Budgets & Forecasts

Post image for Will Your Company be Bankrupt by 2014?  Edward Altman Knows (and so should you)

You may not know Edward Altman, but he knows whether your company will be bankrupt in the next two years.  Altman developed a deceptively simple formula that calculates the financial strength of a business and accurately predicts the probability of bankruptcy more than 90% of the time. The formula, called Altman’s Z Score, needs just [...]

Tell a Friend or Inform the World:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • PDF
  • Posterous
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr

Put a T.I.G.E.R. in Your Office: 5 Things Your Business Dashboard Must Do

Thumbnail image for Put a T.I.G.E.R. in Your Office:  5 Things Your Business Dashboard Must Do

There are hundreds of ways to look our business – we can spend hours staring at financial statements and ratios. But financial statements alone won’t help us make progress…what an entrepreneur really needs is a map. A great “business dashboard” can be that map, showing us not just where we are, but also where we [...]

Tell a Friend or Inform the World:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • PDF
  • Posterous
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
[Keep reading...]

Keep your Sanity and your Money with this One Simple Bookkeeping Mantra

Thumbnail image for Keep your Sanity and your Money with this One Simple Bookkeeping Mantra

Its amazing how complicated you can make bookkeeping if you try. Apply for a handful of credit cards, get two or three bank accounts, and carry arround a checkbook … and you’re on your way to a life of late payments and bounced checks. There’s a better way. In fact, keeping your books straight in [...]

Tell a Friend or Inform the World:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • PDF
  • Posterous
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
[Keep reading...]

The big piece of paper that changed my business forever

Thumbnail image for The big piece of paper that changed my business forever

People say that writing things down creates a certain kind of magic. It must be true.  Some of the most powerful magic I’ve ever seen came from a 24″ x 36″ piece of paper and a colored marker that became my business dashboard.   After I created a business dashboard, nothing was ever the same. [...]

Tell a Friend or Inform the World:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • PDF
  • Posterous
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
[Keep reading...]

Strategic Finance: 6 Accounting Rules You Should Break

Thumbnail image for Strategic Finance: 6 Accounting Rules You Should Break

When I say the word “accounting“ I bet you either tremble with fear or yawn with boredom. Right? Accounting is not some dark science to be feared or ignored. In fact, used correctly, accounting can be the strongest tool in your business strategy toolkit.  The key is to give up thinking like an accountant and instead [...]

Tell a Friend or Inform the World:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • PDF
  • Posterous
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
[Keep reading...]

The Simplest Picture is the Best Forecast

Thumbnail image for The Simplest Picture is the Best Forecast

Would you rather know the complete wind-speed, temperature, and latitude of a hurricane… or to see this satellite picture of it barreling toward you? To me, forecasting business performance is the same thing.  Give me the big picture so I can worry about the things that matter (like finding batteries and bottled water) rather than [...]

Tell a Friend or Inform the World:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • PDF
  • Posterous
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
[Keep reading...]

Cash Flow Forecasting … Show me the money!

Thumbnail image for Cash Flow Forecasting … Show me the money!

There’s no getting around it. Businesses run on cash.  The current economic situation makes it painfully clear: when the cash flow stops, the business stops. The amazing thing is that every company has the power to both predict and avert sales-related cash flow problems. A few numbers from your balance sheet and income statement are [...]

Tell a Friend or Inform the World:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • PDF
  • Posterous
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
[Keep reading...]