Слайд 1UNDERSTANDING FINANCIAL RATIOS
DIRTY LITTLE START-UP SECRET #14
Слайд 2WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
as a start-up founder, it is important to
know the absolute numbers of your business
Слайд 3WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
you know, like…
Слайд 4WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
you know, like…
how much money do I
have in the bank today?
Слайд 5WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
you know, like…
how much money do I
have in the bank today?
what are my operating expenses each month?
Слайд 6WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
you know, like…
how much money do I
have in the bank today?
what are my operating expenses each month?
how much cash can I expect to come in next week?
Слайд 7WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
but, while critical to the day-to-day operations of
a business, absolute numbers are not as useful when it comes to strategy, where we are concerned with trends over time & operating efficiency
Слайд 8WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
let’s look at revenue by month as an
example
what does that absolute number tell you?
Слайд 9WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
pretty much just that . what is your
revenue
Слайд 10WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
but it does not tell you if that
is…‘good’
Слайд 11WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
that’s where ratios come in
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
but let’s look at a concrete example
Слайд 13WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
here is a hypothetical business that makes concrete
for buildings
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
you happy with that as a founder? do
you understand your business?
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
not really
Слайд 16WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
what if I add this bit of detail?
wow!
what an amazing business right? look at that steadily increasing profit!
Слайд 17WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
but, can you see the problem?
Слайд 18WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
this business is making money now, but it
cannot scale
Слайд 19WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
you can see this clear as day if
you consider the most basic Ratio:
Profit Margin
Слайд 20WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
profit margin is calculated as:
net profit /
sales
it tells you how much money you make for every $1 in sales
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
now look again
oh dear. margin is shrinking quickly!
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
where you were making 70 cents per dollar
of revenue in Q1, by Q5 you’re only making .37 cents
so you’re selling more, but making less!
Слайд 23WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
why?!?
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
why is your margin shrinking?
is it revenue?
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
we can check out the Sales Growth Ratio
which is calculated as:
(current period sales – previous period sales) / previous period sales
Слайд 26WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
hmmmm, despite a margin crisis, sales growth is
actually improving over time
kudos to your sales team
Слайд 27WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
so if it is not revenue that is
pulling down your profitability, it must be cost
Слайд 28WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
let’s look at the Operating Expense Ratio which
is calculated as:
operating expenses / revenue
Слайд 29WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
a-ha. something is stinky!
your costs are growing out
of control
Слайд 30WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
do we need to fire the plant manager?
are we somehow exposed to some raw materials cost fluctuations?
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
let’s break our cost down into 3 categories
(supply, manufacturing, distribution) & compare each against total cost
(i.e.: supply cost / total cost)
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
uh…were we too quick to congratulate sales?
Слайд 33WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
so while absolute numbers are important for day-to-day
operations, ratios are critical for strategy because they allow you to look inwards & monitor / investigate the efficiency of your business over time
it allows you to identify & solve problems
Слайд 34WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
but they’re useful for one other thing as
well
Слайд 35WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
because ratios remove the absolute numbers, they can
be used to compare your business against other businesses in your industry (even if those business are much larger or smaller) so that you know how well you fare relative to the competition or can spot interesting outliers
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RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
why are we so good relatively? what is
so unique about our business model and what does that mean for the future?
Слайд 37WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
you can actually make ratios out of any
combination of absolute numbers depending on what aspect of your business model you want to investigate
however, certain classic ratios have shown great value, and your management team should be monitoring these monthly
Слайд 38WHY
RATIOS HELP YOU COMPARE
please ensure that your CFO is producing these
for your monthly management meetings and that you are reviewing them and asking questions
i’ve dumped a bunch of classic ones in the appendix, but feel free to create your own depending on the nature of your business model and its unique problems
Слайд 39liquidity ratios tell you how much of your current assets can
be used to meet short-term creditor claims
APPENDIX
LIQUIDITY RATIOS!
Слайд 40how efficient is a firm at using its assets to generate
revenue
APPENDIX
ACTIVITY RATIOS!
Слайд 41what % of a firm’s assets are financed with creditor dollars
(how much is owned by bank vs shareholders)
APPENDIX
LEVERAGE RATIOS!
Слайд 42how well are we doing
APPENDIX
PROFITABILITY RATIOS!
Слайд 43used to compare firms in a similar industry
APPENDIX
MARKET RATIOS!
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Please note that all content & opinions expressed in this deck are my own and don’t necessarily represent the position of my current, or any previous, employers