Cash preservation is typically a top of mind concern for any business. Having provided CFO consulting for many start-ups and growing businesses, I’ve seen this be particularly important. In many cases, a course of action has a different result from a cash flow perspective than a profit perspective. A decision may make sense from a …
Category Archives: Finance
23
Jun
Jun
The world of finance and valuation, in particular, can be intimidating. Whether it’s the valuation of common stock for your personal portfolio or the valuation of a mid-market company with diversified operations generating $50 million in revenue, each analysis has one common goal: turn inputs into outputs. Period. Nothing more. Nothing less. The rise of …
09
May
May
Following the last financial crisis, the focus on the safety and soundness of banks was good for the financial system. New bank liquidity and capital policies, among other things, strengthened a weakened system. The banking system today is stronger, with more assets and better loan underwriting standards. Despite good intentions, however, these rules, that were …
02
May
May
Friday afternoons are always days that I tend to wax philosophic. This Friday’s musings got kicked off by a post that a good friend shared with me about GAFAnomics, basically a shrine to Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon as pillars for the “new economy”. Not to take anything away from the success of these companies, but I have heard this song and …
24
Apr
Apr
Polls over the years in organizations as well as government show that the majority of people do not particularly trust those who lead. Last year, a Forbes article provided data telling us that there are very low levels of employee engagement in the US and worldwide. Executive tenure has been dropping for years (although the …
In the restructuring business, many of our assignments come through referrals. During 2015 we were able to assist a number of companies because a trusted advisor to the CEO or owner suggested that they might need help. However, sometimes that suggestion comes too late or the CEO/owner decides that they can fix their problem without assistance. As …
22
Dec
Dec
It’s year-end. You’ve likely been focused on critical Q4 initiatives, such as completing financial projects, providing restructuring solutions or developing budgets. For many CFOs, you’ve likely spent the past few months working on the 2016 budget, so it’s time to get back to business. While you were focused on budgets, reviews and projections, your employees …
17
Nov
Nov
The majority of business turnaround books are written by executives who have fixed Fortune 500 companies. These individuals implement business turnarounds by cutting large numbers of employees, tapping pension funds, getting banks to infuse capital and selling off assets to raise cash and decrease debt. However, few small- and mid-size companies can make such dramatic …
30
Sep
Sep
As a business leader, time is often of the essence. Whether you need to implement quickly or want to free up your employees for other projects, it can be difficult to make the decision to invest additional time and resources into an already labor-intensive project like an audit. However, that extra investment into preparing for …
15
Sep
Sep
When a company hits turbulent times, there will likely be people on the sidelines advising you that it is time to throw in the towel, give up or shut it down. However, the companies that survive are usually the ones that don’t hear the noise and refuse to accept the negativity. These companies will change …