GPA 21, a new free and friendly device to help Côte d’Or businesses

They are the new “blue helmets” of our companies in the face of difficulties. Approximately fifty managers or former managers or executives of companies with significant experience in accounting, finance, legal, human resources and management. Skills they put at the service of bosses who are now suffering from air pockets. They are working in pairs in the newly established Côte d’Or Group of Verified Prevention (GPA 21) in December 2022. An interview with its president, Remy Seguin.

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France Bleu Bourgogne: You are now retired but remain a chartered accountant, this time at the top of the GPA 21. What is this?

Remy Seguin: GP21 is a State-recognized, approved Prevention Group, accredited by the Prefecture of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte Region by the delegation of the GPA Blue Helmets BFC. The interesting thing is that we think it starts with the man, because if the man does bad things, his work will go bad. The general principle is the awareness of the entrepreneur himself.

Can she call you the moment she feels like she’s losing her footing?

Yes, or he’s just having trouble because he’s not necessarily desperate, he doesn’t know how to handle his work anymore. So of course we’ll have the “business gone bad” aspect, but that’s not necessarily the case for financial hardship issues. It can also be not knowing how to manage growth, being overwhelmed by events or growing too fast. It’s clear whether it’s going badly or very well. The idea is to intervene as early as possible.

What time do you come in? need to ask And if so, who can do it?

As soon as a problem is detected in the company, either the company manager, who calls us on his initiative, or our network of informants. This can be the banker, Treasury, Urssaf and all organizations working with the company. They can tell us that there is a problem, regardless of whether we know the exact nature or, on the contrary, whether it is clearly defined and risks leading to a loss for the company. So we need to intervene very early to see what else can be done to help him out of this situation.

Does this mean that a voluntary approach by the business manager is necessary?

Absolutely, because the first act we will do with him will be the signing of the contract. He will be guaranteed the utmost confidentiality by us. And it must adhere to full transparency of the information it provides to us. I don’t mean businessmen to be liars, far from it. But sometimes they are forced to overlook everything, when cornered by the supplier, they tell themselves that tomorrow will be better, that they will pay next week or do the work, etc. One day, business leaders sometimes make commitments depending on the situation. By telling us everything, we can conduct a realistic analysis of the situation.

Do you work in any kind of business?

Yes, but pTo be honest, we will be on average small companies with ten employees. They represent the majority of the economic structure of our Bourgogne Franche-Comté region. On the other hand, we do not intervene for liberal professions or associations.

Is this experience free and are your speakers volunteers?

Of course. This is what will unblock the situation. No need to think about what it will cost. The key word is kindness. We are not here to lecture and judge. We are there to help the owner out of the situation.

We can almost wish you did nothing this year, otherwise that would mean a lot of companies doing poorly?

I almost wished, but it has already started. We have had several interventions since this January and yesterday, when we got a call for help from a business manager who no longer knew what to do, so we started the operation. And this system has saved around fifty companies a year in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté since its inception in the larger region.

How to access GPA 21?

A telephone number to contact the Côte d’Or Approved Prevention Team is reserved for inquiries. 09 71 05 73 39 . Office hours are available Monday through Friday. This can also be done by contacting the relevant services, i.e. employers and trade unions, Chambers of Commerce, Chambers of Commerce, company councils, Accountants, specialized lawyers, URSSAF or again public finance.

GPA21 should be included as soon as the first difficulties arise, regardless of their origin, to facilitate the implementation of effective solutions.