Frequently Asked Questions

Verance is very much orientated towards servicing Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SME’s) predominantly, while also having engagements with larger firms from time to time. The reason for the focus on SME’s is that these businesses in general terms do not always have reasonable access to this type of specialist services without having to approach large, impersonal and costly institutions.

Furthermore the pool of talent in the market that possesses these skills are more often than not pulled toward the larger organisations, leaving most SME’s in a deprived position with regards to specialist financial analytics and pragmatic business solutions. This is where Verance comes in.

Verance can definitely assist in the process of these applications that many a times takes into account detailed financial projections, other financial analytics, cash flow forecasts and related business plans that needs to be submitted to institutions to raise capital as needed. Our approach is one of being pragmatic in the considerations but also highly technical so as to strike a well-rounded balance in the review of a 3^rd party financier to meet all the financing criteria in the most holistic way possible.

Many a times Verance would advise a business to take on some short/medium terms financial strategies and actions as a first step, prior to applying for finance, to give you the best base possible in such an application. In other scenarios, Verance might actually propose a different course of action, such as restructuring, instead of layering in additional financial risk of debt and interest charges into your business, but this all depends on the specifics of the engagement at hand.

This is where Verance flourishes. We pride ourselves in our tailored solutions for your specific set of financial and interlinked operational challenges. Our approach starts from the outside-in, unbiased and open, to start understanding all the elements and interlinkages until the full picture and puzzle in current state is fully understood and analysed historically.

From here, we start working together on the desired objective and target setting, this is where analytics and strategy comes in which aims towards a future improved state from the current position. With practical actionable financial and other operational items, we walk this road with our clients and adapt as needed in an ever-changing economic environment until our objectives have been met and the base of the business has been steadied to work forward from.

Verance has quite a fondness of manufacturing businesses. Linking financial analytics and physical items to each other is pivotal. The tangibility of products, conversion processes and all related services in the value chain are always one of fascination as they link to data points that can be worked with and which influences future strategic actions, business improvements and profitability drives.

We understand that the financial industry can sometimes be complex and difficult to understand. Our approach is different, and we aim to simplify the process for our clients. Our team of experts provides clear and concise explanations of financial concepts and strategies. We believe in transparency and strive to ensure that our clients have a comprehensive understanding of the options available to them.

We also recognize the importance of practical implementation and measurable results. Our services are tailored to meet the specific needs and goals of each client, and we work closely with them to develop actionable plans that deliver tangible results. We believe that our approach sets us apart from other financial specialists, and we would be happy to discuss how we can assist you in achieving your financial objectives.

In many engagements there are some items which are handed over to the business owners, respective management and/or selected employees taking lead. These could be items such as forecasting tools, working capital models, KPI sheets and so forth. In these cases Verance definitely prides itself in assisting and educating these respective individuals so as to help set them up for success with that which they need to run with.

In most instances this training revolves around an overview of what we have done to get to this point, why it is important and what needs to be upheld and maintained going forward to ensure continued good flow of insightful information to management.

We understand your concerns about potential challenges that could arise from engaging an external financial service provider. Verance values collaboration and transparency. Our approach is to work closely with your internal finance department to complement their skills and expertise. We believe that by working together, we can achieve better results for your business.

We also recognise the importance of trust and open communication in any business relationship. We will work with your team to ensure that everyone is on the same page, and that our services are aligned with your business objectives. We understand that each business has its unique dynamics, and we are committed to creating a customized approach that fits your specific needs. Our goal is to help your business thrive and succeed.

Verance is located in Pretoria, South Africa. Our services span the wider areas of Southern Africa. We are not geographically limited. With the embrace and utilisation of technology our service offerings can reach your business regardless of your location. That being said, we deeply recognise that interpersonal face to face meetings, physical presence at site with enduring engagements far outweigh a distanced approach in value offering.

To maximise the impact of our services in your business we do prefer and strongly recommend being present in your operations and on site. For this, we are more than willing to travel. Our approach is one of close commitment, walking the lifeline of your business so as to fully understand all the day to day inputs with the aim of putting together the most well rounded and tailored fit of financial analytics and business advisory.

It is a very common occurrence of financial matters overlapping with other areas of the business that needs an holistic considered solution, whether it be legal, technical accounting and/or other compliance issues. Verance is geared to meet these exact complexities in our offerings from start to finish. We recognise that business challenges and solutions rarely, if ever, exist in isolation and such we have a wide spread of internal resources and associated partners to meet this “ one-stop-shop” objective.

Our resources include among other, attorney’s specialising in commercial law, tax law, labour law, property law, civil litigation and conveyancing, as well as specialist in technical accounting and tax treatments such as qualified CA(SA)’s and CIMA qualified CGMA’s (Chartered Global Management Accountants) as well as BBBEE consulting specialists.

See our Services page to better understand what we do offer. We are clear what areas of your business we can serve in our deliverables.

This also means we are specific in our identity which also implies that the following services falls outside of that (bear in mind we may be able to provide references to these if/as needed):

• We are not a banking institution or a financier. (we can assist with some specialist applications in this regard)
• We are not a business administrating service provider. (we can assist to provide advisory on business administrative efficiency and effectiveness)
• We are not a direct accounting, audit, payroll or tax service provider. (we can assist in taking into account some of these areas of specialities in our deliverables and/or recommend providers who do offer these services)
• We are not an outright training or educational institution. (we can assist in hand over training upon completion of our engagements)
• We are not an investment consulting or equity or commodity trading provider. (we can assist in investment analyses with the use of specific modelling and tools so as to layer in advise in terms of business considerations)
• We are not personal financial brokers selling products such as insurance or other personal risk covered policies. (we can assist in assessing the cost efficiency and risk effectiveness of these risk covered policies and make suggestions with regard to business risk management)

Verance has a well detailed standard Terms & Conditions of Services Contract as well as a formal Engagement Agreement with each project, that stipulates the consideration of confidentiality and protection of information in great detail as well as expand on all the other considerations. It is one of our highest priorities to have a very clear and well-defined structure in place, for everyone’s benefit, before any working engagement kicks off so that all parties know exactly where they stand in relation to each other.

Verance is amendable prior to any client engagement to have the T’s & C’s modified in any mutual agreeable manner so as to strike the specific balance and needs of each client.

Depending on the specific client needs, which will be determined in a free consultation and perhaps follow up consultations, the fee structure and quantum thereof will vary. The fees could be an hourly fee, a fixed fee or a retainer fee for a period, with many other variables and limits placed thereon as needed and agreed.

The fee structure could also be any combination of the above, depending on the tasks at hand. It is our aim to have the fee structure fully nailed down with our clients in a mutually agreeable and absolute transparent manner so the client knows beforehand what to expect in value vs deliverables. Verance is negotiable with fees within some parameters, let’s get in contact and meet up to discuss further.