Since we joined the Eurozone, we have been enjoying much more affordable interest rates in Portugal. So much more affordable that, from time to time, we forget that the money banks lend us is not ours. In this context of the growth of indexing rates, it is fundamental to: choose well the banks we work […]
“The Finance Function – Most Observed Gaps”
In Portugal, the practice observed regarding the financial management of companies continues to be marked, in my opinion, by questionable principles that largely justify why we can’t see the great professional talent that, I believe, Portugal really has, reflected in the quality and sustainability of companies more often. Highlight the most blatant problems, I can […]
Do you Know The Difference Between a Business Plan & Wishful Thinking?
A former boss of mine often repeated a very interesting expression: “informed guess” or as the Anglo-Saxons say, and you have certainly heard: “educated guess”. In the context of Valuation Business Modelling, whether to determine the value of an asset or company, or to carry out a Business Plan for a new Project, we are […]
Business Plan – a Real Tool or an Excel Chart that accepts everything?
Periodically, over the years, I went through the difficult path inherent to the cycle of adjustments and simulations of a Business Plan. The common tendency for a decision maker with an emotional attachment to a project is to force a financial model that demonstrates the project’s viability. That is, as if the financial model was […]
The Noise Regulation – in Life and Finance
One thing that never ceases to surprise us is that, in general, spaces linked to hospitality, even some with a high positioning and price, pay very little attention to the noise and degradation of the environment they generate. I’m talking about the background music that suddenly turns into a concert, making any conversation seem impossible. […]
Finances, War, the Cicada and the Ant by Jean de La Fontaine.
On a business context, we learned long ago that it is important to live below our capabilities. Use times of peace to prepare for times of war. Create alternatives for less good times. Belmiro de Azevedo used to say that “there were no defeats or definitive victories”. Good days are ephemeral. This serves to say […]
Time is Money and a Priority in This New Year
Relying on our vast experience in negotiating with the financial system, we have the idea that the banking sector has two very different ways of working with companies: • On the one hand, a more classic approach to functioning, where everything takes a long time – 3 or 4 months is not too long to […]
Human Rights & Hospitality
What means for hospitality businesses the Business and Human Rights Roadmap established by the UN Working Group for the Next Decade? December 10th was International Human Rights Day. It marks the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The United Nations Working Group on Business […]
Resorts & Residencial Hospitality Fórum 21
Between 25 and 27 October, the world of Tourism got together in Tivoli Marina de Vilamoura for the Resorts & Residential Hospitality Forum 21. This international event was exemplary organized by Questex, which I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate in the person of President Alexi Khajavi, for his commitment to assembling this “gathering” […]
On the Integrity of the Banks and What We Need to Know to Talk to Them.
We have been working with banking in Portugal for many years. Enough time to know that the relationship with a bank can be good or bad depending on the people who are following our case: They must have senior, so that they don’t try to teach us how to manage our own businesses. A part […]