How Agile Financial Planning Can Achieve Long-Term Sustainable Growth

How Agile Financial Planning Can Achieve Long-Term Sustainable Growth

Over my many years as a corporate CFO and, more recently, as an outsourced CFO and Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) professional, I have been puzzled over why so many hardworking, smart, FP&A teams engage in static linear thinking as it pertains to their financial planning processes.  I have come to believe that it is because many FP&A teams have become conditioned to be comfortable with simple budget models that have static, consistent, linear rates of growth over time.  They are comfortable budgeting based on events from prior periods by increasing sales revenue, along with associated production costs, based on targeted/desired growth without any reliance on other relevant economic factors and conditions.

Assessing Business Performance in a Competitive Market Place

Assessing Business Performance in a Competitive Market Place

As competition in the Beverage Alcohol Industry continues to put downward pressure on profit margins among constituent firms, especially in the Wine segment, it is now more important than ever for business managers to assess the effectiveness of their business’ strategies and tactics in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of their core business operations.    

As Deal Activity Slumps Earnouts and Equity Rollovers Are on the Rise

As Deal Activity Slumps Earnouts and Equity Rollovers Are on the Rise

Corporate Merger and Acquisition activity has slumped to the lowest levels in a decade as buyers and sellers find it difficult to agree on acquisition pricing.  That said, motivated buyers and sellers are finding workarounds to fill the gap between seller valuations and what buyers are willing to pay.  Specifically, buyers and sellers are finding ways to reduce transactional risk, and get deals done, by including Earnouts and Equity Rollovers into transaction terms and conditions. 

A Contribution Margin Approach: The Best Way to Analyze Your Products’ Contribution to Overall Profitability

A Contribution Margin Approach: The Best Way to Analyze Your Products’ Contribution to Overall Profitability

The traditional Income Statement Approach classifies costs according to the reason costs were incurred and yields a Profit Calculation for your business as a whole. While this is a good measure for understanding the profitability of your entire business, it is not an effective method for measuring the contribution that individual products make to your company’s bottom line. For this, you need to utilize a Contribution Margin Approach.

The Importance of Fairness Opinions: Valuation Assurance for Buyers and Sellers

The Importance of Fairness Opinions: Valuation Assurance for Buyers and Sellers

A Fairness Opinion can provide important information in a wide variety of financial transactions such as mergers, acquisitions and business privatizations, as well as hostile takeovers and distressed sales. Very succinctly, a Fairness Opinion can be thought of as a second opinion because it addresses the fairness of a proposed equity transaction from a financial perspective, as produced by an independent financial advisor who objectively examines the price, terms and consideration to be received in a given transaction.