Managing By The Numbers

Book excerpt: The essential guide to understanding financial reports, for entrepreneurs, managers, and business owners Do you get complete financial reports for your business at least once a month? Do you understand what all those numbers mean? Do you use the information in those reports to help you make smart decisions about your business? If you answer "no" to any or all of these questions, then turn to Managing by the Numbers, a highly practical and accessible antidote to financial anxiety. Chuck Kremer, Ron Rizzuto, and John Case show you how to manage the three bottom lines of business financial performance -- net profit, operating cash flow, and return on assets -- and roll them into the "Financial Scoreboard" to see the big picture at a glance. Offering step-by-step examples and an extensive glossary of key terms and concepts, Managing by the Numbers is a commonsense guide to making those numbers work for you -- to monitor and measure performance, make smart decisions, and drive long-term growth. It is an essential resource for anyone eager to improve their mastery of the financial side of running a business.