Financial Planning
Have a strategic finanical plan in place before selling.
A strategic financial plan typically consists of several key components designed to guide your organization's financial activities and decisions. If you’re preparing to sell your business, you will need a comprehensive financial plan. Key elements include:
Financial Analysis
This component involves a comprehensive analysis of your company’s current financial situation, including assessing assets, liabilities, cash flow, and financial performance. The analysis helps identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that may impact financial health.
Vision and Goals
A strategic financial plan starts with a clear vision of where your organization should be. It establishes financial goals and objectives that align with your business’s overall strategic direction.
Budgeting & Forecasting
A strategic financial plan includes a budgeting process that outlines projected revenues, expenses, and investments for a specific period (typically one year). It also incorporates forecasting to anticipate potential financial scenarios and assess the impact of various factors on financial outcomes.
Risk Management
This component involves identifying and assessing financial risks that could affect the ability to achieve its goals. Risk management includes strategies to mitigate those risks, such as insurance coverage, diversification of investments, and contingency planning.
Capital Structure & Financing
The plan outlines your organization's capital structure, which refers to the mix of debt and equity financing. It includes decisions about funding sources, such as loans, equity investments, or issuing bonds, and outlines strategies for managing your organization's debt levels and optimizing cost of capital.
Cash Management
This element encompasses how your company manages its operations, business activities, financial investments, and financing activities. Your business must generate adequate cash flow from to survive, meaning coverage of expenses, repay investors, and expand the business.
Investment Strategy
A strategic financial plan incorporates an investment strategy that outlines how your organization will deploy its financial resources to achieve its goals. It includes decisions about asset allocation, investment vehicles, risk tolerance, and expected returns.
Performance Measurement & Reporting
This component establishes metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure financial performance and progress toward achieving your organization's goals. Regular reporting and analysis of financial results are crucial for monitoring performance and making informed decisions.
Contingency Planning
A strategic financial plan should account for potential contingencies or unforeseen events that may impact your company’s financial stability. It includes strategies to handle unexpected financial challenges and ensures effective adaptation and response.
Implementation & Monitoring
Finally, the plan should define the processes and responsibilities for implementing the financial strategies outlined in the plan. It also establishes a monitoring framework to track progress, review results, and adjust as needed.
While representative, these components are not exhaustive and may vary depending on your organization's specific needs, industry, and strategic priorities.
Strategic Financial
Planning Leads
Leighton Smith, ACMA CGMA
Shane Glavin, MBA
★★★★★
"Our original goal was to fundraise, but working with Leighton was so helpful that eight months later, we got acquired by a large company, which was a huge success for us."
Siva Pullabhotla, Docskiff
★★★★★
“Leighton and team helped develop pitch deck material and investor outreach strategy, which enabled us to raise far more than our target of $600k.”
Michal Majerczak, Actaware
★★★★★
“Shane provides more than just accurate financial information; they offer peace of mind, trust, and guidance...they're truly an amazing business partner"
Chris.
★★★★★
“Shane implemented 'the ROCK program, and it already identified well over $1 million in savings in year one...simply amazing.”
KC Business Journal
