Opening the webinar, Sue said that the UK is currently facing the most challenging economic outlook since the 1970s with issues at home including recession, inflation, surging energy prices, rising interest rates and workforce shortages. More broadly, the world economy is also suffering from issues such as the war in Europe, ongoing supply chain disruption, Covid restrictions in key supplier countries and extreme weather events.

All of these challenges, Sue said, are having an impact on businesses by squeezing profitability, increasing borrowing costs, presenting cash flow challenges, disrupting supply chains and forcing changes in staff working patterns. Red tape is also on the rise and many companies are struggling to comply with more and more regulations.

With so many issues affecting businesses right now, directors are under pressure to take the right actions at the right time and many may not be aware of the responsibilities and obligations that they must adhere to while doing so.