crosswordbebop

If you plan to go big with your business, you can never neglect the importance of Financial Management. It is an essential tool that is required to move ahead with your expansion plans. Generally, this critical aspect is disregarded because the entrepreneurs are unaware of its advantages and uses. Financial reports can help aid in making important future decisions. If you have a solo or micro business, then it is not imperative to make use of Financial Management. But as I mentioned earlier, if you plan to make it big in the world of business and commerce, you should make Financial Management your forte! o Accounting and Financial Reports - It is very important to keep track of your company's origin and its past history, particularly an account of the money that has been spent. When you analyze the financial reports, you will be aware of all the spending and expenses accurately. The earnings from specific services, product lines and sales staff - all will come into clear focu...

Last night on Revolution , a new show on NBC that depicts the remnants of the USA 15 years after electricity suddenly stopped working, Charlie (the hot blondie blue chick) chastised two compatriots because they were so intent on stealing a sniper rifle that they had not even thought about what the sniper was guarding ... thirty enslaved people. The show is fictional, of course, but hardly irrelevant: people today, in the good ole USA, are working against their will, usually at mere subsistence levels. When will some Charlie out there awaken the nation to the slaves amongst us? Well, President Obama may be trying to do so, TODAY, 25 Sept. 2012, in his speech from the Clinton Global Initiative at Noon EDT. We shall see.

Statistics show that 87% of small business failures are due to one reason: Lack of proper financial management skills! This is a horrible statistic and it can easily be turned around for you! The formal definition of financial management is "the planning, directing, monitoring, organizing and controlling of the monetary resources of an organisation." Basically; do you understand, track and control where and when your cash flows in or out of your business. I have seen evidence of this statistic over and over again. There are so many small business owners out there that pay a fortune every year for their financial statements to be prepared by their accountant, and have very little understanding of what this document actually means. No sooner have they written out the cheque (with a very heavy heart) to their accountant, and the next cheque is on its way out -to the tax man!!! Financial Management is not something you only worry about after year end, when you need to report...

Program Financial Management includes identifying sources of funding, integrating individual project budgets, developing a overall budget and controlling costs throughout the lifecycle. Program finance management sets the structure for managing finances efficiently. Key elements of finance management includes aggregating the individual project budgets as well as budget for the effort involved in managing the initiative as a program. A program is a financial investment. The ability to steer the program within the budget limit has a direct impact on the organizations revenue. A common understanding of the cost drivers and the cost limits are essential in finance management. The primary purpose of finance management is to ensure that the program is completed within budget, and that the finances are managed in a way that is in accordance with the organization's rules for financial control. Program managers are generally involved in financial management of the initiative starting f...

This week we closed on the sale of what had been our home for 19 years. Going through a packing frenzy of moving life-long belongings and wanting to pass on a sparkling, clean adobe; the moment caught me completely off-guard. I am not an emotional person, but upon the final signature at the closing, I burst into tears and hugged the new owners of our home where we had raised our family. I was passing a part of us on to these newly-met out-of-towners. Over the course of the day, I went from exhaustion, -to tears, -to exhilaration. For the first time in three decades, we were mortgage-free. It felt gypsy-like. Think of how close the moment of being totally debt free. This summer, we purchased five acres out in the country, have our orchard started, a vegetable garden in, 41 grape vines underway and four hens laying eggs – but no house. Not wanting to risk two mortgages, we made the decision that we would sell our current home before building our next home. And in the interim? We would ma...

Everyone is trying to be more frugal, more conservative and smart with their money. Even businesses are taking their budget more seriously and cutting out things which are not really necessities. For these reasons as well as others, financial managers have become in high demand in recent years. In order to properly maintain finances, one needs to apply specific management principles. This requires a lot of attention to detail, careful planning, and a good knowledge of monetary strategies, cash flow, and other complex processes and practices. Those who are running a large business, or just one with complicated finances will require the talents and training brought on board by a financial manager. Those who are trained through a financial management course can bring a lot to the table. Financial managers usually have somewhat large tasks with stressful decisions to make. They will have the task of maximizing the companies wealth and properly distributing it as necessary to fulfill o...

Yes, I saw Stephen Colbert's interview of Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in which Ms. Clarke professed to believe that slavery existed in New York City in 1898. That is eighteen ninety eight, 30+ years after the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th amendment of the U.S. Constitution ended formal slavery. Clearly, Clarke was confused about the chronology, even claiming that the Dutch were the culprits. Yet, Clarke was not entirely wrong because various forms of unfree labor continued in NYC and elsewhere in 1898. In fact, they persist to this day, even in America. So Clarke would have been right to tell the New Yorkers of 1898 to set the enslaved free. The ironic thing is that she should be saying that today, too: set free everyone, white or black, male or female, American or otherwise, who have no or limited choices due to the power of their pimp, handler, or warden. I've laid how out in Fubarnomics and will continue to do so as editor of a new book series, about whic...

I gave this presentation before the CFA Society of Buffalo on 9/7/12.

As classes have started and I’m back to teaching personal finance, I have a challenge for all the students taking this class and using “Personal Finance; Building Your Future” by Walker & Walker. I want to know who can come up with the best frugal fun night. Add your suggestions and ideas by adding it as a comment to this blog. Keep it clean (PG rating), include an estimated cost and how this Frugal Fun Night reflects your values – the values that you worked on in Chapter 1. Remember, being frugal is not being cheap, but it is the wise spending of money in accordance with your values. I look forward to reading your responses and getting ideas of how I can spend a Frugal Fun Night!

With research into Australian small business failures revealing that 90% of small business failures occurring as a result of a lack of key management skills, it pays small business owners and entrepreneurs to develop a core set of key management skills on which they can draw. Developing strong financial management skills is one of the core skills essential for the management and growth of any small business and entrepreneurs should learn to master these skills to ensure their ongoing viability and success. Financial Responsibility Many entrepreneurs abdicate responsibility for the financial management of their business to their accountants.This is a rookie mistake. As the business owner you must take responsibility and accountability for the management of your finances. For the planning, for the ongoing management and monitoring of the financial aspects of your business performance. You are also responsible for learning to read and thoroughly understand the key financial reports. ...

Money is tight, times are hard, you have heard this constantly for the past couple of years and businesses in particular have suffered at the hands of the global economic downturn. Perhaps the poor economy as much as anything else has increased the importance companies now place on their financial teams and perhaps to a greater extent the financial management software that they employ. Is it really possible that something as basic as software could be the difference between success and failure in a recession? It may be a little far-fetched to say that financial management software will determine how a company performs in any kind of market; however it is entirely reasonable to say that it can change the fortunes of a company. It is also fair to say that if used correctly it will provide a road map to how a business can avoid the worst of a difficult trading situation and perhaps even prosper in a recession. Of course not all financial management software is created equally and I...