Author: Sean Owusu

Key Takeaways AI is a Game Changer: AI in financial services is revolutionising how we predict and plan for financial futures. It’s about complementing human expertise with data-driven insight. The Crucial Role of Financial Professionals: Your role as business advisors, bookkeepers, and accountants is more critical than ever. Ethical Use and Transparency: While embracing AI, […]

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In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, it’s the strategic business leader who recognises the value of a well-structured business plan. Whether managing a new startup or an established enterprise, strategic planning is more crucial now than ever. The year 2025 presents fresh opportunities, advanced technologies, and innovative approaches to navigating the current market climate. At […]

Read More… from How to Create an Effective Business Plan in 2025

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how small and medium-sized businesses do their work. In today’s online world, AI helps businesses, big and small, get things done. These computer tools make everyday jobs easier, especially when it comes to money matters and office tasks. AI helps businesses work better by improving customer service and making office […]

Read More… from Taking the Leap with AI: A Friendly Hand to SMEs in Today’s Digital Landscape

The idea of financial intelligence for small businesses means more than just ‘crunching the right numbers’; it encompasses several key facets that business owners or their advisors should have a solid grasp of to ensure their decisions are the right ones for growth. The accelerated development of Financial Technology (Fintech) has opened up avenues for […]

Read More… from How Financial Insights from Fintech Leads Directly to Small Business Financial Intelligence

Introduction SWOT analysis originated in the 1960s when Albert Humphrey of Stanford Research Institute investigated why corporate planning often underperformed. His work led to SWOT analysis, a strategic planning tool still used today. It endures due to its effective approach to examining internal and external factors affecting business success. This guide explores SWOT analysis, equipping […]

Read More… from Understanding the Power of SWOT Analysis for Strategic Growth

Businesses have become aware of the importance of debt and credit in maintaining financial stability and success. It reflects the liquidity position of a firm concerning meeting its short-term obligations, as represented by the debtors/creditors ratio.  We will examine the significance of the debtors/creditors ratio in financial management and operational strategy. This includes exploring methods to […]

Read More… from Boosting Business Resilience through Debtors/Creditors Ratio Management

Before the advent of financial technology (fintech), traditional accountancy roles focused primarily on manual data entry and record-keeping, which was time-consuming and not without risk. The frequency at which an accountant could give advice to their clients was also restricted to monthly, quarterly, or even yearly financial statements, leaving large periods during which lucrative opportunities […]

Read More… from Empowering Accountants with Fintech: From Data Entry to Strategic Advisory

With the advent of modern fintech, financial management has seen a profound transformation. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into financial platforms and tools has reshaped how businesses can approach their cash flow analysis and other metrics that lead to improved cash flow. The shift from traditional methods has not just […]

Read More… from The Future of Financial Management: How Fintech is Reshaping Cash Flow Analysis

Measuring a business’s success can be done in many ways. One useful method is to check the business’s cash flow. Looking at cash flow can give important information to help businesses grow when things are stable or handle tough times. Deconstructing Cash Flow Analysis Cash flow analysis tracks money coming into and going out of […]

Read More… from Cash Flow Analysis: The Secret Weapon for Business Stability and Growth

Artificial intelligence is crucial in the world of accounting, particularly in mergers and acquisitions. Just imagine yourself as an accountant dealing with a very complex M&A process with lots of data and tight deadlines. AI can help sort this out quickly and provide useful insights. We engage with AJ Chambers on how AI is enhancing […]

Read More… from The Role of AI in Streamlining Mergers and Acquisitions in Accounting

How Will AI Impact Recruitment in 2024? New Research by Pulse Provides Unique Insights: A quarter of UK small businesses will replace some employees with AI in the next 12 months   Almost half of all small businesses are intending to hire people with AI skills in 2024   58% of small businesses are already using AI […]

Read More… from How Will AI Impact Recruitment in 2024? New Research by Pulse Provides Unique Insights

Change is the only constant; the same holds true for accounting. The traditional days of sifting through stacks of files and old ledgers are gone. Open Accounting is revolutionising accounting with automation, efficiency, transparency and real-time insights. Financial operations are being transformed with the advent of new technology. Change is often hard, and like any […]

Read More… from Challenges & Opportunities of Open Accounting for SMBs

Today’s businesses operate in a complex market environment that offers opportunities while presenting significant competition. In demanding fields like finance, differentiating oneself and making a lasting impression is important. Efficiency has become crucial for long-term business success, as it helps companies streamline operations, minimise errors, and adapt to changing situations. In the current business landscape, […]

Read More… from Efficiency Unleashed: How Accounting Tools Are Revolutionising Business Operations

Digital change is all around us, and super-apps are a big part of it. They’re like having one tool that does many jobs instead of many separate tools. But they’re not used the same way everywhere. I run a UK company that helps people borrow money; I’ll share what I’ve seen concerning super-apps and tell […]

Read More… from Exploring Super-Apps: A FinTech Lending Perspective for Maximising ROI

Regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur knitting woolly hats to sell on the side, squeezing your own orange juice to take to the marketplace, or you run a 5-star hotel and take millions in monthly turnover, the equation to determine your gross profit margin does not change, nor do the insights you can gain […]

Read More… from How to Calculate Gross Profit Margin and Why it Matters For Your Business

The Data Dilemma  Organisations amass thousands of data points, but most of this data is only useful when represented in a way that delivers actionable insight. According to Forrester, 60-73% of all data within an enterprise goes unused for analytics. Consequently, most SMEs are losing out on very important insights that could be used to […]

Read More… from How can AI and Machine Learning tools make financial data useful?

