Finance for CEOs who avoid it

Math has never been my thing and neither has finance, but it is a responsibility that comes with being CEO, you can’t take on the role and put your head in the sand.

In NYC CEOS we review financials as a group each quarter. It creates accountability and members help one another become more adept at what they need to be looking at, what they need to be tracking and more.

This small business finance cheat sheet offers 6 tools that are critical to running and growing your business.

This cheat sheet dives into six key areas every CEO should understand:

𝟭. 𝗣&𝗟 / 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
Is your business model actually working? More revenue does not always mean more profit.

𝟮. 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁
A snapshot of what your company owns, owes, and keeps. It helps show financial strength, creditworthiness, and potential warning signs.

𝟯. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
Profitable companies can still go out of business if they run out of cash.

𝟰. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀
Forecasts, breakeven analysis, margins, and product/service profitability help you make better decisions before problems show up.

𝟱. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘀
Ratios help you understand profitability, liquidity, and how much growth the business can realistically sustain.

𝟲. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀
Bookkeepers, accountants, controllers, CFOs, and fractional providers all serve different purposes depending on the size and complexity of your business.

Also included: a few examples of leading indicators. Because if you could better predict where your business is headed, wouldn’t you want to?

The bottom line: You do not need to be a finance expert. But you do need to understand enough to know whether your business is getting stronger or just getting bigger.

If you have questions or need templates, contact me.