Leadership Academy - Finance: Reading & Understanding the Big Three

Instructor: Kathy Klang; Cummings, Keegan & Co.

The most important tool for managing a business is its financial statements. Financial statements are the window into the business’s inner workings. We all remember Cuba Gooding Jr.’s immortal line from the movie Jerry Maguire, “Show me the money!” Well, that’s what financial statements do. They show you the money. They show you where a company’s money came from, where it went, and where it is now.  As A leader understanding what the financial statements are telling you is critical.  There are three main financial statements. They are: (1) balance sheets; (2) income statements; and (3) cash flow statements. Balance sheets show what a company owns and what it owes at a fixed point in time. Income statements show how much money a company made and spent over a period of time. Cash flow statements show the exchange of money between a company and the outside world also over a period of time. This class with cover these three documents in detail.