Waikato Business News October/November 2020

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS October/November 2020
5
Checklists and controls can help you
manage your business, minimise fraud
and reduce stress
There is absolutely nothing to be gained from putting blood,
sweat and tears into building a successful business and
then having all that hard work go down the drain.
THE BUSINESS EDGE
> BY BRENDA WILLIAMSON
Brenda Williamson runs business advisory service
Brenda Williams and Associates www.bwa.net.nz
Businesses go ‘down the
drain’ because there
are inadequate or no
controls in place and a lack of
process.
You need to develop processes
for your team to follow.
This ensures you have consistency
across the business and
gives you some certainty that
the work is being completed
to your satisfaction. New staff
members have something to
follow, and when a team member
is away, other staff can
cover by following the documented
processes.
You need to document processes
- what, how and when
things are done in the business.
Controls are a series of checks
and balances to ensure processes
are being followed.
Implementing monthly
checklists is an easy way of
checking that everything is
being managed correctly and
that timely checks and balances
are taking place. Different
team members may be
responsible for checking certain
things but at the end of
each month, you as the business
owner will have confidence
that the team (and business)
are under control. This
will give you great visibility
and helps to reduce stress.
Once the monthly checklist is
in place, it needs to be completed
by say the second day of
each month and this should be
non-negotiable, no excuses.
Develop your checklists
so they are relevant to your
particular business. You will
have different categories or
mini checklists within your
overall checklist, with various
team members responsible
for signing off. Some
very general categories within
your checklist could be:
• Communications (website,
phones, backups)
• Accounts (debtors, bank
reconciliations, cashbook,
KPIs, end of month reports,
creditors)
• Staff (organisation chart,
credit cards, performance
reviews)
• Accreditations and licences
• Premises (first aid kit, fire
systems and alarms)
• Health and safety (meetings,
incident reports, documentation)
• Stock systems (pricing,
expired stock, levels)
• IRD (returns and payments)
You may just start off with a
few items and build it up over
time. You will be amazed that
as the list increases, your stress
levels reduce!
In addition to having clear
processes and systems, robust
controls help to minimise
fraud. Small businesses can sit
on increased risk around fraud
due to a lack of separation of
duties. You may only have
one administration person who
is responsible for everything;
however, good practice means
the same person should not be
entering, authorising and making
payments. If this is the case
in your business, think about
what you can do to minimise
risk. Never use the excuse
of being too busy to review
documents and authorise.
Fraudsters are not always obvious
- they move around and are
devious, cunning and make the
most of opportunities as they
present themselves. It is quite
common for small business
owners to have little appetite
for wading through creditors
and authorising payments, but
this can be an easy area for
fraudsters to target. Credit
cards, stock and cash are also
obvious areas to watch. Fraud
can be external or internal to
your business.
In addition to fraud, there
is always the risk that
errors (lack of training and/
or incompetence) could be
affecting your business so
by implementing processes,
checks and controls, you will
minimise your business risk
and stress at the same time.
Specialist property lawyer Thomas
Gibbons sets up sole practice
Experienced Hamilton property
and resource management
lawyer Thomas Gibbons
has set up in sole practice
to further develop his specialist
work.
His practice, established on
October 1, sees him dealing with
complex issues in subdivisions,
unit titles, land development, and
infrastructure.
He works with a range of clients,
including developers, local
authorities, landowners, body
corporates, iwi groups, and many
others.
“The idea is to have very specialised
areas of focus and to do
work in those areas, often for
other lawyers, but also for members
of the public and my existing
clients as well,” says Thomas,
formerly a partner and director at
McCaw Lewis.
One of a handful of lawyers
across New Zealand with
his degree of specialisation, he
is often called upon to provide
expert opinions for other lawyers,
and has given expert evidence in
the High Court on a number of
occasions.
One particular specialisation
is in the area of unit titles,
which is the form of ownership
for most apartments and townhouses.
Thomas has written an
authoritative book on the subject,
and provides advice around both
development and governance
issues for a range of clients from
individuals to the largest body
corporates across New Zealand.
Another key specialist area is
resource management and infrastructure
law. When it comes to
major development projects, his
role focuses on end-to-end land
development, and includes working
through the challenges of the
Resource Management Act, Public
Works Act, and Local Government
Act.
“Sometimes it’s about working
out – and working through – what
road blocks there might be, and
helping identify the most efficient
process for getting a development
done. At other times, it’s about
making sure that the development
will stand the test of time.”
Thomas has worked on some
of the region’s biggest development
projects, including on plan
changes, infrastructure delivery
contracts, and large subdivisions
– often when there is complexity
and different interests are at play.
At the other end of the scale,
he cites occasions when people
receive a notice out of the blue
that the council wants to put a pipe
through their land, or acquire land
from them under the Public Works
Act. In such cases, his role lies in
keeping the council accountable
to correct process and making
sure the landowner understands
what's going on.
“There's a very human side to
the process. From a council perspective,
it may be a big project,
but from a landowner perspective,
it's their land and their home.
Working through that and understanding
that it's a unique and oneoff
situation for the landowner is
very important.”
Now based at Panama Square
in central Hamilton, Thomas
Gibbons has more than 17 years
of legal experience, with qualifications
in law and resource management.
He writes extensively
and has lectured at a range of
tertiary institutions. He is a member
of the Waikato Regional
Housing Initiative and a former
president of the Waikato branch
of Property Council NZ.
thomas@gibbonslaw.co.nz | thomasgibbonslaw.co.nz