Is Your Financial Reporting on Target?

Nick Roell

Dec 15, 2021

While your P&L paints a broad picture of financial viability, it may not be telling you the whole story.

Too often, businesses have a financial reporting structure that makes it difficult to identify what’s driving results. The chart of accounts is either too large to make decisions or too small to see areas of improvement. Optimizing the chart of accounts allows business owners to structure data in a way that allows key performance indicators (KPIs) to be tracked and measured.

Establishing the right KPIs depends on understanding business profitability by department, location or business unit. At Kirsch CPA Group, we go beyond a simple P&L structure to provide an accurate picture of profitability that leads to more effective strategies.

Here’s an example.

Case Study: The Key to Business Growth Was Hiding in the Data All Along

One client came to us seeking a review of their financials with the goal of maximizing the value of five franchise locations. An initial review led us to suspect that their profitability was threatened by specific locations, but their financial data wasn’t structured in a way that allowed them to see it.

The Kirsch team took their QuickBooks file and restructured it to provide transparency into each location. The results confirmed our initial theory and, by closing down four unprofitable locations, our client saw a return to profitability. The review also revealed the fact that their most profitable locations are in rural areas where consumers are less likely to buy products and services online.

Keep to the Path with KPIs Aligned with Your Goals

When you don’t have the right KPIs or financial data structure it’s easy to invest money on projects and ideas that don’t have long-term value.

Here are some examples of KPIs that can be used to shine a light on your genuine profitability.

Manufacturers

Inventory turnover in days: (beginning inventory + end inventory / 2) / COGS x 365
Gross margin %
Inventory on hand
Average cost per unit
Units produced per hour
Production/machine downtime
Defect rates
Return on assets

Service Providers

Average revenue per project
Net revenue per hours
Billable hours tracking
Utilization
New customers acquired
Project profitability

Nonprofits

Pledge fulfillment percentage
Change in donor/donation growth
% of non-disbursed income
% split of revenue versus donated funds
Budget to actual on projects
Donation revenue per employee
Restricted versus unrestricted funds
Donor retention rate
Fundraising ROI

Ensure Effective Financial Reporting

Whatever your business goals, the Kirsch team has deep experience in providing forward-looking financial and advisory services that will help you get there faster. We specialize in helping small and mid-size businesses and nonprofits create the strategies, financial structure, KPIs, and reporting that drive growth and profitability. Speak to one of our CPAs to get started.