Balancing the Books with Budget 2019

Yesterday was budget day and no doubt, you’ve seen the news, heard the commentators and read certain sections that apply to you. You may have even seen emails like this!

Here at AG Associates, we’ve put together a list of changes and they are available here as a PDF –  Budget 2019 Highlights by AG Associates or on another page of our website, all listed in areas of interest.

However, I’d like to take a minute to talk about balancing the books.

Every business is in the business of making money. Yes, there are ideals that we all aspire to, messages we want to share but ultimately, if we are not making money as a business, we are losing it.

As business owners, one of our main jobs is to balance the books.

It’s the same for the government – whatever party is in the hot seat. It has to set projections and balance the books.

The total expenditure in 2019 is expected to be around €66billion, an increase in €6 billion from last year. It has to be funded somehow.

An interesting, albeit somewhat controversial, addition to the budget this year was the establishment of a rainy day fund.

Every business should have some form of a rainy day fund – to exploit an opportunity, invest in R&D or simply to have it as peace of mind, should anything unplanned happen.

The country is like a business – the books have to be balanced.

The one good thing about a budget every year is that the country takes stock of its expenditure (even if it’s over running) and tax take in (even if it’s not enough and there are disparities). We may not like it, but at least it’s a firm footing that we can move on from.

If you haven’t balanced your books lately or haven’t set projections for 2019, please talk to us. We are here to help.