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Gherkin, London

How to plan business finances


Every student has a dream career ahead of them. Most of them won’t make it, and plenty more will end up surfing a wave of debt, hanging five on a loan repayment, but the ones that do can help shape the society we live in.

Reputably, the people with the lowest job prospects are humanities students, yet their transferable skills have actually created many successful businesspeople.

US congressman and business CEO Mitt Romney graduated with an English major. President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina left Stanford University with a medieval history and philosophy major. Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner graduated from Denison University with a double major in English and theatre.

Although these people are straddling the upper echelons of society, they aren’t the exceptions to the rule. The dream career can happen to plenty of students – but they’ll have to acquire business sense along the way.

With that in mind, we’ve come up with a few financial tips that can help out any humanities or liberal arts graduates who want to head into the business world. Bear them in mind before you make any major financial decisions.

Finances take planning

Before you head into your company’s coffers, there are a multitude of factors you’ll have to consider. Larger companies will plan finances by committee, setting up meetings with a seemingly endless slew of advisors and planners.

But without proper measurement taking place every day, financial planning will be almost impossible. Enter the HR department, which needs to be tooled up with the latest gear if it’s to be effective.

Payroll and employment management software has progressed in the past decade to help with any and all financial department. These new pieces of tech are more than just glorified spreadsheets – they’re overarching aids that keep track of payroll, KPIs, absences, promotions and overall expenditure.

There are plenty of variants on this software, the option available at this link. Give it a look if you want keep and eye on your company’s finances.

Stay true to your stakeholders

Stakeholders are a law unto themselves. They’re who the CEO of a company is trying to make happy and they’ll drop you like a bad habit if you’re performing poorly. And, like any tense relationship, poor financial planning will likely lead to arguments and recriminations between yourself and your stakeholders.

As with any client, putting your stakeholders at the forefront of your business plan is the key to staying afloat. Keep them in the loop, especially in financial matters, and they’ll stand by almost any decisions you choose to make.

Graduating into the business world can be nightmarish, especially where finances are concerned. But any English graduate can tell you – it is better to have thought of the cost, than never to have thought of the cost at all.

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  1. Pingback: Little details: Things even a student business can't afford to ignore | Student Banker

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