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We are delighted to announce our partnership with FSB Insurance Service

It’s often the case of David v Goliath for many small businesses when it comes to dealing with large firms and their supplier payment cycles. 

Is the economic future really as dire as people make out? 

Personal Guarantee Insurance – it’s a simple concept.

In January 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") opened a consultation on the role of the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”) and whether its services should be extended to incorporate more SMEs and personal guarantors.

It seems the world of finance has developed into a “computer says no” environment, both in a personal and commercial capacity, where old school underwriting and case-by-case common sense approach has been replaced by algorithms, referencing and an increasing dependence on other fintech tools to assist a decision.

You co-signed a personal guarantee for your spouses business loan and now you’re faced with losing everything you own and bankruptcy.  How did you get to this point and was there any way you could have prevented it from happening?

International accounting standards suggest that business accounts should record guarantees based on the following conditions:

• Guarantees are treated as provisions if a call is likely (typically numerous similar guarantees treated as a group)

• Guarantees are treated as a contingent liability and not recorded in main accounts if a call is not likely (typically one-off guarantees)

But what about personal financial statements?

Every business needs capital to grow and a good regular cashflow is the life blood of all enterprises. Achieving that can often be more difficult and too often businesses are simply financing a bad debt hole.

Most people accept that in order to start a business it will require investment in a number of forms; money, time, energy and probably a fair degree of hope. Those funds may be readily available from external sources like banks, peer to peer lenders, friends, family, grants, even credit cards. So often the drive and vision for the new enterprise overshadows the actual monetary return on the investment and the negative impact of cashflow is felt.