Insights for sharper financial decisions
Benchmarking, cash flow, valuation, and advisory practice — written for owners, CPAs, and CFOs.
Finsights
Industry data essays
Short, data-backed essays on profitability, liquidity, leverage, and growth — from the iCFO dataset.
- While AI Dominated Headlines, These Industries Quietly Got Stronger AI dominated headlines. New tools. Automation. Predictions about which industries would win and lose. But the updated 2025 iCFO data revealed a quieter…
- Data-driven benchmark insights for advisors Advisors are often asked whether a business’s liquidity position is “healthy.” The challenge is that liquidity norms vary dramatically by industry —…
- Higher Revenue. Same Returns. What the Data Reveals. Across industries, revenue is clearly moving higher. Based on iCFO’s firm-level data across 2,600+ industries — cross-referenced against U.S. Bureau of…
Article library
Search titles, filter by topic, or jump to a letter. 113 articles
- 17 Tips To Improve Your Company’s Financial Health A recent research report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Pepperdine University, and online small business lending company…
- 3 Common Causes of Small Business Failure We’ve all heard the terrifying statistics surrounding small business ownership. But putting aside the numbers surrounding how many…
- 3 Reasons You Need Professional Help With Financial Data Analysis Financial data analysis is literally the process of reviewing and analyzing a company’s financial statements in an effort to make the…
- 3 Secrets to a Successful Small Business All businesses are unique — small businesses especially. While some sort of uniform algorithm would certainly be helpful to determining…
- 3 Ways to Add Value as a Business Coach Build Relationships Wendy Lydon, ThistleSea Business Development Business…
- 4 Common Cash Flow Mistakes Made by Small Business Owners Financial data analysis isn’t easy without the proper tools. Can you calculate current assets, compute profit margin ratio, and conduct…
- 4 Secrets of Success for Small Businesses Between 2013 and 2014, over 5% of 14,405,210 businesses surveyed closed their doors due to inefficient cash flow. A lot of things can go…
- 4 Things Successful Main Street Businesses Have in Common By looking at the common threads between successful small business owners, hopeful (and experienced) entrepreneurs can learn about what…
- 4 Ways to Become a Better Leader A recent McKinsey & Company study opens with a rather powerful statement – over 90 percent of CEOs have plans to increase investment in…
- 5 Business Valuation Software Methods You Need to Adopt Business valuation is the process of determining the economic value of a business or company. Financial market participants including…
- 5 Marketing Tips for CPAs Here are our top 5 tips to help you improve your marketing tactics: Who are You? Before you brand yourself, you need to know what your…
- 5 Steps to Take Before Starting Your Own Business One out of 4 businesses fail after their first year. Only half of businesses are still in operations after their fifth year. Preparing…
- 7 Benefits to Using Big Data for Small Businesses Big data is defined as very large datasets that can be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations –…
- A Beginner’s Guide to Easy Business Budgeting That is why creating a budget is so important and the use of financial performance analysis tools is essential. Starting a budget from…
- A Detailed Income Statement Example To state this another way, it is a financial statement that shows how much revenue a company earned over a specific period (usually a…
- Assessing Financial Risk? You need more than just your numbers. Business risks are inevitable, and they appear in all internal and external forms. The risk variables you may encounter depend entirely…
- Back to the Basics: Understanding Financial Ratios Three Categories of Financial Ratios 1. Growth Ratios Growth rates indicate how quickly a company is growing. This includes: Sales —…
- Benchmark Analysis: An In-Depth Look 1. One out of four businesses fail within their first year of operation. 2. Half of businesses fail after their fourth year of…
- Best Practices for Reducing Business Expenses Without Sacrificing Growth Strategic cost management is essential to business success, especially during economic downturns. Retaining the capability to reduce…
- Boost Your Business Growth with Sustainable Growth Rate Analysis and ICFO’s What-If Scenarios If you’re looking to expand your business sustainably, understanding your Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is crucial. At ICFO, we use…
- Building a KPI-Driven Financial Strategy for Long-Term Growth A KPI-driven financial strategy is a structured approach to linking quantifiable financial measures with long-term business goals. It…
- CFOs Need to be Championing Financial Analytics The role of today’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has expanded past profit and loss, expense management and budgetary control. You need…
- CPAs: Increase Revenue This Tax Season Even if you feel overwhelmed with the work you have, it’s important to continue to increase revenue for your accounting firm. Don’t get…
- Determine if a Company is Suitable for Lending Video 3 Features Quickly analyzes a business’s financial performance and overall health in great detail. Detects if there are any…
- Financial Analysis Data Tips for Beginners Financial analysis is one part of the business finance process. It examines historical financial data to gain information about the…
