Benefit #1 – Create the view through the financial windshield of your business.
The rearview mirror in an automobile is a helpful feature in keeping you safe on the road. It helps you see dangers that may be lurking behind you.
In fact, we generally have three rearview mirrors (and only one windshield). It would be foolish to drive without your rearview mirrors. But you’ll notice the rearview mirrors are very small. And the windshield is very big. For good reason.
You need a clear view of what’s in front of you to get where you are going safely.
And the faster you’re going the more important it is to have a clear view of the road ahead. Financial statements are like rearview mirrors in that they provide you a number of different perspectives on what’s already happened.
It’s interesting that business owners generally think they don’t have any financial information until they get their financial statements. They mistakenly view financial statements as the starting point for evaluating their financial results. But that’s not reality. That’s not how business really works.
Managing the financial health of your business doesn’t start with what happened (the view of the past). It starts with what you are trying to make happen in the business (the view of the near future).
The financial statements become valuable when you look at what actually happened and compare that to your goals and expectations.
Financial statements are step two in driving performance. Step one is a clear view through the financial windshield of your business (a reliable financial forecast).
A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting
Here are the key ideas and insights in the Introduction to my book A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting (you can also download a PDF of the Introduction here):
The purpose and promise of the book
Working with serious-minded entrepreneurs and CEOs
The two financial questions you (and your CFO) must answer every month
Think decision making, not precision
Walking through the forecasting process
The introduction to A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting is meant to quickly communicate for you the purpose and promise of the book.
It will help you quickly know whether the book speaks to you – while at the same time providing a quick overview of the benefits you can expect from reading the book.
Philip Campbell is an experienced financial consultant and author of the book A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting: Discover the Secret to Driving Growth, Profitability, and Cash Flow and the book Never Run Out of Cash: The 10 Cash Flow Rules You Can’t Afford to Ignore. He is also the author of a number of online courses including Understanding Your Cash Flow – In Less Than 10 Minutes. His books, articles, blog and online courses provide an easy-to-understand, step-by-step guide for entrepreneurs and business owners who want to create financial health, wealth, and freedom in business.
Philip’s 35 year career includes the acquisition or sale of 35 companies (and counting) and an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
A Quick Start Guide to Financial Forecasting
Discover the Secret to Driving Growth, Profitability, and Cash Flow Higher
This book provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to one of the most powerful financial tools in business: a reliable financial forecast. It will transform the financial future of your company and help you make better, faster, smarter financial decisions.
Too many entrepreneurs and CEOs today are feeling more like passengers than drivers in their business. They’re staring at their rearview mirror as they bounce along in the passenger seat. Their company is careening along on the highway of business as they wonder and worry about where their business might end up financially.
A reliable financial forecast solves this problem by providing a clear view through the financial windshield of your business. It creates the visibility and clarity you need to drive your company toward a bigger and brighter financial future.
What if you had answers to questions like:
What’s about to happen to my profitability and cash flow?
How much cash can we distribute to the owners of the business?
How long will it take to pay off our debt?
What will our taxable income be this year?
A reliable financial forecast puts the answers to these questions at your fingertips. It helps you take control of your profitability and cash flow because it gives you answers to the most important financial questions you have to deal with every day.
Put yourself in the driver’s seat of your business by tapping into the unique and exciting benefits that financial forecasting can unlock for you.
Buy the Kindle version at Amazon.
Buy the book at Barnes & Noble.
If you already own the book, the free tools and downloads are waiting for you. Click here to access the financial spreadsheets, examples, rapid learning guides, and more.
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