Businesses are the circulatory system of the world’s economies. They provide services and products to its customers and livelihoods to its owners and employees. They fund retirements and create financial independence. As industries have grown and contracted and then disappeared, so have communities, towns and entire civilizations alongside them. Businesses are critical to the survival of our modern-day societies. 

And this is why us accountants are the backbone of the world’s economy! We guide and advise businesses through the use of financial statements. However, these are only useful if the information contained within is timely and accurate. Remember what I said earlier about the transformation that access to *perfect* information provides? 

The three levels of managing business finances are: 1) bookkeeping, 2) budgeting & variances, and 3) advisory services. Bookkeeping is record-keeping after the fact. Budgeting & variances is using previous financial history to set a budget and monitor as you go so that you can make better decisions in real-time. Advisory is the strategic use of tools such as cash flow analysis, forecasting and ratios (to name just a very few) to take businesses to the next level.