Paving the path to sustainable value creation

The evolving arena of business rivalry is oftentimes a cutthroat contest where the mighty prevail and the possibility of extinction, a genuine hazard. However, in most economic ecosystems, it is possible for commercial enterprises of differing resources and stage of development to achieve sustainable prosperity. A quick review of high performing sustainable organizations reveals several common business practices which drive and guide it. Leadership and strategic planning.Organizational success is determined by the tone at the top. Ethical and effective leadership enables coherent and focused strategy and execution over the long term. However, pursuing short term results hinders the development of a more stable and prosperous future for the organization. Businesses need to revamp structures and incentives in order to focus their organizations on the long term. Understanding the long-term impact of decisions on a firm’s operations, customers, employees and reputation must be ingrained as a key component of the decision making process. Successful organizations have leaders who display a deep understanding of customer and stakeholder needs, recognize the opportunities and threats that emanate from a business competitive environment and effectively develop and utilize the organization’s resources to generate the desired products and services. Financial ManagementStrong financial management policies ensure that the financial strategy and its execution support long term economic viability rather than focusing on short term earnings performance. Articulate financial reporting helps improve access to capital as well increase the confidence of stakeholders. But this is only possible by generating clear and accurate financial & operational reports on performance. Effective financial management draws heavily from the accuracy and capability of the accounting (or book keeping) function which is necessary to delivery leadership in cash flow and tax management, cost control and profitability improvement, working capital insights as well as raising finance and capital. Leaders of successful organizations eternally endeavor to build reliable and capable finance departments for without the correct information, it is impossible to make the correct decisions. People Retention and Talent ManagementOrganizations that attract and retain talent often outperform competitors. Successful leaders acknowledge and regard human resource management as a fundamental value driver to the sustainable success of the business. Organizations with talented teams continually innovate their products and services, and adapt their structures and systems to changing circumstances. Building capacity to develop sustainable products and services, which is based on supporting processes and systems requires an organization to invest in an innovating capability and supporting organizational culture. The company must be committed to continually shed off those staffs that are really a drag on the organization. Company assets can be procured from a myriad of sources but top caliber personnel are simply irreplaceable. Operational excellenceDiscipline in resource allocation is the hall mark of a successful business and the offspring of astute leadership, ensuring that strategic directions goals and objectives are at the heart of every decision. This ensures that resource allocation decisions align with strategic direction, goals and objectives; and also that performance measurement and reporting systems are structured to appraise this progress, leads to sustainable value creation. Good governance ought to be recognized as much more than compliance exercise but as a core value embraced by all levels in the organization. Effective and transparent communicationSuccessful organizations typically have a carefully planned approach to engaging with various stakeholders. Clear business reporting is integral for management to provide investors and other stakeholders with the longer term prospects for the organization as well as a rationale and explanation for its vision, strategies and operating results. This is the time to set your organization on the right track and if you have already embarked on this challenging but fruitful expedition, an objective review of your organization along these lines will assist to highlight opportunities for improvement as well as to evaluate whether the plan is still on track. The author is a Certified Public Accountant charlesmaina@yahoo.com.