Why we need to assess the risk in our business assignments and projects

In my last piece I talked about the danger of adapting business agreements and contracts when we do not have the specialist knowledge as lawyers, or indeed as (in my case) a tax practitioner. I suspect that those who are driven to do this are either out to impress their clients or are motivated by the prospect of getting a larger fee than if the work is shared with a professional in the relevant field.

However, even for those who may be very well qualified in terms of understanding what is required in an agreement or contract or other project of any description, the risk in undertaking some assignments may simply be too great. It is sometimes best to pass on a project, and, I believe, take a commission as long as we are up front with our client as to what we are doing.

Let me give you an example. When I was in the larger corporate world the sort of work I did included devising share plans for companies to reward their staff. The idea was that the employees would receive bonuses in the form of shares in their employer, and at the same time the company would save a great deal of money, particularly in terms of tax, in doing so. One project I did took me about three weeks working exclusively, and I remember that my employer’s fee was about £50,000. During the period I was developing the share plan, whilst I knew what I was doing, I had the benefit of peer review and also checked with lawyers that I was on the right lines and that the plan was “watertight” and that it would work.

The client company was looking to save millions, so their Financial Director was not worried about the fee they were paying, and my employer stood to make a tidy profit.

Now I am a principal of a small business. I still have the expertise to do a similar project. What I lack is the opportunity for sufficient peer review and the backing of a large corporate employer. I would not undertake such an assignment and would pass it on to a bigger player, of whom I know a few. After all, it is not just when we mess up that we might get sued. If other things outside our control go wrong it is human nature (and all businesses are run by humans) to look for someone to blame, and even being on the wrong end of misdirected litigation can be very expensive and very worrying. We are also unlikely to have a sufficiently large professional indemnity policy to save ourselves or our company and reputation from ruin.

My message is that not only should we not undertake business activities outside our professional competency, even if we believe that we can rise to the challenge intellectually, we cannot afford to take the risk if there is a lot of money at stake. With a small business it is better to refer on to a larger provider with a more considerable financial clout and be happy with a commission. Our clients will respect us more for our professional approach and we do not need to let our pride line us up for a fall.

© Jon Stow 2009

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