// PREDICTIVE INTELLIGENCE //

themselves or working with their accountant, can take the following steps:

Identify key risks

NOT ALL RISKS ARE CREATED EQUALLY SO IT’ S VITAL TO FOCUS RESOURCES ON THE THREATS WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL TO IMPACT THE BUSINESS.

To stay ahead, businesses need to pinpoint the biggest risks – whether that’ s market volatility, supply chain vulnerabilities or regulatory changes – that could truly throw a wrench in operations. Alongside looking at short-term factors, businesses must ensure they’ re analysing the long-term shifts in broader areas such as society, economics and technology. Not all risks are created equally so it’ s vital to focus resources on the threats with the greatest potential to impact the business.

Develop diverse scenarios

Facing fear of the unknown is tough for a business owner, but we’ d encourage them to embrace this uncertainty and plan for different scenarios, from the most optimistic( i. e. price hikes with little impact on demand) to the worst case( i. e. staff layoffs and downsizing), along with a middle ground( i. e. non-essential spending cutbacks). Ideally, it’ s best to keep this to roughly three to four scenarios to avoid the risk of falling into the trap of analysis paralysis. Ultimately, by covering a number of bases, leaders can ensure their business is agile enough to proactively tackle challenges head-on, rather than waiting for circumstances to dictate a response.

Engage stakeholders

By involving their employees, partners, accountants, bookkeepers and investors in the scenario planning process, leaders are not only crafting a more robust plan, but they’ re also establishing a collective sense of readiness. This alignment accelerates

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