Financial Bits and Bytes

If you’re an entrepreneur that wants to pass your company down to the next generation, you want to do everything that you can to make sure that your successor does well. Beyond knowledge of the services and products that your company sells, knowing how your company operates, especially in the areas of administration and finance, will help them continue to grow your business. In our last article, we talked about the basic functions of a CFO – Accounting and Finance. But there are other key areas of business operation that usually fall under the purview of the CFO as well

Nobody goes into business because they know how to read a financial statement. And yet, knowing what those statements tell you is critical to taking your company to the next level. What are the kind of questions that you’re asking that could be answered by your own CFO?  Larry Chester, president of CFO Simplified explains the kinds of issues that your own CFO could help you address. 

Every large company has a CFO that provides their management with financial insights. That is the information that allows them to decide what changes should be made to improve company performance and their bottom line. Why should they have the exclusive benefit of that kind of senior financial advice? View this video because that insightful information isn’t just for the big companies. It’s also available for you. Do you appreciate what that would mean to your company? Click View More to View Video!

How do family businesses prepare the next generation to take over? Early in my career, I worked at a publicly held gas pipeline company. Management identified newly hired “stars,” and they would be put on a fast track, spending each of the next 4 years switching from one department to another, allowing them to learn all about the company, from the view of each operating department, from marketing to HR, from business operations to accounting. Though they didn’t become experts in any of these areas, they learned the impact of each department on the company overall. If you are an

Companies run into trouble from time to time. But why do some companies survive those troubles and others don’t? To me, there are two issues. First, it’s knowing when to ask for help. Second, it’s being willing to follow the advice that you’re given. But not everyone waits till they’re in trouble to ask for help. I remember getting a call from a business owner who said he was doing pretty well, he just wanted some help because he “didn’t know what he didn’t know.” Sometimes I meet with companies that are in a different situation. They have waited so