Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or a budding business owner, the key to unlocking growth lies in understanding your business's current situation and having clearly defined goals and objectives. At Attune Advisory, we recognise the pivotal role that ongoing review, management, and strategic financial analysis play in achieving sustained success.
Below, we’ll explore the importance of tracking business performance, delve into financial ratios, non-financial ratios, and shed light on the significance of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for businesses of just about any size.
Once a business establishes its goals and action plans, continuous monitoring becomes paramount. This 4-step strategy execution model serves as a guide:
For a comprehensive understanding of a business's performance, financial ratios, both financial and non-financial, serve as invaluable tools. We’ve provided an overview below, but for clarity or more detail relating to any part of these ratios, we suggest getting in touch with the Attune team to discuss.
Let’s take a look:
Financial Ratios:
• Gross Profit Ratio: Measures the mark-up of direct costs to sales revenue.
• Net Profit Ratio: Evaluates the percentage of net profit to sales revenue.
• Return on Equity Ratio (ROI): Assesses the percentage of net profits to the amount invested by business owners.
Liquidity Ratios:
• Current Ratio: Measures the percentage of assets to liabilities, assessing the ability to pay short-term liabilities.
• Quick Ratio: Evaluates the ability of current assets to be converted to cash within the short term, excluding inventory and prepaid expenses.
Non-financial ratios provide insights into operational aspects, including trends, industry comparisons, and risk areas. Examples include sales proposals, marketing campaign effectiveness, staff turnover, and inventory turnover.
KPIs come in all shapes and sizes and be sure you understand that a businesses KPIs aren’t the same as those of a staff member – although they certainly should be related.
Having said that, KPIs for your business are instrumental in providing measurable values that demonstrate a business's effectiveness in achieving key objectives. Examples of KPIs include cash flow, gross profit as a proportion of sales, new customer acquisition, sales revenue growth, inventory turnover, and staff turnover. Successful businesses leverage KPIs to align their performance with overarching goals.
Understanding past performance and current financial positions empowers business owners and managers to forecast future trajectories. Forecasting techniques include historical trend analysis and predictions based on changing market conditions. By understanding where a business is heading, informed decisions can be made to propel it towards success.
Implementing these concepts in your business is an essential practice for unlocking growth and ensuring sustained success, no matter your industry or business size. Keep in mind, the above is designed as a brief guide to get the thought process happening for you. If you’re considering how to grow your business and would like to discuss how we can help you set up performance tracking through your financials and more, the Attune team is ready to help.
Get in touch with the Attune team via email or by calling 1300 866 113 to explore how our tailored solutions can elevate your business to new heights.