Sunday, December 21, 2008

The "F" Word - Finance!

1/ SME business owners and managers have to develop at least basic skills in financial management. Expecting others in the organization to manage finances is clearly asking for trouble.

2/Basic skills in financial management start in the critical areas of cash management and bookkeeping, which should be done according to certain financial controls to ensure integrity in the bookkeeping process.

3/New leaders and managers should soon go on to learn how to generate financial statements (from bookkeeping journals) and analyze those statements to really understand the financial condition of the business. Financial analysis shows the "reality" of the situation of a business -- seen as such, financial management is one of the most important practices in management.

4/ Financial analysis can tell you a lot about how your business is doing. Without this analysis, you may end up staring at a bunch of numbers on budgets, cash flow projections and profit and loss statements.

5/You should set aside at least a few hours every month to do financial analysis. Analysis includes cash flow analysis and budget deviation analysis mentioned above. Analysis also includes balance sheet analysis and income statement analysis.

6/There are some techniques and tools to help in financial analysis, for example, profit analysis, break-even analysis and ratios analysis that can substantially help to simplify and streamline financial analysis.

7/How you carry out the analysis depends on the nature and needs of you and your business.

8/ Types of financial management functions that need to be carried out by any SME:
  • budget management
  • cashflow management
  • financial reporting
  • financial analysis
  • forecasting and scenario planning
  • credit collections and control
  • budget deviation analysis
  • bank management

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