“Why do you accountants always focus on the rearview mirror?” This question was posed to me during a small business workshop I was conducting. Read on to see how I answered it. But first some context: I do workshops for small businesses frequently, to share more deeply about my Fractional CFO framework and approach. I …
The Rearview Mirror for Looking Ahead: Know Yourself to Grow Yourself Read More »
A recent CFO survey shows that although inflation concerns have decreased some, it continues to rank as a high concern for business owners – as it should. During one period of time when inflation seemed out of control at 9%, Biz Equity, the company that provides the backbone to my business valuation program, published a white paper …
Most business owners went into business to do what they love and do what they are good at – and they hoped to make a living and improve the business’s value while doing it. Most started their careers as employees, so they tend to carry an employee mindset vs. that of an owner, entrepreneur, or …
One of the skills an experienced big mountain backcountry skier practices is testing the snowpack for avalanche risk. “I think it looks good,” won’t cut it. We have to pull out the shovel and test the pack to ensure we can venture down in a safe way. Otherwise, we risk life-threatening conditions and danger. “Where’d …
Four Things to Regularly Assess in Your Business Read More »
When it comes to ways to grow your business, it may not be that you lack time but that you need to do some prioritizing. It’s important to constantly evaluate your growth and progress. With the year already well underway, it’s time to take a closer look at how your business is doing. Is it …
Today’s business environment is competitive. Companies are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase profitability. One way to achieve these goals is to implement lean accounting practices, which help businesses identify and eliminate waste in their processes. According to a study by the Lean Enterprise Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on …
What are your business’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)? Are you even keeping score of your business’s performance? When it comes to business results, leaders often have a target in mind (i.e. make more money this year than last year.) You probably have some specific hopes and goals and are trying to move your results toward …
What’s the Score? Track Your Key Performance Indicators Read More »
Learning how to mentor a controller to think more like a CFO is an important investment for any organization that wants to grow and succeed. As a fractional CFO, I have worked with many accounting managers and controllers over the years, in different industries and in different stages of their careers. One of the most …
From Controller to CFO: Nurturing a Financial Leader Read More »
If anything highlights the importance of maximizing cash flow and reducing the cost of leverage, it is the surge in interest rates: from 3.75% in December 2021 to 7.5% at the close of 2022. As we embark on this new year, all small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need to set targets for improvement – the …
Great. Good. So-So. Bad. It’s been quite a year for all of us. As I look back on this year and think about my clients’ results – determining wins and losses with hard, comparable data on sales, margins, efficiency, and profitability – it is sometimes still hard to quantify a year as a great year, …