Pictured above: Dan Stott

As businesses begin to look ahead to the New Year, PwC in the Midlands has appointed Dan Stott to lead a team of regional business modelling experts to help companies in the region understand what the next 12 months may hold and plan for the opportunities and challenges in store.

Backed by more than a decade of experience in business modelling, Dan will work with local companies to help them understand the business' drivers and the impact of key decisions on their future performance.

Dan Stott, director at PwC in the Midlands, comments:

"Since 2008, many businesses have been understandably focused on short term issues but they now need to look forward and in particular gear up for growth and optimise cash flow. However, the recent Government spending review and the continued grip on lending by the banks shows that there may still be challenges ahead.

"We can help management teams understand the impact of their decisions before they make them and quantify the risks.  It's about providing insight into an organisation's performance and answering the 'what if' questions. What if we buy this company?  What if we expand our factory?  What if we introduce a new product? What if we change our store rollout plan? What would have to happen with the economy before this becomes a bad decision?

"We can help companies navigate these challenges, but also identify the opportunities. By analysing the impact of the different options available, we can help them to see where to focus their attention - whether that is M&A activity, operational decisions, cost cutting or securing bank funding"

Mark Smith, regional chairman at PwC in the Midlands, added:

"Dan's expertise in business modelling is highly valuable to local companies as they start to think ahead and contemplate how measures such as the public sector cuts will affect their prospects.

"We are very excited to have this expertise in the Midlands; combining specialist skills with a real understanding of local issues."