Financial intelligence is a requirement for business owners and luckily, it’s a skill that can be learned.
As a business owner, you need to make sure you’re acquiring these skills to be able to really work on your business and grow your business.
Financial intelligence consists of understanding these four different areas:
- Basics of financial measurement, including the big three reports you need to run your business.
- Finance and accounting as two disciplines (both art and science!) that must come together and build an understanding of your business.
- The analysis of your numbers (including profitability, percentages, and other metrics) so you understand the story they’re telling you.
- The big picture is where you can zoom out, see relationships and patterns, and understand your business in the larger context of the economy, competitive landscape, laws, technology, and changing consumer needs and desires.
All four of these shape the environment of financial intelligence and when you understand them, you can make more insightful decisions towards the goals and targets of your strategic plan, leading your company forward successfully.