Do You Know Where You Are Going?

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

A quote attributed to Lewis Carroll. It didn’t actually appear that way in the Alice in Wonderland Books, although that sentiment was precisely what the discussion between Alice and the Cat was about.

It is a bit like running a business.

Use Your Financial Information as Your Map to Success

If you don’t have a plan or a forecast, you are unlikely to know where you are going, and will be unable to measure performance or success.

Like many businesses who do not Know Their Numbers, it may result in you ending in a financial place that you do not want to be.

I like to think of a Business Journey and the related Financial Information as:

  • Where have you been – Historical/Statutory Accounts

  • Where are you now – Management Accounts

  • Where are you going – Forecasts

If you have this information then you clearly Know Your Numbers.

If you don’t, you have a problem. You don’t Know your Business.

Don’t Just Guess

How can you make decisions without it? You are blind and guessing.

Company performance can only be driven by focusing on the right things financially and using the right information to make decisions and as your plan, or map.

The historic and current information gives you the starting point.

Create Your Own Financial Map and Destination

Think of a journey. You want to go to a particular place. You must know your starting position. If you use the current management information and historic information, you have this starting point and from that you can create the forecast to understand where you are going.

I highly recommend up-to-date integrated forecasts encompassing Profit & Loss account, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow, as well as a 13-week rolling cash forecast. Without these, Business Owners and management teams are running blind and with no map.

You must create your own map.

The Right Financial Information is Your Map to Success

By ensuring the company has the historic and current financial information, well-thought-out strategic forecasts and a complete understanding of the cash position going forward, that is the map for your journey.

Don’t be like Alice. Make sure you have the right information.

Know Your Numbers, and by having that information it becomes your map, which will guide you to your successful destination.

Do you Know Your Numbers?