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 canโt 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:
๐ญ. ๐ฃ&๐ / ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
Is your business model actually working? More revenue does not always mean more profit.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฒ๐
A snapshot of what your company owns, owes, and keeps. It helps show financial strength, creditworthiness, and potential warning signs.
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ & ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
Profitable companies can still go out of business if they run out of cash.
๐ฐ. ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด & ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐
Forecasts, breakeven analysis, margins, and product/service profitability help you make better decisions before problems show up.
๐ฑ. ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐
Ratios help you understand profitability, liquidity, and how much growth the business can realistically sustain.
๐ฒ. ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐
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, wouldnโt 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.
