The Business Owners Guide to Reading and Understanding Financial Statements: How to Budget, Forecast, and Monitor Cash Flow for Better Decision Making

Financial statements hold the key to your company′s fiscal health—so learn to read them! In order to gauge your company′s health—as well as the competition′s—business owners must know how to properly read and understand financial statements. The Business Owner′s Guide to Reading and Understanding Financial Statements introduces managers and entrepreneurs to the various types of financial statements and explains why each is important. Learn the difference between internal and external financial statements and how to use them for financial decision making in order to avoid common missteps. Whether you′re planning major capital projects or simply managing the fiscal aspects of your department, this nontechnical, results–driven guide will arm you with the fundamentals to: Understand the budget process and why it is important Manage assets and track inventory Gauge profitability Monitor success throughout the year using internal reporting Set prices and make key cost decisions Don′t shrug off your responsibility in mastering the financial aspects of your company. Understand where your business stands so that you can make informed decisions about its future.

Preface ix Acknowledgments xv PART I USING EXTERNAL REPORTS TO GAUGE YOUR COMPANY′S HEALTH AND COMPETITIVE STATUS 1 Chapter 1 The Key Financial Statements and Their Starring Role 3 Chapter 2 Balancing the Books: Your Assets and Liabilities 25 Chapter 3 Gauging Profitability 49 Chapter 4 Cash Is King 71 PART II USING INTERNAL REPORTING TO MANAGE YOUR PROFITS AND YOUR COSTS 91 Chapter 5 Why Budgeting Is Important 93 Chapter 6 Managing Inventory 107 Chapter 7 Monitoring Customer Collections 121 Chapter 8 Discounts and Special Pricing 133 Chapter 9 Getting a Handle on Manufacturing Costs 141 Chapter 10 Reducing Bill Payouts 153 Conclusion: Using Financial Statements for Decision Making 163 About the Author 165 Index 167

Lita Epstein , MBA, designs and teaches online courses on topics such as investing for retirement, getting ready for tax time and finance, and investing for women. She is the author of Streetwise Retirement Planning and the coauthor of Alpha Teach Yourself Retirement Planning in 24 Hours . She has also been a congressional press secretary, daily newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and fundraiser for The Carter Center.