It is back to basics for Irish companies in 2008 as the economy enters a more uncertain period. Last year saw the end of the high levels of economic growth that Ireland has enjoyed over the past decade, writes Brendan Waters.

As we move into a potentially volatile period, managers who want to ensure their business continues to develop will be well advised to keep an eye on the top 10 key business issues.

1) Cash is still king

During the height of the boom many people lost sight of business fundamentals. The underlying ability of a company to generate cash seemed to have been relegated from the throne of business importance.

Well, the king is back and cash generation and the management of the cash cycle will take on a greater emphasis.

2) Management is getting tougher

In many industry sectors, managers are seeing increasing signs of fatigue, burn-out and complacency resulting from years of relentless growth and activity.

This is often coupled with a considerable amount of international travel and heavy local commuting. Inevitably, this leads to mistakes, missed opportunities and a significant deterioration in performance.

A problem detected early has less catastrophic results and a greater chance of being successfully addressed. In this case, change is as good as a rest and rotating responsibility may alleviate burn-out levels. Intervene in some way before costly errors are made.

3) Pressure on margins and quality - more consolidation

Every industry sector is experiencing unrelenting pressure on margins. The focus for managers will change from solving problems by using additional resources to optimisation of existing resources.

4) E-business - integrate the "e" into business

The past few years generated multiple examples of companies that focused more on what technology could do than on the real needs of the market. In 2008, harnessing the benefits of technology must focus not only on e-business and the capability of the internet, but also on delivering quantifiable business benefits and investigating how technology will increase market share or reduce costs.

5) Death of the old-fashioned middleman - the supply-chain revolution is spreading

The changes seen in the supply chain of the Irish food industry - including the virtual elimination of the agent, the separation of sales/marketing and logistics into specialist roles, the consolidation of suppliers, the increased responsiveness of the supply chain and lower delivery costs - are spreading to every other sector of the economy.

Now more than ever it is vital that your business understands the supply chain and extracts value at every possible stage.

6) Human resources management is key in the boardroom

As skilled labour becomes a scarce resource, as labour costs outgrow inflation and as employee retention becomes as important as, if not more important than, recruitment, the human resources function will become a key driver of success, meriting greater focus at board level.

7) Geography - we cannot have an "island" mentality

As part of the global economy, Irish business has the opportunity to sell abroad. Irish businesses that have reached a certain size and wish to grow further must seek opportunities in foreign markets.

8) The "sunny day" generation

The generation entering the workforce since 1994 has a set of experiences, skills, attitudes and demands that are significantly different from their older colleagues. The "sunny day" generation expects different things in the worlds of work, time, purchasing and services.

A "sunnydayer" tends to:

be optimistic, adventurous, confident, lives for today;

be in need of constant stimulation and excitement from their life and job;

desire rapid career advancement and personal recognition in the marketplace;

demand quality services delivered quickly;

constantly strive for the right life/work balance;

have little or no first-hand experience of making tough decisions in troubled times.

Catering to the needs of sunnydayers as they acclimatise to tougher times is a significant challenge and managers need to focus on this challenge, which will become evident when expectations are not met.

9) The market demands moving products and services up the value chain

In recognising that we are now a high-cost and thus high-value economy, our products and services need to move up the value chain constantly and be seen to add value for the customer.

It is important for managers to keep examining ways to move their products and services up the value chain.

10) Know your business's health

Managers must understand the fundamentals of business and be able to recognise early warning signs of distress and failure.

Brendan Waters is a partner in business advisory services at Mazars