Financial Analysis

My Name is Not Jack

Once there was a boy named Jack who sold his family’s cow for some magic beans. Jack had to count those beans to make sure he got a fair...

Keeping Score: The Balanced Scorecard

Too many times there is a complete disconnect between the budget and the strategic plan of the business. A strategic plan defines the...

It’s OK to Let Go: Sunk Costs

I’m sure you’ve heard at some point in time someone say “but we’ve invested all this money so we have to keep going”. For the folks that...

Financial Reports: Useful or Useless?

Finance & accounting departments are ultimately about reporting. If you are a public company, there is the required reporting to the SEC...

Reporting Periods: Why 13 Might Be Lucky

We in the finance & accounting field can be creatures of habit. We get used to looking at things in terms of months. This is how we are...

Who’s the Best? Benchmarking to Keep Ahead

“Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs” ~ Henry Ford Being better than the next guy is a driving...

Being Flexible: Using a flex budget

The issue with a static budget is that it is out of date before the first month-end makes its appearance. When this happens, a...