A lot of people have spoken and written about the cashless policy being implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the scarcity of the new naira note as the new legal tender. Being a consultant for Small and Medium Enterprises, I have observed its conspicuous implications on the economy and businesses. Therefore, my write-up is not to discuss if it was right or wrong or how best the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would have done it differently. Rather, I am concerned about how businesses especially SMEs should shift their culture to fit into the new policy.
If one read my article on SWOT Analysis published last year (https://www.globalreport.com.ng/2022/09/upgrade-your-swot-analysis-for.html), one would see that situations such as this are part of the things that fall under factors that are Threats to one business, which we have little or no control over. While we are still speaking about the new naira note issue, business owners need to have in mind that post-election policies may emerge and so we all must begin to make contingency plans.
Some organizations were already in semi cashless policy system. I remembered when I was working in Abuja Clinic Ltd as the Human Resource Manager, I noticed that no cash payment was ever approved. As then we associated more with only vendors with bank accounts (personal or corporate) so that transfers were the order of the day. So that during the time for reconciliation, it was very easy to trace all transactions and make financial reports. In fact, payments were integrated into the accounting software so that at the end of a given period, an automated report will be generated. This saves the cost of manpower and time.
At other times, organizations are now insisting on receiving payment through their accounts rather than cash payments, this will reduce the risk of shortage, possible robbery attacks, inflation of prices by sales representatives, or other forms of money shortage. It is only a matter of time before your customers will comply with your policy. At my current place of work Ammasco International Limited, we don’t accept payments in cash from our bulk vendors and this culture has also affected even our retail sales. This has reduced the stress of sorting out daily reporting as the computer automatically generates the report since transactions were online.
Organizations must therefore begin to adopt systems to conform with the new policy rather than join in the blame game. For instance, for the purchase of fuel for your logistics vehicles, register with a fuel station (coupon) where you can then get fuel since payment has been made. Also, send out teams to go for a market survey to renegotiate prices for your organization and agree on payment mode. Get the vendor account details and transact using transfer while any purchase is made or service is rendered.
It is imperative therefore for organizations to set up their online banking platforms and email systems to transact with other businesses. At this point, there should be a dedicated officer in charge of bank reconciliation. This will help prompt confirmation and regularization of payments.
Lastly and most importantly, companies should equip their staff with working tools such as android phones and computers (laptops), and modems (or other browsing devices) to be able to handle issues related to its finances. Ether to make a confirmation, upload payments, verify payments, or download reports.
All that is being said in this article is for companies to move from the point of playing the blame game like a lot of speculators are doing to actively and proactively taking steps to cushion the negative effects that may result from the cashless policy. Business owners and managers should begin to make strategic and contingency plans for the worse that may come.
By
Ikenna M. Okafor,
(SmeDoctor)
Human Resource Consultant @ Ammasco International Limited
Deputy Registrar @ Integrated Institute of Professional Management
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