In a recent article, we discussed the importance of understanding your company’s cash flow cycle and offered some tips for shortening your cycle in order to improve cash flow. This discussion, however, assumes an understanding of a basic financial concept: the difference between cash flow and profits. It can be...
In our last article, we talked briefly about how accelerating collection of accounts receivable is one of the best ways to improve your company’s cash flow. Prompt and timely collection of receivables is important in any economic environment, but especially during uncertain economic times like these. Making things even more challenging...
As they continue to face challenges in this uneven and inconsistent economic recovery, many CFOs and CEOs are placing a renewed emphasis on optimizing cash flow as a way to help improve their company’s financial situation. Improving cash flow starts with an understanding of the cash flow cycle. Following...
In today’s ever-changing financial environment, the role of the chief financial officer has become particularly vital. Working closely with the CEO, CFOs possess particularly keen insight into financial and strategic matters that permit them to play a key role in planning a company’s future growth. In fact, as a CFO, it...
In a recent article, we discussed the importance of devising a strategic plan for how you will allocate your company’s capital expenditures (or CAPEX) budget. Such a plan should detail what physical assets should be acquired and when, how they will be used, their expected ROI and/or payback period,...
In today’s economy, CFOs face a wide array of regulations that monitor everything from financial activities to clean air and water policy. The debate over the necessity of such regulations has gone on for many years (and certainly will continue into the future), with opponents claiming that excessive regulation hinders...
Capital expenditures are integral to the operations of most manufacturing companies, which must regularly upgrade physical assets or acquire new ones in order to remain competitive. These assets may include machinery and equipment, plant and property, and industrial buildings and warehouses. Investments like these, of course, can be expensive, which makes...
“If you can measure it, you can manage it.” This is especially true when it comes to business finances. One of the best ways to measure the financial performance of your business is to calculate and monitor several key financial ratios. These are comparisons of financial metrics—like current assets and...
When the recession first hit more than four years ago, the first reaction of many CEOs and CFOs was to cut costs to help keep their businesses afloat. In the process, many companies streamlined their operations, tightened their procedures and learned how to do more with less, thus creating...
Throughout this series of articles, we have described how companies can benefit from engaging an outsourced CFO services firm to help them accomplish a wide range of financial tasks. We conclude the series with a look at three companies where CFO Edge chief financial officers were able to engage...