2012 Pride in Bedfordshire Awards

As part of KSK's intentions to play in their full part in the community, we were sponsors of the Pride in Bedfordshire Awards 2012, and specifically sponsored the Excellence in Education award.

Bedfordshire and Luton Business Excellence Awards Review

The 19th Annual Bedfordshire & Luton Rising Stars Business Excellence Awards 2012, brought to you by Premier Newspapers in association with Barclays, took place on Thursday 8th November 2012 at the Bedford Corn Exchange. Guests enjoyed a champagne reception, a three-course meal with wine, and were entertainment by this year's celebrity host ‘Show Me the Funny' winner Patrick Monahan.

Rising Stars Event, Thursday 8th November

The Annual Bedfordshire & Luton Rising Stars Business Excellence Awards 2012, brought to you by Premier Newspapers in association with Barclays. 

Now in it’s 19th year, this well established event is a highlight of the Bedfordshire business calendar. The awards will once again celebrate successful companies and individuals, and offer an excellent opportunity for all business sectors to meet, be inspired and showcase their achievements to their peers.

Awards presentation evening will take place on Thursday 8th November 2012 at the Bedford Corn Exchange, 7pm until 1am. Enjoy a champagne reception, three-course meal with wine, entertainment by this year's celebrity host ‘Show Me the Funny' winner Patrick Monahan, awards presentation, free charity raffle and disco.

Where Did The Time Go?

As we enter the last month or so of 2012 I believe we will hear the phrase… “Where did last year go?” Certainly for me it has flown by and my close friends constantly feel the same. The seasons come and go and before you know it another year has gone.
At lunch in the summer I was having a meal with a fellow practitioner and he said to me… “If my firm’s partners could see the hours which we are now working they would turn in their grave”

Are the work pressures which we have to cope with ordinarily ever going to reduce? With the economic climate which we are faced with I think that is most unlikely. We therefore have to really examine what we do each day and seek to reduce the non-productive and wasted time which can clutter up our working day. I can almost hear some readers being up in arms about any suggestion of there being such time but I am afraid it is prevalent in varying levels for most business owners / managers. Whilst I accept that for smaller businesses it is harder to rearrange procedures, I am going to set out instances that I am aware of to illustrate the main thrust of my argument:-

Changes to Child Benefits

You may recall that the Chancellor: George Osborne partly reversed a planned cut in child benefit, meaning more families will be entitled to help than was originally proposed, though anomalies still exist and confusion still reigns.

The result is that 1.2 million families will either lose their child benefit or get a reduced payout, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), though under the original plans 1.6 million would have lost all their entitlement.

What's more, 500,000 parents will have to fill out a self-assessment tax form each year to continue receiving the benefit. Many more will also be asked to pay a portion of their payout back.

Respect - You Have To Earn It

It is my experience that in management of any organisation, too many people fail to realise that to obtain the respect of their colleagues, they first of all have to earn it. During my working career I have seen many instances of senior officials thinking that just because they have the title works manager or sales director they will as a result enjoy the respect of the employees working directly for them.
Normally on promotion to a senior position there is an initial period where the employees are waiting for tell-tale signs as to how the person concerned is going to perform towards them in relation to his or her overall designated contribution to the business or organisation. 

So how is respect achieved? 

Unless You Run Your Business, It Will Run You!

In the course of my work as a Chartered Accountant, I have worked with literally hundreds of directors. I have assessed the detailed workings of their companies and how they personally drive them. In this time I have witnessed both the excellent and the very poor performers, and I am going to outline examples to illustrate this exact point.