Month: May 2024
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Leading vs. Lagging Indicators: A Dashboard for Business Decisions
One challenge in managing finances is the overwhelming amount of numbers and metrics available to look at. Scoreboards in professional sports generally display only the most relevant stats, and your business should do the same. How do we handle it? Stick to 6-7 key metrics with a combination of leading and lagging indicators to watch…
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The Monthly Financial Review (MFR)
Ask 10 different finance pros what their monthly review process looks like and you’ll likely get 9-10 different responses. So what is it? Monthly Financial Review (MFR) — Checklist of financial data and review procedures conducted every month (or 30 days) after your books are closed and financial statements prepared. After the month ends and your financials are…
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The Rolling 12-Month Analysis
Today’s newsletter covers one of the greatest tools in all of finance, the rolling 12-month analysis. A rolling what? We’re simply looking at 12-months of financial information in every column of a financial report. This can be an incredibly helpful tool. Imagine having a year’s worth of financial data – every month. Before we look at…
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Working Capital 301: Optimization Strategies
This is part 3 in a mini-series on working capital (check out part 1 here and part 2 here). Let’s recap the basics so far: With the basics covered, how do you spot warning signs in working capital? Let’s pull some real data from a real company here… what you’re seeing below is 22 quarters (5.5 years) of data highlighting days inventory…