ATN
When we were based in the UK we had an accountant join us (ex DT) who came up with various cost cutting ideas for business from company car standardization, Hotel, Rail and air travel cuts, and deferring payment to suppliers to around 45 Days as we were then getting paid on average at about 30 days. We examined all the ideas, and implemented some, but not others, and reviewed all at 12 months. My comment and indeed action on his idea to cut air and indeed Hotels was to send our new colleague on a fact finding tour very early in his tenure,round some projects in the ME, India, Singapore. All flying at the back on the cheapest carriers as per his instructions with suitable cut price hotels. Unfortunately I could not get him on Iran Air but he did spend time on BIMAN courtesy of his idea. He came back to us not direct from SIN but via Dacca with suitable layover in the old terminal, and no lounge access. Needless to say he came home a changed young man and the flying hotel changes were quietly dropped. His company car plan was to go to VW/Audi for all company cars which upset some people, and after some catastrophic issues with the 160bhp Turbo Diesel (we had 3 A4 and 4 Passats in the garage with blown engines at one time) that was also dropped. He was very good at not paying tax to HMRC and tax breaks and wheezes were his stock in trade, but as for running a business and creating a team or indeed doing a project forget it. As for his payment to suppliers we proved to him that beating up on your suppliers was not what made our business grow, it was doing good work with good suppliers, who would go the extra 9 yards for you when asked because you treated them well. Our colleague resigned after 18 months saying we did not really understand what were doing, and that we would be bust in a few years (this was 2007). He left to join Carillion, need I say more. We operate worldwide and have tripled in turnover and profit since his time with us. He could count beans but he could not create one was my parting words to him.