KPIs may be the most quoted lousy leadership tool in the book. They are lousy because they’re used the wrong way. The concept is powerful, both for redirecting company effort and to test new initiatives, among many benefits.
Stand this checklist alongside your KPIs and see how you score. Answer yes or no.
The language of accounting and finance is the native language of business. In many ways our language is also the language for all economies, including; nations, states, corporations and households. It is the recognition of how critical our profession is to all our economies that inspired the Why behind CFO.University.
The senior financial role is defined differently at each individual company. Some include oversight of the human resource department, some the information technology team, others are in charge of legal, some responsible for all administrative functions.
An important question financial executives are often asked by the Board, their CEO and executive peers is where did our cash go? The folks making these inquiries know sales are being made while money is being spent on salaries, inventory and equipment, but they don’t really know how, when or where it flows.
You’ve owned your business for years, possibly even decades. You’ve built it into an enterprise you’re proud of, and you believe it has a bright future. However, you’ve never had a need for reviewed or audited financial statements.
Why would you? After all, you file your taxes and turn an impressive profit. However, now that you’re considering a sale, you realize your finances need a little work before they’re ready for the scrutiny of third-party buyers.
Turning an economic downturn into a financial upturn for your business.
Whether it’s around an inverting yield curve, asset bubbles about to burst in the housing and stock markets or just a “long in the tooth” expansion; there are loads of discussions taking place on how our robust economy could be nearing a downturn.
How can you determine what this might mean for your business? Here are some thoughts I developed with a colleague recently. We applied the concepts to our businesses to help us prepare for a changing economy.
