There has been much in the press and media about how much (or little) we give to charity. Putting the inevitable debate about the accuracy of statistics to one side, I feel the story has missed the point, particularly when comparing British giving to American.

If there is a defining difference between the British and American culture it is about the role of money. In America, everything has a price. In Britain, I believe that we place a greater emphasis on support, that has no price. Whether it’s volunteering on a regular basis, caring for others, or just being there to help out, the value of what we give is worth far more than the value of our financial donations.

I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t be giving more funds to good causes, but it is also worth stopping to think for a moment about the value of your time given to help others. As businesses know, time is money, and is equally valuable whatever you do with it.

There is a debate about whether charities should record the value of non financial contributions (particularly volunteers time) in their accounts to show the true value of their “receipts”. Needless to say this has been contentious. After all, is an hour of one person’s time worth the same as another? Do we value time on the basis of what it is worth to the giver or the recipient?

What we give is personal and should reflect our ability to give, which might mean its less about money, and more about our skills and experience. To me, the important thing is that we give what we can to the community that we are part of. Sometimes just giving time is the most valuable donation of all.

I discovered an interesting economic indicator recently, the Skip Index. I have blogged before about one unusual way of judging how buoyant the local economy is, by counting cranes on the skyline (http://www.yourfbs.co.uk/what-does-economic-recovery-look-like/ ), now there is another method that doesn’t require a strained neck gazing upwards – counting skips on the road in your neighbourhood.

The principle is very simple; skips provide evidence of optimism and investment. A skip represents financial activity. This activity might be a new bathroom, a landscaped garden, a new driveway, or the installation of double glazing. The one thing these all have in common is evidence of disposable income being spent.

So, how many skips make an economic recovery? I guess that depends on the area you are looking at. It might be an area, a long road, or the whole village. Like cranes on the skyline of a city, skips come and go, but there presence is a sign of economic hope.

I wonder how many skips the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee see on their way to work…

I was talking to a client recently about their business. They were explaining to me what information they wanted to see on a regular basis that they believed would help them monitor their business. The indicators he felt were key were Turnover (sales income), Profit, and Cash in the bank.

Without wanting to start an argument there and then, I realised that I have a lot of work to do to get the business owner to understand what he really needs to know, why he needs to know these things, and what he needs to do about things when they are not good.

I have often talked about the Balance Sheet being more important than the Profit and loss, and I still stand by this statement. The Balance Sheet tells you what you own, who owes you money, and who you owe money to. These three facts give you a far better snapshot of your businesses health than any other measurement.

Take cash in the bank as an example. It doesn’t include cheque payments to suppliers that have not cleared. It doesn’t tell you how much you are owed by customers, or how much you owe to your suppliers.

Profit is a nice measurement if you are the taxman, but it doesn’t tell you how profitable you are. Making more profit than last year might sound good, but what will you do if you are only making 10% net profit, when last year you made 15%?

Running a business requires focus on the future. A review of the past is helpful, but only if you do things differently as a result of the lessons you have learnt. If you are measuring your performance by the wrong indicators, do you even know what those lessons are?

I met a prospective client a couple of days ago. He is starting a business based on his many years experience and contacts in his specialist field. We met on the basis that he needed an accountant, and could I help?

The word Accountant has become a much overused description of someone who provides financial assistance to a business. Calling yourself an Accountant implies expertise in a wide range of disciplines:

• Bookkeeper
• Payroll
• Management Accountant
• Finance Director
• Auditor
• Actuary
• Treasury (Investments)
• Business Tax (Corporation, CGT, VAT)
• Personal Tax (NI, PAYE)
• Pensions

I believe that every business needs all of the above, just not necessarily all at once, or all the time. When choosing someone to be your “Accountant”, are you paying for all the above services “just in case”, or being quite precise about what kind of support you need?

If you manage your business well, you will be able to select when and who provides you with “Bookkeeping” (needed on a regular basis) separately from your “Auditor” (only needed once a year); be able to pay for “Tax” or “Investment” advice only when you need it. You should ask for general support and guidance from a “Finance Director” only as and when you need to.

The various functions of Accountancy can (and often are) outsourced. Accountancy is a big pool with all sorts of fish in it. As a business owner you should dip into the pool only for what you need, when you need it.

Does my prospective client need an Accountant? No. His needs are far more subtle and demanding than a generalist. Are yours?