time than
that, but it's time that will repay the
investment many times over.
If you’re self-employed, for example, why
not start working on your return for the
following October as early as January,
which keeps you more than enough time to
claim every cent you're entitled to, and
have any supporting material in place.
Assuming you're prepared to plan your tax
returns in advance, here are a number of
important points to take note of:
Are you claiming your tax
credits for Research &
Development?
Under Irish taxation law, any company or
group of companies can claim a tax credit
of 25% on any incremental spend that’s
incurred wholly and exclusively on
Research & Development. The R&D may be
undertaken anywhere within the European
Economic Area (EEA), but you can't claim
your tax credit in a second territory.
Take advantage of the
Employment and Investment
Incentive Scheme.
The Employment and Investment Incentive
Scheme (“EII Scheme”) is the reformed and
revamped Business Expansion Scheme
(“BES”). It is a tax relief incentive scheme
which provides tax relief to eligible
Investors for investments in certain
qualifying small and medium sized trading
companies (“SMEs”). The EII Scheme offers
one of the few remaining tax reliefs and
is one of the few sources of total income
relief (which includes, for example rental
income and deposit income).
Are you claiming back all your
tax credits?
Before accepting your next tax bill as
being gospel, you should acquaint yourself,
first of all, with the standard tax credits
available to you, along with some of the
more common forms of relief that you may
be entitled to, including:
 Rent-a-Room Relief
 Childcare Services
 Tax Relief for Loan Interest (Secured
and Unsecured)
Take The Less Taxing Route
Page 7

on +353 47 81022,
pathways to growth.
 Certain Medical Expenses
 Revenue Approved Permanent Health
Benefit Schemes
 Film Relief
 Trans Border Workers Relief
Avail of CAT relief for succession
and heritage properties
Relief from Inheritance and Gift taxes is
available for business assets and certain other
assets at the date of transfer. Relief is available
from capital acquisitions tax for all gifts and
inheritances taken on or after 11 April, 1994 of
relevant business property. The relief only
applies to gift and inheritance tax and is not
applicable to discretionary trust tax or to
probate tax. The relief amounts to a reduction
of 90% in respect of the value attributable to
the relevant business property taken by the
beneficiary.
Let the taxman fund your pension
Careful pension planning is one of the most
achievable ways of saving large chunks of tax.
Whether you're a company director or a
member of your company’s PAYE staff, the
amount that you pay into a pension can be
deducted from gross income before that income
becomes liable to tax, subject to certain limits. In
effect, tax relief is given at the marginal rate
of tax (your highest tax rate). In addition,
relief in respect of PRSI and the Universal Social
Charge (USC) may also be available.
…..Take The Less Taxing Route
We have used DBA Accountants since the
early 1980s, and during this time they
have comprehensively provided all our
audit, accountancy and bookkeeping
requirements as well as provided specific
advice on a range of issues facing our
business such as restructuring, revenue
audit, wealth management and tax
planning. I have no hesitation in
recommending DBA Accountants to new
and existing businesses.
- Brian McEniff, Managing Director,
McEniff Hotel Group
”
“
Page 8

Very few businesses can survive by
standing still, and growth tends to be an
imperative to success in the current
economic climate. We do not suggest that
growth for growth’s sake should be the
route forward, however.
Growth needs to be controlled and
planned, and in accordance with a
concrete vision for your business. If your
product has reached saturation level, for
example, then adding a new line makes a
lot more sense than simply producing more
of the original item.
Alternatively, growth may be dependent
on a major new investment in capital
equipment, which will put additional
liquidity pressure on your business as you
look to service heavy borrowings.
Set Goals
So be very aware as to how growth will be
achieved, and set very clear goals to help
you from point to point on your expansion
plan.
Clarity in goal setting means that you fully
understand all the factors that will
contribute to success – or failure – and that
you’ve invested sufficient time in turning a
vague ambition into a concrete plan.
Identify KPIs
These goals should be enshrined within
formal KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators.
They're called ‘Key’ for a very good
reason – these are the performance goals
which will determine whether you're right
on track – or lost in the undergrowth!
KPIs should be expressed in very
significant terms. Looking for ‘increased
sales’ means nothing, whereas looking for
a month-on-month increase of 5% is
absolutely unequivocal.
SWOT Analysis
It may be one of the oldest management
tools in the book, but an assessment of
your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
and Threats is as helpful and instructive as
ever.
It forces you to take a holistic view of your
business – warts and all – rather than
simply cherry-picking the aspects of your
business that you'd prefer to focus on.
It also allows you to be ‘constructively
ruthless’, i.e. assessing the various
doomsday scenarios that could affect your
business as well as the glaring
opportunities.
And should disaster strike at any stage, the
very fact that you’ve considered various
negatives for your business will stand you
in good stead when it comes to reacting to
adversity.
Go For Growth
Page 9

