Finance and financial management are essential skills for any person who wants to succeed in the business world. Understanding these topics can help you make smarter spending decisions and avoid financial problems in the future.
Financial management is the process of planning for how much money a company needs, where it’ll come from and how it’ll be used. This helps businesses increase profits, make better decisions and improve their financial stability.
Profits
Profits are a fundamental measure of financial health and a company’s ability to grow. They can be used for a variety of purposes including financing research and development, purchasing assets and expanding coverage, or investing in new businesses.
They also provide a measure of a company’s financial strength and help identify areas that need improvement. For example, if a company is making money but has significant expenses, the finance manager might decide to increase profits by cutting costs.
A company’s profit margin is the net income after all expenses and taxes are deducted. It’s the most common measurement for a company to use, and is often used in stock market analysis.
Profits are classified into three categories: gross profit, operating profit, and net profit. Each of these measures includes a different type of cost, depending on what the business sells. For example, gross profit includes the cost of goods sold (COGS), while operating profit includes variable costs. Net profit also includes non-cash items, such as taxes and interest expenses.
Cash flow
Cash flow, or the ability to pay bills in a timely manner, is an important part of finance and financial management. A stable cash flow can help a business make payroll, pay its vendors and suppliers, buy capital assets or equipment, and cover inventory costs.
Regardless of the industry or size of a business, it is crucial to have accurate cash flow information and make it a routine part of your business operations. Using this data allows you to forecast the financial health of your company and use this knowledge to make smarter decisions.
In addition to paying employees and suppliers, cash flow management enables you to predict the future of your business and plan accordingly. This is a critical component to your business’s success, especially for growing businesses.
For example, if you send an invoice for $10,000 but don’t have the cash on hand to cover it, your company could potentially be in trouble. It’s not uncommon for a business to experience cash flow shortages at one time or another. These shortages can lead to difficulty making payments to debtors or owners.
Capital structure
Capital structure refers to the specific mix of debt and equity used by a firm to finance its assets and operations. Companies use different types of capital structures based on their industries and business models.
A company can’t develop a successful capital structure without first assessing future revenues and investment requirements. Once that’s done, it can begin to explore ways to change its capital structure to support its broader strategy.
The simplest way to determine a company’s capital structure is by examining its debt-equity ratio (D/E). This can help quickly represent risk, and it allows investors and service providers to assess how levered a company may be.
The optimal capital structure consists of a level of debt that maximizes investor returns while minimizing the costs of borrowing. This is usually determined through a weighted average cost of capital calculation. However, valuators also use other methods to estimate the optimal structure. They may also incorporate tax, agency, and information asymmetry effects, as well as the impact of bankruptcy costs.
Expansion
As your business expands, it’s important to keep an eye on the cost and financial management of the expansion process. Whether your growth involves hiring new employees, adding a franchise or branching out into a new market, you need to calculate potential costs and revenue.
A finance and financial manager’s job is to estimate how much capital a company needs, determine the source of funds and allocate profits to different activities. This includes deciding on investment, financing and dividend decisions.
During business expansion, you may be responsible for purchasing additional equipment or renting a larger space for your offices and production. This will likely require a significant amount of cash to cover the additional costs.
To help mitigate these expenses, consider lowering your current business overheads as well as evaluating vendor relationships for potential savings. Vendor competition often results in lower rates for services and supplies. This is especially true for small businesses with limited budgets.