Built to Grow

Chapter 13Finance and Governance

‘Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.’

—Benjamin Franklin

Throughout my career, I’ve come to appreciate and really value the attributes that define a company’s success: having a compelling vision; a great product and service proposition; a powerful brand; great leadership and people; ethical business practices; evolving business strategies and values-based decision-making.

However – and there is a however – there is one fundamental attribute that is missing, without which you cannot have any realistic control over your business: Finance and Governance.

A documented and robust Finance and Governance strategy understood by all and implemented across the business will create the headspace for you to channel your time and energy into the creative, innovative aspects of building and running your business. This does not mean you abdicate responsibility for this important function, but instead delegate responsibility as you have now set the solid foundations for your corporate governance.

So, be honest with me now: if you browsed the table of contents of this book, what came into your mind when you saw there was a chapter called Finance and Governance? Was it the sort of feeling you had at school when it was time for your least favourite subject or perhaps one that really challenged you; something that you had to do, but knew before you even got to it that you’d ...