- Financial Information: The Secret to the Success of Your Company Understanding your financial data clearly might be crucial in the fast-paced corporate world of today. It’s what makes companies…
- Financial Metrics Every Business Owner Should Track Tracking financial measures is crucial to every business desiring to remain healthy, profitable, and competitive. Financial metrics help…
- Financial Red Flags Every Investor Should Watch for in a Company Financial red flags are warning signs embedded in a company’s financial reports that indicate underlying issues with operations,…
- Financial Risk Analysis: An In-Depth Look While risk is a natural side effect of business ownership, lessening the amount of risk involved is an imperative strategy of successful…
- Financial Strategies for Business Resilience During Economic Uncertainty Financial risk may come in the form of inflation, recession, or supply chain shock. During such times, it becomes challenging for…
- Fundamentals of Financial Statements Primarily, financial statements tell you where in your business your money is, so you can keep track of it and manage it effectively.…
- Grow Your Business Using Financial Analysis Analyze Financial Ratios Financial ratios are important financial analysis tools that can you help you implement action plans for…
- Grow Your Business Using Social Media Professional service providers: here are our top three tips for using social media in order to grow your business: Hire a Skilled Social…
- Here’s How Advanced Financial Analytics Software Can Help Take Your Business to the Next Level Technology is advancing at a rapid pace over a multitude of industries, and the corporate world is scrambling to catch up. It seems as…
- How Economic Trends Shape Financial Decision Making Economic trends lie at the foundation of shaping financial decision making. Through fluctuations in interest rates, employment patterns…
- How Financial Analytics Software Can Bring Life to Your Small Business If even one of these things falls behind, it can mean death for a small business. In fact, one fourth of small businesses fail after…
- How Industry Reports Drive Smarter Business Decisions In today’s competitive landscape, relying on instincts alone can’t fuel sustainable growth. To thrive, businesses need data-driven…
- How Inflation Affects Business Operations and Financial Decisions Inflation is the overall increase in prices of goods over time and brings extended effects on individuals and businesses concerning…
- How Profitable is Your Company? Watch our video tutorial to learn how to improve your company’s profit using iCFO’s Profitability Module: Video 3 Key Features…
- How Proper Foresight Can Save Your Business: The Importance of Financial Risk Analysis When it comes to owning and running a business, risk is often inevitable, and lessening that risk is an essential strategy that must be…
- How to Analyze Revenue Growth Effectively Revenue growth may be the most important indication of business success. It reflects not only the ability of a company to scale but also…
- How to Analyze Your Company’s Performance Using Our Financial Performance Analysis Tools iCFO’s Business Performance Scorecard is designed to provide a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of a company’s performance through…
- How to Assess Business Scalability Potential Business scalability determines how efficiently a company can expand operations without a proportional increase in costs. A…
- How to Build a Sustainable Financial Model for Your Business Financial modeling is the process of creating a formalized model of a company’s financial performance. For any company to attain…
- How To Compute Profit Margin Ratio & Financial Ratios By Industry Financial ratios are used as indicators that allow you to zero in on areas of your business that may need attention, such as liquidity,…
- How to Create a Data-Driven Financial Strategy In the contemporary business setup, data-driven financial strategy is one of the keystones of good financial management. Data-driven…
- How to Create a Financial Report to Attract Investors One of the most critical challenges businesses face, especially financial statements for startups and growing companies, is securing…
- How to Identify and Fix Financial Bottlenecks in Your Business Financial bottlenecks are places within a business operation where financial activity slows or stops, normally causing cash flow…
- How to Improve a Business Using Benchmarking Analysis Benchmarking a business is the process of evaluating it and comparing it to other businesses or internally based on measurements. It’s a…
- How to Improve Your Relationship Banking Relationship Banking Relationship banking is when financial institutions use their personal knowledge of the borrower over time to…
- How to Integrate Financial Automation with Existing Business Models Financial automation plays a crucial role in process optimization, improving efficiency and reducing human error. Businesses…
- How to Optimize Business Revenue Streams Using Financial Data Maximizing business revenue streams with financial information is vital to business organizations in the modern day in quest for enhanced…
- How to Perform a Company Financial Analysis in 12 Steps “Financial Analysis is something of an art,” saidPhiladelphia University assistant professor of management, Harvey B. Lermack. While…
- How to Perform Financial Risk Analysis Once you identify potential risks, you can then prioritize them and take action steps to handle them, which include avoiding the risk,…
- How to Scale a Business Successfully with Financial Information Scaling a business means increasing revenue and market share without an increase in cost. As growth, or simple expansion, can be…
