Leaves on the line, the wrong type of snow, the cheque is in the post....all lines that when we hear them said we just don't believe are the truth and dismiss out of hand as being a poor excuse for a wider problem. 

So it is with interest that I noted this article in CityAM (https://tinyurl.com/2c9845yt), highlighting the fact that recent MHP research on Investor Influence (https://insights.mhpgroup.com/investor-influence-report-is-the-macro-dead) has found that only 2% of investors believe it when companies blame macro economics for disappointing results, instead paying far more attention to factors that the board can control, and that ESG is an increasingly important factor that they consider.

Interestingly also is the message that "businesses should prioritise communication with investors" which also tallies with my experience with early stage and fast growth companies which increasingly report that their VC and PE fund backers prefer them to be open, honest and authentic about the performance of their company and to own challenges that they are facing rather than find the proverbial "the dog ate my homework" type of excuse. 

So while no-one would disagree that the economic and market conditions can impact any and every business, it seems that investors are going to look through (or have already factored in) the macro economic conditions and will really scrutinise what you can control and what you can affect in your business.