Roger Mason is an expert in finance and company law.  He wants to help non-financial people manage Cash Flow during the economic downturn.

It is too easy for people to focus on the profitability of a company without due regard being given to the liquidity of the company.  It is the Balance Sheet which clearly reports how solvent the company is, whilst also explaining its relationship with its shareholders, customers, suppliers, banks and providers of long-term finance.

The directors of a company should be of the opinion that the company is capable of discharging its debts.  If there are grounds to doubt this, then the company could be in a precarious position and the directors could become liable for the company’s debts.

The seminar aims to help the directors of limited companies recognise fully the legal responsibilities they have for ensuring that their company is capable of meeting its financial obligations.  It will help expanding companies avoid being under financed.  Quite often as a company’s trading turnover increases it creates many financial pressures on the liquidity of the company.  Proactive directors should have the ability to recognise these pressures and anticipate the need to raise further finance.

The challenge for companies that require more finance is whether to look towards investors to introduce further capital or to look towards financial institutions to provide long-term loans.  The risks of going for long-term loans are that the company could become highly geared and find that the rewards for the shareholders are severely restricted by the need to service the company’s debt.

The seminar answers many questions including

• What are the legal responsibilities that a company director has for ensuring that the company is capable of meeting its debts?
• What are the key features of a Balance Sheet that reveal that the company has liquidity problems?
• How do we ensure the accuracy of a Balance Sheet?
• What is the difference between Profit and Cash Flow?
• What should I do if I believe that the company is not capable of meeting its debts whilst other directors have not formed this opinion?
• Under what circumstances might I become liable for the company’s debts?
• How do we anticipate the need for the company to raise further finance?
• How do we go about issuing further share capital, what are the options?
• If we choose to go for a long-term loan, what are the options?
• Why does being highly geared jeopardise the return for the shareholders?