Financial Reports Explained Without Numbers or Math

There is a saying often attributed to Edwards Deming that “We cannot manage what we do not measure.” Numbers are the measurement that make management possible. The corollary of the quote is: “If we don’t manage it, everything that happens to us – good or bad - is an accident.” We might survive by accident, but we cannot thrive, which means we cannot thrive without numbers.

Now don’t panic. As business owners, WE do not have to collect and compile numbers. We don’t even have to know how it’s done, but we do have to understand what numbers tell us.

ADMINISTRATIONMartin HollandAugust 3, 2017Financial Statements, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flow, subjective. ObjectiveComment

Do You Know Why You Are In Business?

A prospective client called me in February a few years ago.

He had opened a new business in July, and by the time we talked he was selling over $100,000 of merchandise per month. Going from zero to $100,000 per month in seven months is a good thing, right?

Not this time.

GUIDANCEMartin HollandJune 1, 2017Cash Flow, Business Cycle, Financial Statements, Statement of Cash Flows, Inventory, Debt, InvestmentComment