Job offer - but company in the red, what to do

[Recentgradneedingachance]

Hello,

please can you advise if you have any experience of company accounts?
after hundreds of applications for jobs, I finally got an online interview and than a couple of in-person interviews and the offer, and it sounded fine and was relieved, offered minimum starting salary.
I would have to move from home as it’s not commutable and did get round to driving because of covid.
All seems good but looked further into the company and it doesn’t seem like they have any profits… not a problem as only running for 3 years in a emerging healthcare industry, and part of a larger group. But looking further the director is millions in shares ??? So not sure why then the company is in debt. The reviews door the company are mixed.

pros
if I take the job atleast I’ll get some industry experience, which is currently holding me back
cons
not sure about how the actual company

what would you do ? I have no other interviews yet

Is the group in the red or just the subsidiary?

The other companies seem solvent but are American based my application is uk company

I wouldn't find the job or the prospects attractive

Clear signs the higher ups will have their snouts in the trough, meanwhile you're offer the bare minimum wage. Do they really think that will have you rushing headlong to work for them?

company isn't currently profitable. So they may be in years to come, but that will take graft to achieve, and you'll be on the low wage while that happens.

you'll have to move house because the commute is too far.

none of this would give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

‘But looking further the Director is millions in shares’ - what does this mean?

I wouldn’t necessarily discount a company for not being profitable, if it’s only been running for a few years. They might be investing their profits in growth.

You could take this job and continue looking for another if you're looking to move to this sector.

But if you have a bad feeling it's ok to decline.

@daisychain01 yeah I agree but still not getting any responses for applications. @MidnightPatrol the directors are taking millions in shares so it just doesn’t make sense to me.@bergamotorange yes will keep trying other companies but not lucky

Could they not just have a very good accountant? Plenty of businesses don't make a profit on paper.

This. It can be advantageous for many reasons for the business not to be profitable on paper.

It's best not to show a profit. Then there is no tax to pay.

If you've applied hundreds of times (which seems like a huge number if you have good skills - do you mean you had to bespoke your CV for all those different applications ?) then you'd be better off looking more closely at your CV and how relevant your skills are for the jobs you're applying for.

Make fewer, better quality applications otherwise you'll be going for jobs for which you aren't a good fit. Which includes this job, which seems from your description that you'd be giving far more than you're getting for a basic wage, and all the expense and life disruption of moving house.

You'll presumably be asked if you have any questions at the interview.
State that you're concerned about their profitability given their most recent accounts - what are their plans going forward?

Even if their response isn't great, at least you've done your research.
I've interviewed qualified accountants who haven't done a scoobie to research the financial position of the organisation.

It's best not to show a profit. Then there is no tax to pay.

It doesn't really work this way. If there is really profit, it will get taxed.

(Trust me, I'm a chartered accountant and very experienced tax specialist!!).

I wouldn't worry at all about a single company being loss making if its a wholly owned subsidiary of a larger, profitable group. I work for a large listed group and various of our subs have losses at any one time.

Take the job. If you get settled in and there’s red flags keep applying elsewhere. It’s a lot easier to get a job when you’re already employed and if you’re a recent graduate you need to take all the experience you can get.

Since it’s part of a group I wouldn’t worry about it.

It doesn’t matter if it’s made a profit or not. What’s important is if it has cash to fulfill it’s ongoing commitments. There should be a note in the accounts somewhere to say it’s a ‘going concern’.
if it’s a start up profit is unlikely, but look for the cash balance.
the problem with looking at accounts is it’s a historical view and may not be representative of its future trading prospects.