Your business is very much a living and breathing thing — not literally, but it never stops when you’re in the business world. As a result — there’s a constant need for a solid stream of information in order to keep the way you work informed and intelligent.
Company accounts are a fantastic resource for information, giving you all you need to make a great intelligent decision in business. They give you an insight into what works, what doesn’t work — and how to get ahead of the competition.
So when you make a company search into company accounts — let’s take a look at some of the edge that it gives you over your competitors.
Company Accounts & Competitors
Company accounts are useful for competitor analysis. Business is about profit for the most part, so looking at the detailed accounts of a competitor can be useful, as the information can inform your own strategy and give you an accurate assessment of the companies you are competing with — and thus give you a better chance of competing more effectively and ultimately making more profit.
Looking at company accounts is useful in the following ways:
Profit & Loss — Company accounts are detailed. You can see the consolidated accounts, turnover, gross profit, wages & salaries, interest payments and much more with a company report. This gives you a very detailed view of your competitors finances and indicates how successful they are.
Balance Sheet — Having a look at the balance sheet is a great way to make a really good assessment of the competition. The details available to view in a company report include total current liabilities, net assets and cash. This gives you a behind the scenes look at how the company is operating.
Miscellaneous Details — There are numerous details available in the accounts of a company including the number of employees, contingent liability and audit qualification — so you can get a good picture of the company as a whole, not just financial information.
There are many ways that company accounts can be useful, and one of the most significant are the access to competitors — which makes the process of competitor analysis simpler and allows you to assess them more accurately.
Checking Your Own Business
You might want to run a check on your own business, your company accounts should be obvious to you but by getting a report for your own company will make a very interesting read. This gives you an idea of how others look at your company and how they assess your credibility.
Getting a an idea of how others view you is rare in business, and by identifying your own strengths or weaknesses in certain areas means you are more able to determine which areas require attention and which do not.