Developing your financial plan from your strategic vision is a critical step in moving toward your dream. Financial plans can be as rudimentary or as complex as you desire, but no one gets too far without some form of plan. A sound financial plan is vital for any size of business – from small startups to large corporations. It’s like a compelling novel, telling the…
Change is inevitable and it can be a good thing. Some of us started out pushing pencils with a green pad of paper from a beige cubicle. Now we’re pushing buttons with green energy from the comforts of home. As we move further into the 21st century, the world of finance continues to progress beyond applications and the environment.
Businesses often get tied up in hidden red tape. Staff members develop habits and create processes that over time cause delays and increase costs. Sometimes these unnecessary steps are an unforeseen result of company policy. They may be a holdover from a previous ownership. They could be the result of an imperfect amalgamation of companies, where managers adhere to old procedures while imposing the new….
Information demands on accounting and finance departments have grown exponentially over the past decade. It is no longer good enough to close the books a few weeks after month-end. Today, the critical work in finance and accounting is done after the financial statements are prepared. An inability to keep up with these new demands can put professionals out of work and companies out of business.
Having a financial consultant pore over your company books can cause anxiety and friction. Staff get nervous when a consultant is reviewing their work. They may worry mistakes will be found, making them look bad or incompetent. Yet the reason for hiring an outside consultant is not to make anyone look bad but to uncover issues holding the company back and work with finance staff…
Many financial teams spend countless hours getting the past right, when they could make a much more significant contribution getting the future right. Timely financial statements are the key to creating powerful forecasting tools that build a transparent map for the future. On the other hand, laggard financial statements cloud the future and deny us a clear map to get there.The benefits:A timely close has no value…
Bringing a financial consultant on board can be exciting for your company. It can lead to major payoffs, from acquisitions to new funding sources to increased efficiency to smoother financial processes – all of which can fuel growth. But it’s crucial that you are equally aware of the costs. Don’t be caught off guard when the bill arrives; before hiring a consultant, know how—and how…
A successful budget is built on accurate data, but few numbers are so important—and so difficult to get right—as projected revenue. Growing revenue powers income growth which is what fuels future business expansion.Complicating things further, “revenue” is a word that represents many moving parts. How do you keep track of them all? How do you make your projection as accurate as it can be?
Are you ready to sell?Business owners must have their affairs in order to attract a potential buyer. The combination of our recent economic recovery and the long-term investor portfolio shift to business acquisitions puts the owners of well run businesses in a good position to earn a premium over previous historical trends for selling businesses.What factors are buyers using to judge a “well run business”?…
Time out – Planning for growth may be an offline activity.It is hard enough to keep your customers satisfied, the plant running efficiently and your suppliers on schedule. On top of all that, how can you profitably grow the business? Here is one method to kick-start the process.
