The Low Down on Financial Strategy
Money may be sexy, but talking about money is NOT.
Financial words are a HUGE turn-off. Not because they are hard to understand - but because so many people feel so allergic to hearing them that they tune out and then miss out on the possibility of understanding.
You know what I mean right?
The minute someone says EBITDA or ratio your mind just slides right over it and you start thinking about what you’ll make for dinner or the last conversation you had with your kid/partner/mom.
Because if someone is talking about ROI they couldn’t be talking to you, right?
Well, here’s the dirty truth. Financial words hold power. To unlock that power you have to focus on the words and concepts long enough to grab the basics and make them your own.
A lot of what we do at CFO on Speeddial is to take the power of finance and break it down into language and structure you can understand and use: because use leads to ownership and ownership is key to financial well-being.
So.. Let’s have a little chat about Strategic Financial Management.
Three icky words strung together to create a whole phrase that begs to be ignored.
But stick with me – We are going to break them down and make them interesting, and possibly fun!
Strategic – Strategic or Strategy refers to forward thinking and actionable. In a business context, a strategy is a series of steps or actions that are designed to accomplish a specific goal or produce a specific outcome. The steps themselves are the tactics. Strategy is the roadmap to get where you want to go.
Financial – Finance includes any and every part of your business that relates to achieving your money-related objectives. Every business has its own top objectives – to create profit, build equity, improve your cash flow, and sell to an investor or larger company. There is a huge laundry list of possible financial objectives for any company. The key to setting yours is (naturally) how you prioritize that list; and what specific tactics you use to try and achieve them.
Management - The tools, systems, and processes that you use to move the company ahead toward your most important objectives. Management processes can be simple or complicated. They include the things you & your team do every day and procedures that happen once a year. As you grow, you’ll need systems to manage people, product, distribution, marketing, sales, and yes finance. In a well-structured management ecosystem, all of the tools and systems will be connected, up-to-date, and transparent. Together, they should remove hiccups and obstacles through automation and provide you with the information you need to make decisions quickly and with confidence. The management tools that are specific to your financial operations include everything from the banks you choose and the accounts you set up to your daily bookkeeping, design of your financial report, budgeting and projections, point of sale system, and a reporting dashboard that ties it all together.
Now you know that Strategic Financial Management is all about having a big-picture plan for how to reach your definition of financial success, and then fine-tuning the systems you need to stay on track until you get there.
Who wouldn’t want that?
At CFO on Speeddial, we see Strategic Financial Management as an opportunity to create clarity, transparency, and responsiveness.
We focus on revealing the truth hiding in your numbers and supporting owners and teams as you take action to chart and navigate your financial path. Because your financial future shouldn’t be a mystery. You should know exactly where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there.
Want to know your next step?
Check out our FREE Revenue Calculator HERE. It was built with you in mind. A solid revenue target should be set to cover the 5 cash needs of your business — and that’s exactly what the calculator guides you through.
Simply answer the questions in the tool below and discover your achievable goals.
If you don’t get the results you’re looking for the first time, that’s okay! Just continue adjusting your numbers until you find a solution that makes sense for YOU and your business.