Financial Assistance & Management
Financial management is defined as that area or a set of administrative functions which relates with arrangement of cash and credit for the organization so that it can carry out its objective of successfully running its operations.
The Financial management team at ARK helps the Corporates in the underline areas-
• To automate and accelerate the consolidation process
• Improve cash flow
• Streamline processes
• Optimize their cost base
• Increase the relevance and promptness of communication and financial information
• Measuring and managing their business performance
• Transforming their support service operations
With the efficient support and assistance of the ARK team, the clients are benefitted in the following manner as it assists them to-
• Build an efficient and effective financial management function focusing on people, processes and technology.
• Design and implement financial consolidation,
• Streamline management reporting and business intelligence tools to provide quality financial and non-financial information to support planning, decision making and control.
• Design and implement effective management processes.
• Specify, select and implement financial consolidation, accounting and reporting information systems.
ARK's focus thus is on the assisting the client in managing its finances for running of smooth business operations, meeting various demands for growth and expansion. ARK also advises its clients in reviving its operations in case of a financial crisis or in any difficulty it faces due to the highly competitive and evolving economic scenario.
Under the preview of Financial Assistance & Management, ARK provides the services of Banking Compliance also.
Banking compliance is the method with which the bank stipulates various conditions like filing of regular information/documentation which is used by the Bank in assessing the progress of the borrower Company. Each Bank is responsible for developing a sound and safe compliance program that takes into account the risks involved for the protection of the Bank's clients and overall business efforts. Banks appoint management-level compliance officers in order to develop compliance policies and procedures, monitor and test programs.
The chief compliance officer is responsible for developing policies and procedures that are in conformity with legal and regulatory guidelines for all aspects of the Bank's business. Compliance is a major risk, if seen from the creditor's point of view. The main concern of creditors before issuing credit to any business is to make sure whether the business is worth the risk. Business credit rating agencies gauge the credit worthiness of a business with the help of compliance checks.
The number of factors that affect the credit compliance of a business are-
1. The Business Plan:
A professional and complete business plan is a must before seeking business credit. If an entrepreneur is serious about his business then he should work out a thorough action plan. Every aspect of the business should be planned, right from its inception to its working.
2. A separate Business Bank account:
Many small businesses fail to take the simple step of maintaining a separate business bank account. The intermingling of business and personal finances sends a red signal to the creditors. It indicates a non committal attitude towards the business. At least one business bank account is essential before beginning to build business credit. There should be sufficient balance in your account so that checks get cleared as too many returned checks might reduce your chances of being approved for a business loan.
3. A Business Address and Business Phone number: In order to save money, some people might run their businesses from home which makes your business look suspicious. Using your home address as your business address can also cause a great deal of damage as running a business from home might create a feeling of non-commitment in the eyes of the creditors.
5. Permits and Licenses: Make sure that you obtain all the permits and licenses required to operate your business. Not having even one of these licenses can make a bad impression on creditors/bankers.
6. Financial Statements of the business: The credit worthiness of the company depends a great deal on the financial statements of the business. Generally the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement of the last three years is seen but if the business is new then the books from the time of starting the business are seen.
The basic elements of an effective compliance framework are-
• Compliance Policy
• Compliance Structure
• Compliance Manual/ checklist
• Compliance Personnel
• Compliance Audit.
The compliance process involves identifying the level of compliance risk in each business line, products & processes, suitably advising the operational functionaries and formulating instructions for mitigation of such risk. The integrity of the compliance process depends upon how well the compliance program has been built up within the organization and whether there is clear identification of responsibility and accountability for the compliance function.
ARK plays an important advisory role in guiding its clients about the Banks' requirements and updated guidelines so that the client is able to run its existing as well as future operations in the most ideal business situations without facing any financial difficulty.
Filing of Bank Compliance documentation is an integral and important part of every entity running its business with banking support. The regular filing of various undertakings, stock and book debt statements, quarterly reports, audited financials, reply to stock audit and other special audits conducted by Bank, compliance of pre-disbursement and post-disbursement stipulations need special care and professional approach. ARK advises its clients and also prepares a blue-print for the same which is an effective tool for finance managers in fulfilling the compliance stipulations of the lending institution.