In the dynamic world of business advising, staying ahead of the curve is essential. One powerful tool that advisors can leverage is industry benchmarking.

It’s standard practice for business owners to analyze their current financial statements to gather a general idea of whether or not their business is performing well, and then making adjustments or staying the course based on that information.

The longevity and success of America’s small businesses is crucial to our economy and economic vitality. Employing 120 million Americans across the country, small businesses create two out of every three new jobs. 

Why It’s Important to Evaluate Your Company’s Financial Health Dynamic, fast-growing companies must adopt financial management solutions that can quickly adapt to their changing needs. Keeping tabs on your company’s financial health is important in order to help reduce costs, make smarter business moves, and to continue to grow.

A Company Financial Analysis in Just 12 Steps It’s important to perform a company financial analysis in order to see how the company is performing compared to earlier periods of time and how the company’s performance stands up against other competitors in its industry.

So, What is a Profit and Loss Statement? The Profit and Loss Statement (P&L), also known as the Income Statement, is an important financial tool. It summarizes your company’s revenues (net sales) minus costs and expenses (i.e., Cost of Goods) incurred during a specific operating period. The statement is usually done quarterly or annually.

Start Championing Financial Analytics Using financial analytics was once seen as a fad. Now, using financial analytics has proven to be effective in many aspects of a business. It is used in many areas including forecasting financial performance, pricing products and services, identifying new markets, improving margins, strengthening operations and assessing and monitoring risks.

Why You Should Replace Excel with a Dedicated Budgeting, Planning and Forecasting Solution Many businesses are making the switch from Microsoft Excel to a dedicated budget, planning and forecasting (BP&F) software program. BP&F is a three-step process for determining a company’s short- and long-term financial goals.

Key Financial Ratios Help Manage Your Business Your attention is usually focused on a key area within your company. Maybe that’s in marketing, sales or technology. Handling the financials may not be your forte. But, it’s important to be able to analyze your company using business profitability ratios.