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Compliance in SMEs – Achieving the Objectives Pragmatically

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A frequent experience in our customer projects is that our medium-sized customers react to the topic of compliance with the critical question: “And who is going to do that? Of course, a medium-sized company does not have the same resources as a group of companies, where a compliance department with several members deals with the topic. Nevertheless, the same legal framework conditions apply to SMEs and group companies.

Multiple crises, international interdependencies, challenging political developments. The risks for companies tend to increase.  The business world is increasingly difficult to assess, more dynamic and more complex. Compliance has become an important basis for SMEs to safeguard the company, protect it from potential risks and thus create a foundation for the long-term success of the company. Good compliance can protect the company in the best possible way and indicate emerging crises and problems at an early stage. For effective implementation of compliance management, it is particularly important in medium-sized companies to use resources wisely and to sensitise everyone in the company to the issue. All too often, compliance is still perceived as a secondary task and the risks that actually exist are massively underestimated.

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Change Management as a Success Factor in Digital Transformation

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Change management means planning changes in an organisation and implementing them in a structured process. Selected measures are defined to transform departments or even the entire organisation from an initial state to a defined target state. And this is particularly important in the case of digitalisation. Many companies focus on digitisation projects. But they can introduce the best systems: If the employees are not involved in the change processes at an early stage and thus acceptance for the planned transformation is not promoted from the beginning, the system will not work in everyday life.

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Promoting Progress: State Support for SMEs

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Public funding supports small and medium-sized enterprises in their development. But which funding programmes are suitable for your own company? And how can the right funding be identified, or several funding programmes be combined? Entrepreneurs who deal with this topic quickly realise that getting an overview and making the right choice for their own company is a task that cannot be accomplished in passing. Finding one’s way through the funding jungle is not always easy.

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The Compliance Certification Standard as a Success Factor in SMEs

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Comply with regulations, implement ethical standards: Compliance is crucial for SMEs in the highly competitive business environment. Medium-sized companies that decide to professionalise their compliance can make their compliance management processes lean, efficient and transparent on the basis of certification standards. Once a solid compliance basis has been developed according to certification standards, the company is optimally equipped for active compliance management.

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Preventing Crises: The Successful Early Warning System in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

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“What happens to my customers when energy becomes more expensive?”. How will the high material costs affect my prices or my procurement market? These and other pressing questions are currently being asked by many SMEs. Questions raised by economic crises and changes in many influencing factors. Questions that should be answered at an early stage. Only then does the company have the best possible chance of averting potential risks and crises. This requires transparency in the relevant areas of the company, which can be created by an early warning system.

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Succession in Family Businesses – Practical Experience

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Handing over one’s own business is a challenging topic. Many entrepreneurs find succession difficult. Even if, like one of our clients, they deal with it at an early stage: Frank S., a medium-sized entrepreneur in his early sixties, had started to deal with the issue of succession in his mid-50s. So, he was well on time. It was clear early on that his only son would not take over the company. So how to proceed? Sell the company? In order to get this complex decision right, Frank S. called in an expert.

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Also counts in the SME Sector: Transparent Communication with Banks

“Financial communication” – many SMEs see it primarily as a task of listed companies. But it is of great importance, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Especially when a company is in a difficult economic situation. Companies that proactively implement transparent bank communication and thus build up a good relationship with their bank (creditor relationship) have a much better standing with their bank. Targeted financial communication with regular reporting improves capital access and conditions. It strengthens the bank’s confidence in its own company and can pave the way for better support overall.

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The Situation is becoming increasingly difficult for many Companies

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The press releases are piling up: small and medium-sized companies are increasingly experiencing economic difficulties – many have concrete closure plans and are implementing them. The offers for sale are increasing. Energy shock, brittle supply chains, shortage of skilled workers and inflation are the reasons. Price increases are not only hitting their own profit and loss statements, they are also causing customers to hold back and lower sales. An analysis by the information service provider CRIF sees an increased risk of insolvency for around 300,000 companies in Germany. That is around 10% of the companies in Germany. The industries that are particularly energy-intensive have already shown significant increases in insolvency cases. This situation calls for attention and caution.

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Get ready: Implementing the Whistleblower System in medium-sized Companies.

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The whistleblower directive is coming. But very few companies have taken care of it yet. This is shown by a recent PWC study. And it also confirms our impression in practice. But time is pressing: if the law is finally passed by parliament, all companies with 50 or more employees will be obliged to install a corresponding system. And the number of employees here is based on the European concept of employees – and this differs from the usual way of counting. Employees include everyone employed by the company without exception, including interns, mini-jobbers, and the management itself. This is important for determining whether thresholds are reached or not.

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Perfect Match? The External Managing Director in the Family Business

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In many medium-sized family businesses, a succession is due in the foreseeable future. In most cases, the company is to remain in family ownership. But not all daughters and sons are talented entrepreneurs. Or simply no one wants to do it. Then an external manager can be appointed.

When an external manager takes over the management of a family business, there are many challenges – for both sides. At the same time, the cooperation also holds many opportunities: External managers can professionalize the company with their experience and bring fresh momentum into the business. For the collaboration to succeed, a systematic approach is advisable – starting with the onboarding phase. Read more

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