There are some entrepreneurs who fully understand the issues concerning to their business’s fiscal health. Typically, they did a course in business administration. However, there are also a lot who do not completely understand the financial issues their business is facing and that is because most of them were not able to properly learn how to set up, write, read, and interpret financial statements.
For instance, chefs or dressmakers who set up their shops may feel lost with accounting and bookkeeping. With a scenario like this, you cannot blame entrepreneurs for believing accounting is tedious. Besides, even who did basic accounting courses may not even enjoy working with numbers.
An author named Spencer Sheinin who wrote the book titled “Entreprenumbers” said that an entrepreneur needs an excellent accountant who is willing to share his or her accounting knowledge in regular lingo so entrepreneurs will be able to confidently understand the financials of their business. Fortunately, there are many accounting services in the Philippines that you can rely on to stay on the right track. Even if you loathe accounting, you can still stay financially empowered.
Why Filipinos Lack Financial Empowerment
For you to be confident with numbers, you need to have financial empowerment. But what does it look like and what questions should you ask for you to get a sense of how empowered you are? According to tax and accounting services in the Philippines, getting the financial information you need can make a world of difference.
Sadly, many Pinoy entrepreneurs attest that they do not receive the financial information needed to run their business. On top of that, many admit that they are actually not sure what financial information they need. For example, when your accountant brings you a financial report, you start panicking. In your financial meetings, your eyes naturally glaze over because you don’t understand what’s going on.
All entrepreneurs know they must care about the financial situation of their businesses. However, the problem is most entrepreneurs do not really know what to record and ask for. And even if they do have financial information or reports, they don’t know how to properly interpret and analyze the data. Hence, they feel confused and lost.
Most accounting services in Manila agree that accounting is essential for an entrepreneur to stay financially empowered. Thus, it is vital to collaborate with a professional who can can easily get the information you need. And when you get that information, you can rest assured that it’s in a format that you would easily understand since there are no jargon and the reports won’t be too technical.
Learn How to Be Financially Empowered
The following are the 6 elements that you need to practice for you to attain financial empowerment:
- You understand your current financial position, which means knowing where you stand and this compares to your budget. Knowing this standing will help you determine if you are going the right or wrong way.
- You know the top financial issues your business is encountering. This matters because staying abreast of the top issues helps you set priorities. Ignorance is dangerous. Besides, you may end up fixing every issue, even those that might be small and irrelevant.
- You don’t worry about everything because you have recognized your top issues and you have set your priorities straight. As a result, you have mental relief since mind is clear.
- You are effective and resourceful in brainstorming solutions for your big problems. It is best that you leverage a peer network, mentors, and Google even works so you can come up with a plan of action.
- You do not spend more than 15 minutes every month on numbers 1 to 4. It is when you brainstorm that takes longer. To understand your financial position, 15 minutes should be enough. The same goes for the three top issues. Afterward, you can start working on coming up with solutions.
- You can do all that was mentioned without the need to open your financial statements. When your accountants provide you with information in a format that you understand, you can use intuitive, understandable, and actionable reports to make decisions and future projections.
Assess How Your Business is Faring
How many of the elements mentioned above do you practice already? If you don’t feel so empowered yet, that is fine. Don’t worry because it is completely normal. What you need to hear is that it is not necessary for you to be an accountant to understand numbers in your financial reports or statements.
You simply just need to learn and know how to direct your team with confidence so you can obtain the information you need in a format that best works for you. If you truly want to attain financial empowerment, call our accounting services in Pasig for guidance.