5 Things To Do As a CFO When Back From Your Vacation

5 Things To Do As a CFO When Back From Your Vacation

Getting back into work can be challenging when returning from a well-earned vacation. Now that you’ve rested and feel reinvigorated, this is an opportunity to reevaluate aspects of your company’s financial environment and move forward productively. Here are 5 areas to focus on to get back in the swing of things:

1. Get Caught Up

Meet separately with the CEO and your team to catch up on anything that happened while you were away. Review the progress of open projects and get updated on any news affecting your industry. Evaluate performance levels and determine whether current tactics are supporting the company’s strategic plan. Don’t forget to contact any individuals with outsourced work in order to assess the full picture.

2. Review Financial Records

Analyze your financial information and forecast potential opportunities for future growth. This could be diverse opportunities from reviewing your gross margins for sufficient coverage of operating costs to making sure inventory is not gradually increasing due to sales issues. Also, investigate if there are any new contracts or clients in the door that will affect the numbers.

3. Assess Capital Structure

Gauge the financial fitness of your company. Does your company have the optimal mix of debt and equity? Check if there is a deficit/surplus from operations and the status of any strategic investments made during the business cycle. A healthy capital structure is a sign your company is a quality investment opportunity.

4. Analyze Budget Adherence

Meet with the controller to review operations and budget adherence. Discuss the financial execution of your budget in relation to actual expenditures and determine whether spending was in accordance with the financial plan. Design cost effective procedures to increase profit margins and have a better realization.

5. Plan Strategically

Review your progress towards meeting the strategic objectives. Utilize the analysis of the previous four steps to ensure that your strategic plan is within the parameters of your company’s vision. Based on current conditions, forecast and identify alternatives to remain consistent with strategic aims.

You may feel overwhelmed getting back into the work routine after time off, and it’s easy to lose momentum. But coming back after a vacation offers new perspective and an opportunity for productive changes to be made. Hopefully these 5 areas of focus help to enhance your financial position and serve as motivation to take the time to review these important areas.

 

 


Maribel Loza_2015Article contributed by Maribel Loza, MKS&H Staff Accountant

About MKS&H: McLean, Koehler, Sparks & Hammond (MKS&H) is a professional service firm with offices in Hunt Valley and Frederick. MKS&H helps owners and organizational leaders become more successful by putting complex financial data into truly meaningful context. But deeper than dollars and data, our focus is on developing an understanding of you, your culture and your business goals. This approach enables our clients to achieve their greatest potential.

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MKS&H

MKS&H is committed to providing personalized tax and accounting services while developing a deep understanding of you, your culture, and your business goals. Our full view of financial systems and the people behind them allow us create and evolve the best solution that will help you and your business thrive. The accounting experts and consulting professionals at MKS&H work together to help you achieve the financial results you want.

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