Pre-seen dilemmas

CIMA students have a whole new world to conquer this May. The strategic level pre-seen is now out there. Darren Hodgson, of iCount told PQ magazine that everyone will be reading the pre-seen, but the trick is what you should be looking for. Company Aybe is a mid-sized company owned by institutional investors, supplying electronic components to 20 countries. Merged five years ago, Hodgson explains that the company had a rocky start and shows steady signs of financial improvement. Now the company is at a cross roads.

Hodgson stressed that the key issues stand out (read the headings, as these are clear markets). Increased profit seems paramount, said Hodgson, especially given the 55% stake of the patient but increasingly demanding institutional investors. There are already some suggestions to consider, but keep increased profit at the forefront of your mind.

The questions you could be ask are:

1) Is the structure appropriate and should you change it?

2) What will be the cost and benefit of a new IT system?

3) How much can we grow given the interest and gearing constraints?

4) How should we grow? New products and markets? Physical or virtual presence?

5) What further investment should we make?

6) Can we sue the quantity surveyor or who might have cost the company up to $1.0m?

4/5/2010  PQ Magazine