Boost your business’ operational resilience

Cashflow

• Do you know how the cumulative debt burden is affecting your cost of doing business?
• How can managing cash flow now improve your future bottom line?
• Where to turn for help?

Catch up on the CBI’s SME webinar on cashflow resilience. You can also listen to the podcast.

Access to finance

Is your business:

• Meeting working capital requirements?
• Refinancing capital borrowed during the COVID-19 crisis?
• Resuming business?
• Capitalising on growth opportunities?
• Adapting your business model?
• Responding to new market and customer expectations like sustainability?

The new EY/CBI Power Growth guide aims to help SMEs access finance. It sets out how the robust and diverse finance market is evolving – and where SMEs can play their part to get the finance they need.

Insurance

Does your business know:

• How to choose the right cover?
• The types of insurance cover are available?
• How to make a claim?

This insurance guide, produced in collaboration between the CBI, the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), and the Association of British Insurers (ABI), is designed to help you understand:

• To meet this challenge some businesses have invested in new technologies to manage their accounts more effectively and identify potential pinch points ahead
• Many firms are actively working with their lenders and advisers to act early and get ahead of potential financial problems
• Some businesses are using diverse forms of working capital, including invoice and asset finance to meet their cash flow needs
• Some businesses are considering their credit file and how their data works for them, in order to make the best case possible to the likes of trade credit insurers.

• Catch up on the CBI’s work on the cashflow crunch, including an R3 guide on dealing with financial distress 
• Learn about the CBI’s wider Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business.  
• Discover the CBI’s winning with fintech campaign to see how new technologies could help you manage costs and become more efficient.

• The British Business Bank has developed a Finance Hub to help businesses find out about finance that could work for them 
• UK Finance has put together information and resources on what businesses need to be thinking of as part of their Let’s Talk Business initiative
• ABI’s information on choosing the right insurance is available 
• BIBA’s resources on accessing insurance are available. 

• Are there any opportunities for business growth arising from this long-term disruption? 
• Where are the largest gaps in your supply chain occurring?
• Is prompt payment part of your accepted, normal business practice in order to support your supply chain and in particular SMEs?
• Has your business considered the use of financial technology (fintech) to help with cashflow management and the pressures of late payments?  

The CBI has developed a framework for CEOs to guide leaders through key questions and actions to inform your organisation’s response to supply chain challenges, and share specific, practical ideas to adopt.

• A large proportion of firms in manufacturing and distribution (48% and 36% respectively) are diversifying the supply chains in response to disruption
• Some businesses have broadened beyond a smaller number of preferred suppliers to consider new options
• Some businesses are considering purchasing materials for the projects still in Research and Development
• Firms are looking to on-shore/near-shore their operations to strengthen supply chain resilience (around 10% of manufacturers have done so or are considering it, according to a CBI survey in May).
• To meet this challenge some businesses have invested in hiring supply chain managers for the first time to ensure they are doing all they can to manage and respond to disruptions.

• Catch up on the CBI @10am webinar: building business resilience across supply chains. Or listen to the podcast
• Discover the CBI’s campaign to tackle supply chain challenges to drive economic recovery
• Use the CBI’s new payments toolkit to unpick what fintech can do to support your business with cashflow management, late payments and reducing the costs of doing payments - this includes case studies of businesses that have partnered with fintechs to help them get paid quicker.

• DIT has developed new Supply Chain Resilience Guidance, alongside the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI)
• The guidance is endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and aims to support you to strengthen your supply chains by mapping them, identifying potential risks, and developing plans to help minimise potential disruptions to your business
• Additional resources are available through the Export Academy. And you can contact your local International Trade Advisor through your local trade office for more tailored support on building your business via gov.uk. 

• What are the business priorities and objectives?
• How does managing and communicating about cyber risk fit within those structures?
• Are there plans to mitigate risk by applying some technical or non-technical control? 

The CBI has developed an action plan to boost your cyber security. This framework will direct you to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) resources that you need to ensure your company has a robust and stress-tested cyber security strategy.

• Some businesses are running regular scenarios with staff focusing on education and actions relating to ransomware and phishing
• Some firms are speaking to their supply chains to ensure that they have a clearer sense of the risk level along the value chain
• Some firms are reviewing the way data moves through the business, and ensuring they have a handle on any data leaving the organisation
• Some businesses have developed cyber playbooks (that they store offline) so that in the case of a cyber attack they immediately know what actions need to be taken.

• Catch up on the CBI @10am on ‘cyber security – assessing risk and building resilience, or listen to the podcast
• Watch the CBI @10am webinar on the Ukraine conflict, economic sanctions, and cyber security. You can also find the podcast, here
• Find out more about the UK government’s National Cyber Strategy and what it means for your business
• Watch the CBI’s webinar on cyber security for SMEs.