- How Well Can Your Company Pay Off Debt? Watch our video tutorial to learn how you can improve your business’s liquidity usingiCFO’sLiquidity Module: Video 3 Features…
- iCFO’s 2023 Financial Trend Update of Benchmarking Data iCFO adheres to stringent reliability standards with updates to financial data twice per year, announcing it’s most recent update…
- Impact of Macroeconomic Factors on Small Businesses To the present time, with the contemporary changing economic context, small businesses are still confronted with risks and opportunities…
- Improve Your Sustainable Business Growth If inefficiencies exist and cash flow is poorly managed, your business could quickly begin to experience financial distress, even when…
- Increase Your Value Using Financial Analysis Software To make the financial advisor part of your job easier, we suggest you use financial analysis software. It gives you the ability to…
- Is Your Business in Good Financial Health? You can quickly learn if a company is in good financial health using the business intelligence tool, iCFO’s Business Risk Module! Watch…
- Keep Tabs on Your Company’s Financial Health Keeping your company on track requires constant analysis, which includes understanding your financial position. Regular Checkups are…
- Key Benefits of Financial Benchmarking for Small Businesses Financial benchmarking is an essential tool in pursuit of performance improvement and business growth for small businesses. It compares…
- Key Financial Metrics for Competitiveness Analysis The bottom line is, in today’s business, it often comes down to a question of knowing your numbers. These are not just statistics; these…
- Learn How Your Company’s Finances Change Over Time But, viewing years of financial data can often seem overwhelming. We have a solution for that. Business intelligence tool, iCFO, offers…
- Leave the Math to the Experts: What all Business Owners Need to Know About Financial Success A whole 25% of all businesses fail after their first year; 36% fail after their second year, and 44% after their third year. By the end…
- Leveraging Industry Benchmarking in Business Advising In the dynamic world of business advising, staying ahead of the curve is essential. One powerful tool that advisors can leverage is…
- Liquidity vs. Profitability Simply explained, liquidity measures the time and ability it takes to convert your assets, such as accounts receivables, into cash to…
- Make Better Business Decisions with 5 These Tips Starting a new business can be difficult. Nearly one quarter of all businesses fail about one year after they open. Nearly 50% of all…
- Mistakes in Business Valuation: How to Avoid Them Proper business valuation is crucial for making informed strategic decisions. However, many entrepreneurs often underestimate this…
- Platform for SaaS Reviews Honors iCFO With Industry Distinctions for Financial Reporting Software The Rising Star award for best financial reporting software indicates that iCFO is on track of its vision in helping businesses…
- Preparing For Your Business Loan Application The good news is that state and local economic-development agencies and various nonprofit organizations provide low-interest loans to…
- Replace Excel with Forecasting Budgeting and Planning Software Businesses are in need of these modern systems to help them turn data into business insight. Budgeting, planning and forecasting…
- Small Business 101: How to Calculate Total Current Assets One-quarter of businesses fail within their first year, while half of businesses fail by their fourth year of operation. Although these…
- Starting up? Here’s what you need to know. The failure and success rates of start-ups and small businesses aren’t encouraging. According to the Small Business Association, only…
- Statement of Shareholder Equity The changes in shareholders’ equity represent company profits or losses, dividends and (or) stock issue. The specifics of Statements of…
- Strategies for Debt Management in Small Businesses The ability to manage debt is an important aspect of ensuring the financial health of any small business. If not properly managed,…
- Take a deep dive into your business data But that approach falls short of helping business owners gain the deep understanding they need to assess how they stack up against their…
- The Cash Flow Statement Explained Managing the Cash Understanding cash management is critically important for a person running a business. One must be a good manager of…
- The Connection Between Business Valuation and Investment Opportunities Business valuation is defined as the determination of a company’s economic worth. To investors, the worth of a company matters in…
- The Evolution of Financial Dashboards: How to Make Them Work for You In the fast-paced rhythm of modern business, financial dashboards have become an indispensable means of observing, analyzing, and…
- The Future of Financial Automation: Trends and Benefits Automating finances is revolutionizing the financial industry by changing the way information is processed, decisions are made, and…
- The Impact of Interest Rates on Business Financial Planning Interest rates are a key component of the world economy, and everything from personal savings to large business ventures are influenced…
- The Impact of Supply Chain Disruptions on Financial Planning Disruptions in the supply chain have been on the increase amid the recent global events of pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and…
