At Quickoffice, which sells software that allows users to create and edit documents on mobile devices, Alan Masarek always enjoyed getting deep into the numbers of his business – almost as ifhe were chief financial officer instead of chief executive.
This past year, Al Lovata, chief executive of Be Our Guest Inc., cut expenses for his party-equipment rental business by laying off staff and reducing workers’ salaries. He credits an “outsourced” chief financial officer with helping him prepare for the worst of the economic downturn.
The financial health, viability and performance of your business are vitally important when determining its value. There are many other factors, however, that affect entity value that aren’t necessarily detected in the historical financial performance of the business.
It is a staple of financial advice, regularly offered by everyone from Suze Orman to your parents: if you want to keep your finances on track, make a budget and stick to it. After all, that’s what big companies do, right?
Despite the economic conditions, cash is king when it comes to the financial management of your company. The lag between the time you have to pay your suppliers and employees and the time you collect from your customers is the problem, and the solution is cash flow management. Grossly oversimplified, cash flow management means delaying outlays of cash as long as possible while encouraging anyone who owes you money to pay it as rapidly as possible.
Despite the economic conditions, cash is king when it comes to the financial management of your company. The lag between the time you have to pay your suppliers and employees and the time you collect from your customers is the problem, and the solution is cash flow management. Grossly oversimplified, cash flow management means delaying outlays of cash as long as possible while encouraging anyone who owes you money to pay it as rapidly as possible.