When distinguishing successful SMEs from those that go under, luck or talent doesn’t play much of a role. Instead, it would be best if you looked at factors like planning ahead, adapting to change and management. In this blog, we explore eight of the most important factors that can determine success or failure for an […]

Read More… from What Makes SMEs Fail? The 8 Factors You Need to Know and How to Overcome Them with Data Insights 

Data is the new currency of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), harnessing this power is the key to unlocking greater value and opportunity. Yet, navigating the complex world of M&A can be a daunting task for many business owners. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce a game-changing partnership between […]

Read More… from Pulse and M&A Chambers Join Forces: Empowering SMEs in the M&A Landscape

Future-proofing anything, be it for business or life, requires preparing correctly and focusing on the things that will most effectively achieve your unique goals. In recent years, accounting practices have been moving more towards technology to accomplish bookkeeping tasks. Since the advent of fintechs in 2018, they have had unprecedented opportunities through the utilisation of […]

Read More… from How Can You Future-Proof Your Accounting Practice in 2024?

Open banking has been responsible for an entire revolution in the financial sector, forcing traditional banks to embrace financial technology (fintech) and persuading investors and the public that the sharing of sensitive information does not come with all the imagined risks that were once touted about it. Despite a recent stagnation in global fintech investments […]

Read More… from The Future is Open Banking: Empowering SMEs with Seamless Financial Management

Disruptions in business operations can lead to serious financial losses if they are not addressed quickly, and as a result of not being adequately prepared, many entrepreneurs have found themselves on the receiving end of operation issues that have been costly. One Datacore survey highlighted that an enormous 54% of businesses they spoke to had […]

Read More… from The Importance of Contingency Planning in 2024

Everyone makes mistakes in life; it’s the only way to really learn, and it’s no different in business. For startups and SMEs, some mistakes can be extremely costly and will almost always be related to cash flow, whether it is due to a lack of it or cost. Below, we will discuss some common mistakes […]

Read More… from Understanding Cash Flow: 9 Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

We all witnessed the digital transformation in the financial sector right about the time that mobile technology started reshaping consumer expectations. Everybody became a bit more aware and got a bit more needy, triggering a demand that paved the way for an array of technological innovations. Traditional banking did not go under this radar and […]

Read More… from Digital Transformation in Lending: Should I buy or build?

As the advancements of Financial Technology (Fintech) continue to reshape the finance sector, advisory services are becoming increasingly relevant for finance firms seeking to adapt and thrive. This modern shift from compliance positions to active advisory has been presenting new opportunities for accountants and financial advisors who are looking to bring added value to their […]

Read More… from How to sell your clients on Advisory Services

The interest in developing and investing in Financial Technology (Fintech) essentially rose out of the ashes of the 2008 global financial crisis, when trust in traditional banking plummeted to an all time low. This period, where almost everyone but the bankers suffered, prompted businesses and individuals to seek a more transparent, efficient, and secure method […]

Read More… from Fintech Tools and What Pulse Means for Business in 2024

The importance of financial insights in driving strategic decisions for SMEs has become increasingly apparent in the modern day’s data-driven economy. With the right tools, data can be pulled from anywhere, and with Financial Technology, or Fintech, accurate and actionable insights can be harvested and used to effectively navigate the complexities of any and all […]

Read More… from Capitalising on Small Business Financial Insights to Seize Opportunities

The concept of cloud accounting has proven to be a transformative force in the financial sector, and has been growing rapidly, particularly within the past five years as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies have advanced alongside financial technology (Fintech). By shifting management to the cloud, both businesses and accountants have been able […]

Read More… from Embracing Future Fintech: How Cloud Accounting is Transforming Strategy and Security

The concept of data visualisation in accounting is not just to try and make confusing numbers and metrics visually appealing to consumers. The pursuit of developing Fintech tools that can achieve this has been for the purpose of turning raw numbers, regardless of scale, into an easily graspable narrative that aims to guide strategic decision-making. […]

Read More… from Data Visualisation in Accounting: Beyond the Numbers

Since going mainstream in recent years, the widespread adoption of Open Banking and Open Accounting software has greatly transformed the accessibility of financial data, as well as improving the ways it is analysed. These advancements have provided both businesses and their financial advisors with transparency and control in the way that data is exchanged and […]

Read More… from Revolutionising Finance: How Open Banking and Accounting Tools Empower Accountants

