Are your numbers telling you what really matters?
Running a business without the right financial management information is like driving through fog; you might be moving forward, but can’t clearly see what’s ahead. The most successful businesses don’t just have financial data; they understand it. When you focus on the right financial insights, you gain the clarity and confidence to make better, faster decisions – spotting problems early, seizing opportunities sooner, and managing your business more effectively.
That’s exactly what Simon Phippen, fractional FD at FDPack set out to achieve when he “traded places” with one of his clients, stepping into their shoes to see their management information from their perspective. What happened next changed how they viewed their numbers and significantly improved the way they ran their business.
Trading places with a client
Imagining myself on the other side of the table was the key to getting a professional services business engaged with their financial management information.
Having worked with the firm for more than a year, I could see that, despite my best efforts to introduce the partners to my analysis of their financial and operational data, I was still struggling to engage them.
By their own admission, they weren’t comfortable with financial statements. They felt overwhelmed by the volume of information I was presenting and couldn’t see how, or indeed why, they should invest time to understand it.
So, I decided to change tack. What would happen if I traded places and looked at things from their side of the table? What information would I want to see – and, most importantly, why?
The conversation I imagined went like this:
- Levers – I only want to know about things I can influence, directly or indirectly.
- Lights – highlight what needs my attention: red (urgent) and amber (important).
- Comparatives – tell me if we’re on track to achieve our plans and how we’re performing against last year. If not, why not?
- Trends and Timelines – show me patterns, not noise. Use trend lines to reveal positive or negative shifts in revenues and costs that might otherwise be missed.
- Forecasts – identify the likely future issues that need my attention today.
- People & Teams – give me data that helps me monitor and influence individual and team performance objectively.
- Non-financial metrics – summarise the operational KPIs that truly matter; the leading indicators of future revenue or productivity.
And finally:
“From this month’s data, highlight the three things I should be looking at as a priority.”
Seeing what really matters
Putting myself in the client’s shoes allowed me to be critical of what I was presenting and how. What worked for another business with a more financial mindset didn’t work for this one. They needed guidance on exactly what to look at and why.
By focusing the partners’ attention on the areas they could control and showing how tracking those insights regularly could transform their decision-making, they began to see the real power of FDPack.
With the right management information at their fingertips, they gained clarity and confidence in how their business was performing.
They could make better, faster decisions and run the firm more efficiently – without the cost or risk of building an in-house finance function.
Discover your own financial clarity
If you’d like your business to benefit from this same level of financial clarity, get in touch today to see how FDPack’s fractional CFO service and powerful reporting tools can help you run your business more effectively.
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