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March 2006 Figures Just Don’t Add Up For UK Business ManagersNew You Gov/Intellexis Survey Reveals Large Financial Skills Gap in UK Businesses
The lack of financial understanding amongst UK business managers should send alarm bells to CEOs. In a new You Gov survey of 650 UK managers, commissioned by Intellexis, leading providers of financial e-learning solutions, half of respondents with financial responsibility admitted they are unsure about the accuracy of their financial decision making. Only 46% of female managers, compared to 50% male are confident they are making the best financial decisions for their businesses. 50% of the respondents manage budgets of between £25,000 to over £1 million a year, however, the majority have not received any financial training, no doubt a key contributor to their poor confidence levels. 68% of all managers admitted they have never received any formal training. This lack of training was most acute in the 18-29 year age group, with 70% complaining of the lack of instruction. This is worrying when 42% of managers have direct responsibility for departmental budgets. Businesses in the Midlands and Wales were the worst offenders in their failure to provide training for staff - 76% of business managers in these areas have never received any formal financial training. Companies in London and The North fared only marginally better, with over 60% of managers in each region admitting they had never undertaken any financial training. David Willis, Managing Director of Intellexis comments, “The lack of financial understanding and skills amongst UK business managers is shocking and presents a potential business time bomb in UK companies. With only a half of managers admitting they are confident financial decision makers, one can only imagine how many costly mistakes are being made. Non financial managers are increasingly expected to manage budgets and finance, but without any formal financial training, companies are placing them under huge undue pressure and strain and at the same time putting their organisations at huge financial risk” “With EU enlargement and with emerging markets like China fast becoming global players, UK businesses need to wake up to the fact that they need to invest in financial training and development for their business managers now in order to compete effectively. It is essential that companies take action before the gap between business goals and poor financial decision making is simply a gulf too large to bridge.” About Intellexis: For more information: |
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