Cash flow forecasting is utilised by business owners and finance professionals as a fundamental tool to anticipate monetary opportunities or hurdles, with the aim of providing modern businesses positive results in their financial operations. It aids in creating an accurate, relevant, and predictive financial model that not only helps business owners maintain a stable cash […]

Read More… from Understanding the Critical Role of Cash Flow Forecasting for Your Advisors

Recent years have seen many innovations improving the way the finance sector performs, with financial technology (FinTech) leading the way in providing new tools for accountants to improve their services. Fintech has successfully brought accounting professionals into the modern era, simplifying and automating much of their day-to-day work, and freeing them up to focus on […]

Read More… from Mastering The Art of Client Communication for Accountants in 2024

Ever since Open Banking was given the go-ahead in 2017, UK businesses have seen a pivotal shift in the financial ecosystem, with new and successful approaches to transparency, accessibility, and innovation in the management of financial data being achieved. This transformative approach has allowed businesses and professional individuals to handle their own financial information like […]

Read More… from The Safe Integration of Open Banking for Cash Flow Analysis

As we move further into the age of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, the opportunities available to businesses across all industries continues to grow. With it, business analytics and financial management are undergoing profound transformations. Advancing fintech is enhancing the capabilities of how businesses forecast their growth and manage operations, from single metrics like understanding […]

Read More… from Unlocking Future Growth Opportunities Through Turnover Trend Analysis

Since the rise of cloud accounting in the early 2010’s, the business world has seen an increasingly large movement towards digital platforms, especially for financial tasks where enormous amounts of data are constantly on the move. The inevitability of this complete shift has been accelerated by the movement towards remote work, and a need to […]

Read More… from Securing the Future with Cloud Accounting Innovations

The past few years have seen seismic shifts affecting the global workforce. Statistics from the UK Government alone reveal that during the Covid pandemic almost 50% of the nation’s workforce was working from home in one capacity or another. These lingering changes to business dynamics brought new and unique challenges in how businesses managed and […]

Read More… from Navigating Workforce Changes: How Data Dashboards Inform Crucial Decisions

The success of a startup often depends on its ability to secure funding, with the UK Telegraph reporting that over 60% of UK startups fail within the first three years of business due to them running out of cash. This reality places a great value on the capability of entrepreneurs to create informed, realistic financial […]

Read More… from Crafting Financial Models That Make Venture Capitalists Take Notice

Let’s dive into our discussion about end-of-year financial planning, a time when we all look to wrap things up neatly and set the stage for a prosperous year ahead. In recent years, we’ve seen a seismic shift in the financial landscape, haven’t we? The advent of fintech innovations, especially the rise of artificial intelligence and […]

Read More… from Navigating End-of-Year Finances with Cutting-Edge Fintech

We all know the feeling of focusing on a task, finding a problem with the task, then trying to solve the problem of that task, inadvertently creating a new task, focusing on that and finding a new problem with the new task! Sometimes it can send you on a wild goose chase when you should […]

Read More… from Work hacks every accountant should know to work more efficiently

In recent times, the digital tide has been reshaping the way businesses operate and compete. Right at the heart of this digital tide is Artificial Intelligence (AI), a tool now virtually synonymous with innovation and staying ahead in the game. But here’s the kicker – it’s not just the big players who are in on […]

Read More… from Embracing the Digital Wave: Opportunities and Challenges of Implementing AI in SMEs

Keeping yourself and your team goal driven is a great way to maintain motivation, especially when you keep reaching those goals, reaping the rewards of the hard work, and moving forward onto the next objective with a positive mindset. Through SMART objectives – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound – and using the right […]

Read More… from How to use Pulse to set SMART objectives for your business

Throughout the course of the last century, the world’s business landscape has continued to shift, often dramatically. The fall of once believed unstoppable operations like the fax machine industry, or local family owned grocery stores, as well as giant names like Toys’R’Us in more recent years, are all prime examples of this.  Despite technological advancements […]

Read More… from How to Present Financial Data to Different Audiences

In the rapidly evolving business sector, staying abreast of insightful trends and innovations is vital. Recognising this, the recent ‘Unlocking Pulse’s Potential’ webinar served as a knowledge hub, offering a rich platform where professionals gathered to explore the emerging facets of the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) sector. The event featured the renowned industry expert, James […]

Read More… from Webinar Wisdom in Writing: Recapping Pulse Mastery with James Gosling

Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are metrics that help businesses measure their progress towards goals and objectives. While the thought of focusing on and measuring performance indicators may not seem like a novel concept in the modern year, it was not until the early 90’s, thanks to the work of names like Peter Drucker, that […]

Read More… from What are KPIs and how can your business use them in 2024?

How often do you sit down at your desk, take a look at your emails, glimpse over your workload, and just sigh to yourself, wondering where to start with it all? Business owners, do you ever find yourself breaking into deep sweats at the sight of your cash flow forecast, wondering where all your project […]

Read More… from Choosing the Right Business Forecasting Tools in 2024