on +353 47 81022,
pathways to growth.
Monitor & Manage
A business plan is no use unless it is
activated, controlled and measured to
enable the business owners to improve
on what is going well – and to stop
doing what is failing.
A business plan is a living, breathing
thing that needs information to grow
and improve. The key to this is relentless
monitoring, including:
 Extracting the results on a regular
basis.
 Interpreting of results.
 Making improvements to the business
plan.
This constant circle of monitoring and
managing will pay rich dividends over
time, as it means that you're prepared
‘in real time’ for whatever may be
going on in your business.
…..Go For Growth
Greenfield Foods have engaged DBA
Accountants for the last 26 years for all our
Auditing and Accountancy needs. Their
professional advice, vast knowledge of
experience and business mentoring services
has helped Greenfield Foods meet all the
business challenges down the years, that has
helped us succeed in our business. They are
always available either in person or on the
phone to talk to you. They have also kept us
compliant with all our statutory obligations in
an ever-changing business environment.
We would have no hesitation in
recommending them to any business.
- John Mohan, Managing Director,
Greenfield Foods Ltd.
”
“
Page 10

The day you start a business is the day you
need to think about handing it over to the
next generation. Apart from death and
taxes, the other great constant in this world
of ours is the advancement of time.
You need to recognise that the time will
come when you need to ether step down
completely from the business – or perhaps
curtail your involvement to a significant
degree, perhaps to a two or three-day
week.
This should not be seen as a negative, as
all successful businesses need to be able to
continue in the face of changing
management or changing ownership.
It’s a sobering exercise to stop for a
moment and imagine what your business
will look like 5, 10 or even 20 years from
now. The business could be virtually
unrecognisable down the line, so you need
to make sure that its ongoing success is not
dependent on your ongoing presence and
involvement.
And unless you can envisage who might be
managing the business in your absence,
you could have real problems on your
hands – notably in your ability to find a
buyer for a company that is utterly
dependent on one key figure.
Effective succession planning involves
identifying and preparing suitable people
to replace key members of the
management team (especially you) as they
move on as a result of advancing age or
perhaps the need for new management
skills.
For smaller enterprises, owner/managers
often fail to recognise succession as an
issue, and don't make adequate plans to
hand over the reins to the next generation.
It’s a particular issue in family-run
businesses, where a whole range of
personal factors come into play and
muddy the waters even further. And with
around half the businesses in Ireland made
up of family businesses, the potential for
disaster can’t be overestimated.
The biggest problem arises when owners
fail to adopt and groom a successor, and
when they fail to take an ongoing interest
in the topic of who will succeed them. But if
adopted at an early stage, the prospective
new manager can be unskilled and given
the resources he or she needs to fill in any
experience gaps.
The sooner this is done, the better, as it
gives the prospective manager the
opportunity to take over on a phased
basis, without being thrown into the deep
end in a ‘sink or swim’ scenario.
It will also take time for the owner to pass
on the accumulated knowledge of the
business that’s perhaps been built up over
a lifetime.
Plan Today For Succession Tomorrow
Page 11

on +353 47 81022,
pathways to growth.
Depending on the size of your business,
you may simply need to consider replacing
the chief bottle washer, or you might need
to look at all key function heads –
anything from financial to manufacturing to
marketing.
A few key tips to help you bring about a
successful transition include:
Making sure that you have a pension or
other income in place, so you're not
dependent on the business forever.
Make sure that the proposed successor
apparent knows he’s being groomed, and
that he’s ready for the new role.
Also tell your staff what will happen when
you're gone – this will be a huge help to
the new leader.
Make sure that you’ve made a
comprehensive will, which fully addresses
the passing on of the business.
Identify a trusted team of advisers who
will help the new manager hit the ground
running.
…..Plan Today For Succession Tomorrow
We are a specialist forklift and straddle
carrier manufacturerwith our Global
Headquarters in Monaghan.
DBA Accountants have been our auditors
for many years. They have been very
supportive and have made the audit
process operate with the least
inconvenience to the company as possible.
They bring the expertise of a large firm,
with the personality of being a local
practice.
- Martin McVicar, Managing Director,
Combilift
”
“
Page 12

