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What You Can’t See

Posted on: May 18th, 2021

You didn’t start your business to be a bookkeeper, and existing accounting products may not fit your new business model.  That’s why an outside business financial advisor may be invaluable to understand and design the right financial system for your business. They can help you discover what you can’t see in your financial reports.

MLA is experienced in helping business owners discover what their financial system can’t show them.  We can help you identify what could trap your business and do something about it.

We’ve identified 7 Pitfalls that can trap your growing business and the questions you need to ask to avoid them.  Read about the first 2 here.  Below are numbers 3 and 4.

Pitfall #3: Reports that don’t provide useful information.

Having accurate and complete books is essential, but merely having the data doesn’t necessarily give you useful insight into the state of your business.  Rather, that information has to be summarized and reported in a way that is comprehensive but understandable and relevant to the tasks or decisions at hand.

“What metrics do I need to see on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis?” 

This answer will change depending on your current priorities, and your reports need to be tailored to those needs.

A business financial advisor can help you prioritize what to focus on now, and what to leave for future strategic planning.  Now you can make more effective use of your executive capacity by asking better questions of your accounting support.

Pitfall #4: Forgetting why you are in business.

You’ve had to work hard to make it this far, but you didn’t start your company just to do work for its own sake.  Something else was driving you, and now is the time to revisit that goal.

“Why am I doing this now?” 

Dreams change, and new challenges and opportunities are discovered along the way.  But, you can’t assume your reasons for being in business now are the same as when you started.

It takes mental and emotional space to think this through.  Knowing someone else is watching the health of your business helps to give you that room.

You need someone you trust, but they must have enough distance from your organization to provide objective assessments.  A trusted business advisor can provide focus and encouragement through this critical phase.

Discover what you can’t see.

An MLA fractional CFO or strategic advisor can help you see these pitfalls before they trap your business.  And we have the experience and expertise to help you steer around them.  Contact us to learn more.

Wondering what else you can’t see?  Download our “7 Pitfalls That Trap a Growing Business” whitepaper.