Understanding Financial Management

<p>Alan Friedman talks about today's competitive marketplace, and why&nbsp;it&rsquo;s imperative for music store owners to be able to generate, understand and act upon key financial reports, often on a daily basis.&nbsp;&nbsp; While generating sales and other revenues is &ldquo;mission one&rdquo; for most retailers, proper fiscal management is a close second in terms of the most important activities for any music store.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Some of these reports include financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows), budgets&nbsp;and forecasts of revenues and expenses, open-to-buy and inventory stocking reports, cash requirements and related receivable and payable reports, and inventory analysis reports, to name just a few.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">&nbsp;</div> <p><strong>Understanding Financial Data</strong></p> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">While most of these key reports can be generated by good retail accounting software, many store owners don&rsquo;t know how to interpret this financial data and therefore don&rsquo;t know how to act upon it.&nbsp; Furthermore, the unique and varied income-generating activities of most music retailing operations (such as sales, rentals, repairs and music education) cause confusion in their accounting, financing and reporting.&nbsp; This ultimately leaves many music store owners and their bookkeepers, controllers, accountants and bankers with a feeling of frustration and bewilderment over how to best address and master these fiscal areas of store operations.&nbsp;</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">&nbsp;</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">This online resource is intended to shed light and give financial guidance on these vital areas of store operations to store owners, employees and their professional advisers.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">&nbsp;</div>