An onsite solution with a whole host
of benefits
Background
A successful and profitable manufacturing client
with approximately 35 staff lost its bookkeeper
to emigration. This potentially deprived the
company of much of the vital management
information that it relies on – as well as causing
an immediate bottleneck in the accounts function.
Our response
We were already providing full payroll facilities
through our wages bureau, so it seemed logical to
undertake additional assignments for the client.
But rather than providing the service from our
offices, we offered the client the additional
access to expertise of having a member of our
staff on their site for two days a week.
The outcome
In addition to the payroll and annual accounts, we
now provide a full bookkeeping, VAT and
management accounts facility. This works very
well for the client and saves them the
responsibility that goes with hiring direct staff
such as holiday pay, redundancy entitlements, etc.
It also means that they have regular access to an
accountancy professional who can provide instant,
real-time answers to any queries that may arise.
Making diesel rebate
claims for the haulage
sector
Background
A haulage contractor
approached us with a problem.
With poor broadband services
at their disposal, they wanted
an accountancy partner to
undertake time-consuming
diesel rebate reclaims on their
behalf.
Our response
We took on the task of sorting
through the bulk delivery
invoices and diesel card
invoices, and submitted the
claims on the contractor’s
behalf. We were also able to
offer our services in terms of
undertaking haulage licence
applications and renewals.
The outcome
The contractor was freed up
hugely in terms of time and
energy, letting him get on with
the more important task of
managing and growing his
business.
Some Businesses That We’ve Helped
On The Road To Growth
Page 13

Managing RCT obligations
for the construction sector
Background
The introduction of the new online
Relevant Contract Tax system (RCT) in
2012 caused major headaches for the
contracting sector. Faced with the task
of allocating scarce human resources to
the task, a large construction company
approached us for assistance in this
regard.
Our response
The company has now completely
outsourced its RCT operation to us.
Whenever they want to pay a
subcontractor, they simply email the
details to us and we organise the
setting up of the contracts, authorisation
of payments and monthly returns to
Revenue. We simply email the payment
authorisations to the client, to
accompany their payment.
The outcome
This is an area where Revenue are very
active and the client in question now
enjoys the peace of mind of being fully
compliant in terms of its RCT
obligations thanks to our systematic
and methodical approach to managing
the task on their behalf.
Raising finance for the
poultry industry
Background
Cavan/Monaghan is the site of a
large percentage of the country’s
poultry production sector – from egg
production and packers to broilers.
This is a sector that tends to be in
expansionary mode at present, with
many companies looking to raise
finance for expansion.
Our response
A leading player in the poultry sector
approached us for advice and
assistance in raising additional finance.
We assisted them in the development
of their business plan, and helped to
complete al the necessary financial
projections and forecasts. We also
advised on the most appropriate
financial institutions to approach,
drawing on our excellent relationships
with all the major lenders.
The outcome
Our track record in securing finance
for our clients is second to none, and
we were successful again in this
instance. Our client is now in full
expansion mode with significant plans
for additional production.
….Some Businesses That We’ve Helped On The Road To Growth
Page 14

Helping our farming clients move to a
limited company model
Background
A dairy farmer milking over 80 cows and farming over 200 acres was considering his
options with regard to incorporating his farming operation into a limited company.
Overwhelmed by the magnitude of the decision, he approached us with a view to
clearly setting out the pros and cons of his various options.
Our response
With the farming sector, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. We treat each case on
its own merits and took the farmer in question through the various options open to him,
clearly signposting the implications of any potential decision. Once he’d decided on
the limited company option, we drew up a detailed plan for the changeover, and
together with the farm advisor, drew up a detailed timetable and responsibility
schedule which allowed the transfer to take place with minimal operational disruption.
The outcome
The farm is now trading successfully as a limited company. As an additional part of
the exercise, we helped the owner to explore his options in terms of succession
planning, and a detailed plan is now in place in this regard.
….Some Businesses That We’ve Helped On The Road To Growth
Page 15

DBA was established in 1975 and is a
busy, multi-partner practice with over
twenty highly friendly and professional
staff.
We pride ourselves on an exceptional
level of service, and never shirk from
going the extra mile for our clients, who
include SMEs, new start-ups, small
corporates, sole traders and company
directors.
We adopt a partnership approach with
our clients, and our success is very much
linked to theirs. Many of our clients
have been with us from the earliest days
of the business – proof of how deeply
we engrain ourselves in their business.
Apart from delivering a full service
accountancy offering, we also advise
our clients on mission-critical aspects of
their business such as sourcing capital,
succession planning, and strategies for
growth.
Contact DBA Accountants at:
Lakeview House, 27 North Road,
Monaghan, Co. Monaghan, Ireland
Phone: +353 47 81022
Fax: +353 47 84123
Email: info@dbaaccounts.ie
Web: www.dbaaccounts.ie
About DBA Accountants & Business Advisors
We work with all
businesses, large and small.
We’re here to help you with your business.
Page 16

Lakeview House, 27 North Road, Monaghan, Co. Monaghan, Ireland
Phone: +353 47 81022
Fax: +353 47 84123
Email: info@dbaaccounts.ie
Web: www.dbaaccounts.ie

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