The Michael Palmer Consulting business coaching program is titled “FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS” This is a 12-week coaching program taking clients through the essentials of financial management and control. Considered boring by some, and difficult to understand by others, and a nuisance distraction by others. Careful, consistent, and thorough business financial management is an essential part of operating a business.
It involves reading and understanding financial reports prepared by your accountant or your bookkeeper.
It involves planning and looking ahead to ensure there is sufficient cashflow to meet commitments as and when they fall due.
Managing cashflow is obviously one of the key tasks in financial management. Some business owners – maybe most business owners – look at the bank balance each day and say, “if the bank is in credit, we are doing OK” There is obviously much more to cash management than this.
Everybody hears the phrase “Cash is King”. I think it is a tired, overused phrase. Attention to cashflow detail is key in the management of your business.
The Profit and Loss (P&L) report shows the business revenue, the cost of goods, the gross profit, and the net profit. And, of course, profit is good. Profit improvement is even better. The Cashflow report considers income from all sources including sales, dividends received, sale of assets, debt, and all outgoings including asset purchases (capital expenditure), debt repayment, dividends paid out, etc.
I’ve even heard people say, “I’m making a profit, but I don’t have any cash. How can this be?” the coaching program goes into some detail about the difference between cash and profit. It highlights the reality that you can’t pay expense, wages, etc. with profit. It takes cash.
Financial management also involves credit management and control of debtors. It involves a purchasing policy so that Inventory does not get out of control.
It involves planning for business growth (or maintenance or exiting or preparation for selling the business) – what strategy will be implemented to grow the business (strategy analysis); how much will need to be invested to fund this growth strategy (financial analysis); and where can this necessary funding come from (capitalisation analysis).
In the initial 60-minute complimentary financial review, we identify the three financial management issues that the client himself or herself sees in their business.
We then identify the appropriate strategies or systems the client needs to address these issues. These are then broken down into 12 weekly modules which are delivered both online and in-person, partly individually and partly in groups.
The Financial Projections Workbook – 20+ linked spreadsheet pages – is integral in the delivery of this Essentials Coaching Program.
This is available to clients either as an online program which we work through together or with lifetime access for a modest fee.
