Concerned.

LegacyUser

I have worked for a family business for twenty years. I provide a service to our clients. My area is not profitable, just covers itself. All other areas are profitable. The owner of the business has recently appointed a new financial controller. This guy thinks what I do is a waste of time. He has now asked me to do my budget for 2016 showing a profit of €50,000. This will be impossible to achieve and I feel he is setting me up to fail. I have the budget ready but would like to voice my concerns as I will be able to refer to them next year. I need help with the wording.

Smartguy

It is entirely reasonable to expect a profit, if not why bother.

Buona Fortuna

Its a bit difficult without more information. As the poster above said, its entirely reasonable to expect a profit.

Why is your area of the business not profitable? Is it perhaps because it supports other areas of the business rather than producing a profit itself? If that's the case (and I'm probably way out on a tanget here), then maybe some form of inter business charging is an answer?

davo10

Owners tend to cut non profit making sections loose if they are not integral to the business. They don't need to set you up for a fall, they can just close the section and make you redundant. To be honest, if you cannot find a way to make the section you head up profitable, I don't think you have reason to be optimistic about retaining your job.

Mrs OBumble

davo10 wrote: »

Owners tend to cut non profit making sections loose if they are not integral to the business. They don't need to set you up for a fall, they can just close the section and make you redundant. To be honest, if you cannot find a way to make the section you head up profitable, I don't think you have reason to be optimistic about retaining your job.

Redundancy would cost them money. Proving that the OP is incompetent would allow them to fire him/her and save the redundancy.

OP, if your area is non-profit making, then it's exposing the company to risk and tying up capital that could be used for something else - for no reward. That is not good business.

Sorry to sound harsh - but you have to learn to deliver your service in a way that makes business sense. You can express all the concerns in the world - but that doesn't reduce the risk your area poses to the company.

If you believe that having your area in place allows other parts of the company to flourish, then you need to negotiate for them acknowledge this by contributing to your budget, or the company needs to adjust the pricing model so that customers pay appropriately.

Forget your years of service, that's irrelevant. What matters is your current contribution to the bottom line.

davo10

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Redundancy would cost them money. Proving that the OP is incompetent would allow them to fire him/her and save the redundancy. .

This is incorrect. The op said that it is not profit making but covers itself, if this has always been the case and this situation has arisen due to a new financial expert coming on board with fresh eyes, the op could argue that s/he has performed consistently for years without complaint and that what is being achieved is the maximum that can be achieved. This is all about the interpretation of what standard the op is performing his/her tasks, but the op should be concerned about the long term prospects if profit is not delivered.

LegacyUser

Many thanks for the replies. This area has been run alongside other areas, as part of an overall service but it is not profit making. I am worried that the financial controller will try to prove I am incapable of doing my job, but this is not the case as I have been doing the same job for a number of years. I appreciate that unless it makes a profit it is not hugely worthwhile to the business. However the job is more based around client relations. I feel that without offering new services this new profit figure is impossible to achieve.

Clearlier

Un Named Today wrote: »

Many thanks for the replies. This area has been run alongside other areas, as part of an overall service but it is not profit making. I am worried that the financial controller will try to prove I am incapable of doing my job, but this is not the case as I have been doing the same job for a number of years. I appreciate that unless it makes a profit it is not hugely worthwhile to the business. However the job is more based around client relations. I feel that without offering new services this new profit figure is impossible to achieve.

Is your area a service that can be got elsewhere without any impact on your company or is it an integral part of the overall experience for customers that your company provides?

Can you propose that your area offers new services that would make it profitable?