- The Importance of a Holistic Approach in Business Valuation and the Benefits of Industry Comparisons by iCFO.pro In the intricate field of business valuation, determining a company’s true worth involves more than just calculating numbers; it’s a…
- The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Business Emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor your own and other’s emotions, use emotional information to guide your thinking and…
- The Importance of Utilizing Financial Statement Analysis Software for Small Businesses Reasons for Failure Before assessing what you can do to succeed, it’s important to learn from the mistakes of others. For instance,…
- The Link Between Financial Transparency and Business Performance Financial transparency in a business environment is the open and transparent revelation of a company’s financial position, operations,…
- The Net Balance Position: Improved Measure of Cash Liquidity Measuring a company’s liquidity position becomes the work of liquidity ratios, a class of financial metrics which determine how well a…
- The Role of ESG Factors in Financial Valuation During the last couple of years, ESG or Environmental, Social, and Governance issues have acquired great significance in financial…
- The Role of Financial Analysis in Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions are effective business growth levers that allow companies to enter new markets, increase efficiency, or gain…
- The Role of Financial Benchmarking in Competitive Analysis Financial benchmarking is the strategic process of comparing a company’s performance metrics to industry standards or direct…
- The Superiority of Return on Asset Investment (ROAI) in Measuring Business Earnings Power In today’s dynamic financial environment, businesses seek reliable metrics to assess their performance. Return on Asset Investment…
- The Unfortunate Events That Nearly Destroyed 2 Big Companies There are a good number of reasons businesses fail. Nearly half (46%) of businesses collapse because of mismanaged funds: poor pricing,…
- This Season’s New Online Tax Fraud Method According to identify theft data from the Federal Trade Commission, tax fraud has increased in recent years (surprise, surprise). Last…
- Three Secrets to Small Business Growth Small businesses have generated over 65% of the net new jobs since 1995.There are now nearly 28 million small businesses in the U.S,…
- Tips to Strengthen Your Company’s Financial Stability Financial stability is the bedrock of any long-term successful company. In an effort to ensure success in competitive markets, companies…
- Top Financial Mistakes Startups Should Avoid Starting up a business is as exciting as it is intimidating, but how well the finances are managed tells if a startup will see success…
- Understanding Capital Structure and Its Impacts on Business Valuation Capital structure refers to a mix of debt vs. equity financing and hybrid instruments a business adopts for financing operation and…
- Understanding Organic Growth in Business: What It Means The main goal of organic business growth is to grow without the need for outside funding, mergers, or acquisitions. It focuses on…
- Understanding Risk Management Strategies for Businesses Risk management refers to the method of discovering, assessing, and controlling possible risks that could negatively impact the…
- Understanding the Role of Business Credit Scores in Financial Stability Business credit scores are statistical values representing the creditworthiness and financial well-being of a firm. They represent trust…
- Understanding Your Balance Sheet In other words: BASIC BALANCE SHEET ACCOUNTING EQUATION assets = liabilities + shareholders’ equity Principle: A company’s assets must…
- Understanding Your Profit and Loss Statement In other words, a P&L is a measurement of activity (revenue – expenses=profit) through time (whatever that operating period is). A P&L…
- Using Financial Statement Analysis Software (Correctly) Can Save Your Small Business How can you avoid their fate? There’s no magic bullet to keeping your company in the black year after year, but there are some crucial…
- Welcome to iCFO Welcome to iCFO, the next generation of Financial Intelligence. iCFO brings together financials from privately held companies across the…
- What Does Financial Data Analysis Software Include? What does financial data analysis software include? Business valuation: With financial analytics software, you can easily evaluate your…
- Why Cash Flow Management is Critical for Businesses Cash flow management is crucial to every business, be it large or small, whatever the line of business. Financial stability, growth, and…
- Why Financial Literacy Matters for Business Owners Financial literacy is the ability to understand and manage financial resources effectively. To the business owner, it is an…
- Why Financial Metrics and Industry Peer Benchmarking are Critical for Business Success According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 1 out of 5 new businesses fail within their first 2 years, almost half within…
- Why Small Businesses Struggle with Financial Planning (And How to Fix It) Financial planning is crucial to the survival and success of small businesses. Yet, most of them cannot handle it since they do not have…
- Why You Need Balanced Financial Leverage—and How iCFO’s Industry Benchmarking Helps You Stay On Track Getting your financial leverage right is a bit like finding the perfect balance on a seesaw. Too much debt, and your business can feel…
- You Heard Right, Millennials Want to be Coached They found that millennials in the workforce want feedback at least once a month compared to non-millennials who do not need as much…
No articles match that filter.