From vaccine rollout to greener initiatives: Is finance consulting in Belgium the key to balancing business priorities?

COVID-19 has been a central topic of conversation for over a year now. Within this year, a lot has changed, especially in the EU.

At the start of 2020, before the threat of COVID-19 had been fully realised, the United Kingdom left the European Union after three years of negotiations to pin down the terms of its historic exit. Over the next few weeks, the threat of the virus became more evident and cases took over the continent.

Over a year since, in 2021, we are witnessing very different circumstances.

The UK has currently administered the highest number of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, having approved the Pfizer vaccine at the beginning of December 2020, the Oxford University vaccine in late December, and the Moderna vaccine in early January 2021. 43.99 doses of the vaccine have been administered per 100 people in the UK.

Here in Belgium, 1,461,077 doses of the vaccine have been administered, which would theoretically be the number needed to give 6.4% of the country’s population both doses.

Needless to say, alongside the complex vaccine rollout and the continued discovery of new variants of the virus spreading through the world, we are just at the beginning of yet another chapter of the pandemic that has changed life as we know it.

As the EU continues to navigate the rocky vaccine rollout and supply negotiations to the bloc, my attention as a finance consultant is turned to the future.

What does the world look like in the new normal? Will vaccination be another critical factor to assess before partnerships are formed? What are the business priorities emerging in the aftermath of COVID-19? How do we reevaluate CSR initiatives and eco-conscious practices while the virus spreads?

Some factors cannot and should not be ignored

It is easy to long for a time before COVID-19.

It is equally easy to believe that a world post-COVID-19 will return to what we knew in 2019. A global crisis of this magnitude does more than simply become a challenge to overcome; it changes the world permanently.

That said, it is also important that countries, businesses, and individuals do not forget the pressing priorities that existed before the outbreak. I am mostly referring to environmental concerns, climate change, and global warming that have been an escalating crisis for many years.

The challenge ahead seems insurmountable but that is where the help of finance consulting in Belgium comes into play. My extensive research on the topic alongside my personal understanding and experience in the field has led me to evaluate the extent to which my own field can support the new normal of conducting business.

Finance consulting in Belgium is just one strategy that can be leveraged to help any business navigate the obstacles ahead. The truth is that there are innumerable and intersectional challenges to come. Balancing them while maintaining profit margins will require external support.

While many businesses have been focusing on short-term survival in light of the crisis, the long term has been neglected. These short-term strategies are vital for the survival of a business through a crisis. At some point during the recovery process, however, the focus must shift back to the future.

This is especially crucial for crises on the same scale as COVID-19. A year since the outbreak, it is clear that volatile business landscapes will be a mainstay for many months to come.

This means that short-term plans are more likely to harm your business than help it. Now long-term strategies must step in and account for the unique challenges your business will undoubtedly face.

Finance consulting can help you survive in the short term while, slowly but surely, building on sustainable, long-term recovery. A goal that seems straightforward, but is made complex by the many, often contradictory, objectives of a business.

The balancing act performed by finance consulting

Striking the balance between the many financial commitments of a business is the only way to foster finance transformation. This means addressing the many facets of value-addition while supporting decisive bottom line values including profit, people, planet, and partners.

The beauty of professional finance consulting is that the actions that are recommended through it are not restricted to the finance function alone. For example, digitalisation measures may result in a considerable investment for your finance function, but every function in your business will enjoy the advantages it brings.

These measures may take the form of a source-to-pay suite, a project management platform, and a host of other functions, but they all, ultimately, add to the overall value of your business.

Yet another advantage of finance consulting is that it is designed to add value on a timeline. This means that your overhead costs will not be impacted by the value addition it brings.

Through finance consulting, you also benefit from targeted insights based on considerable research and experience in the industry. You also have access to a wider network of professionals that support your outsourcing efforts and scope of opportunities.

Even as the vaccine rollout continues, we see an increased focus on sustainability as Europe addresses greenwashing. The uptake in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investment has led to concerns that businesses are piling money into ESG as a marketing effort. This is a concern because while ESG investment is continually linked to sustainability, without a long-term goal, this approach will not yield the right results.

The heavy regulations applied to business activity reaffirms the value of building growth through strategic efforts with a future-focused perspective.

Benefit from finance consulting in Belgium

Today, the value of finance consulting is clear, especially when we consider it through the lens of crisis recovery. Yet another factor that has become clear through my research is the value of local expertise.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, every country took its own approach to protect its population and numerous national interests. These approaches revealed a lot about the social values and infrastructure in place to support these measures.

Taking these societal and systemic factors into account is a necessary step to creating a sustainable business strategy, post-crisis. That is why finance consulting in Belgium is invaluable for local companies.