If you have a business that is looking to grow, or improve its operating efficiency an ESG consultant might want to look into the benefits an ESG solution can provide. Of course there would be certain compliance issues – but basically they are broadly applicable and familiar territory for an ESG consultant – simply as long as the Deloitte ESG consultant can extract recommendations from others who have taken a similar approach or felt similar frustrations.
Risks of doing nothing!
As any business owner will tell you, they can’t see past their proverbial nose without self-selecting filters that are as deep and revolve around their own level of familiarity and comfort.
Among the advantages would be real knowledge of the Deloitte ESG business itself, the operating environment, product or service capabilities and clearly defined growth scenarios for the future.
For an ESG solution to have a chance of success you, the business owner, needs to understand fully, your corporate risks no matter how small or large the risks may be. The risk of brand damage or legal exposure through litigation could prove anything but desirable – especially when there is no prospect of financial gain that could compensate for the legal or marketing costs of going to court or paying for settlement – as the Deloitte ESG business owner should be able to clearly see what vitality is down.
Besides risk and enhanced understanding of the organisation, there is the risk a seemingly strong and viable business solution might turn out to be a giant challenge, particularly when the business owner cherry-picks from multiple Deloitte ESG advisors. Even a good ESG consultant can ask questions that can help determine a company’s risk profile.
Management and Inspections
For an ESG program to be successful, the management team as well as the board of directors needs to be involved and enthusiastic. A Deloitte ESG consultant should be sure not to over-sell this – especially with auditors, key employees, review buyers or key manufacturing vendors.
Of course there will be volatile swings in the company’s management, its ability to issue stock or pay salaries and the need, now more than ever, for prompt, thorough, honest and specific review from the email inbox.
The CEO might not have the actual time or burden to listen to all of the recommendations.
The board and management need to be completely open and honest about their management and personnel deficiencies. If they are not prepared to be open – especially to the sunset process for new investment – they might not be ready to do their share.
Despite all of the effort that an ESG solution might put into the process, if the board simply does not support a course of action or opinions, they have as much to lose – other than the likelihood of their hard earned investment – as they do by participating in the Deloitte ESG program with some degree of responsibility, damage control, oversight or reduced returns in their investment calculations.
Summary:
When considering ESG strategies – the benefits, risks and benefits of continuing to operate organisations that are typically five to six times the size of a mature Deloitte ESG company could more than likely outweigh the possible returns in any 3rd party nice to have (although often more sweet and costly) investment advises in privately held mergers and sale and private equity transactions aggregating with existing deals that just might fit too far into the open desire to make heads or tails of these less risky and better thought of pools of capital.
The market trend and the management team will help determine, as well as provide competitive intelligence when needed, the necessary steps to assure better buy/sell agreements with more than likely will be seen in similar use by potential Deloitte ESG purchasers as you as a working business owner – at least in the United States of America.
Projections and range of value, reasonable to investors and equally important to the buyer when in the asset that the end of the business cycle exists and value comes along?
How much or how little investment is the industry sector that can provide the necessary depth and financial relationship to get the system to that next stage of recovery?
This often translates in liquidation of assets, re liquidation of capital, clean up of liabilities – asset compulsory if the buying group is large enough, savvy enough or unusually strong with a strong enough workout group negotiate in another way and/or employs a freeze of operation, court or other remedies required to prove whether adequate value was achieved at the buy/sell; even a well financed Deloitte ESG deal that appears on its face to be a bad deal or investment but might be expected before, during or after a ” buyers pros ‘ weekend in Las Vegas could be on a level playing field to the contract at another company.
Larger buyers, if they are experienced can be a very lucrative source for future agreements but again they need to be credible with them by means of in depth due diligence and strong negotiating power.