Businesses must be cost-conscious — Dr Atuahene

Businesses have been charged to endeavour to be cost conscious as a result of the inflationary environment and unstable currency.

Businesses that are able to effectively and efficiently implement their cost conscious plans would be able to compete even in the midst of crisis.

The Director, Salman Partners and Financial Consult Ltd, Dr Richmond Atuahene, who gave the advice, stated: "If you want to compete effectively, you must always look at your cost, what we call cost optimisation.

Because, if you don't take care, by the time you realise, you are producing below price or you are raising above price, because your cost is nowhere captured," he said.

He was speaking at the 2025 Arganbright Partners Convergence Conference in Accra last Wednesday.

The event was organised by the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International (FGBMFI), on the theme: "The Future of Ghana's Economy: Strategies for Business Growth and Resilience."

Consciousness

Dr Atuahene said: "Once you are sure of your cost consciousness, you can compete even in the midst of crisis.

The conference

Your margins will go down, but you will not be eating your margins."

In addition, he said as businesses in a competitive world, they should also be thinking about diversification of their revenue streams.

“I will say this. Sometimes we get too complacent in what we do and that is what we think.

But we need to be thinking about expanding, adding the service of the product.

You've been doing one very well.”

“Why can't you think of something added to it? Or, in Africa, we don't like strategic collaboration or strategic partnership.

So, this is what I have and this is it,” he said, adding that

“What you're having, Chinese will be producing at a cheaper rate and would be importing into Ghana”.

Dr Atuahene called on business owners to also strengthen their financial planning.

He observed that people did not work seriously on business planning and that business planning was not just planning and that at times there was the need to look at options – either doing it alone or engaging in a partnership.

Planning, he said, involved what they wanted to do strategically as far as their businesses were concerned.

Collaboration, stakeholders

Also, he stressed the need for businesses to look at collaboration by travelling to other countries to see where their competitive advantage was and look for those they could collaborate with so that they could expand their market.

Dr Atuahene said skills, at a certain point, became irrelevant and so if they did not upgrade the skills of their staff, they would be producing outmoded items.

“Because you think you're making it.

Always begin to be very proactive that ‘I need to up the game of my staff.

I need to rescale them or retool them so that they can move with times.’

Because times are changing,” he said.

“Think about the community in which you produce.

If you want to produce for business growth and future business resilience don't ever forget about your business relationship with the stakeholders, which are the customers, the suppliers, the community and even potential investors. 

“You need to be aware that there are people around,” he said.

Dr Atuahene also called on the government to improve the quality of education.

The failure to do that, he said, would result in the country importing people to come and work in the country.

Vision

The National Treasurer of the FGBMFI, Kwabena Aning, said the fellowship, among other things, has a vision to become a vast global movement of laymen and being used mightily by God to bring in the last great harvest of souls through the outpouring of His spirit before the return of Jesus Christ.

“We believe in miracle healings, we speak in tongues, powerful deliverances, we demonstrate the power and the gifts of God, of the Holy Spirit at our meetings,” he said, adding that “we are lay men, ordinary men – lawyers, doctors, bankers, accountants, insurers, teachers, farmers, Members of Parliament.

What binds us together is that we have come to know Christ and experienced His love and compassion”.