Outsourced CFO Support that grows your business and your confidence

Hi Reader,

Happy Spring!

AI is fun, but is it secure?

On Monday, a group of friends and I got together to chat about how we're using AI in our accounting & finance firms. Here's a few things that came up:

Good use cases for AI:

Automations
Writing SOPs
Creating client communications

Where we all agree to be cautious using AI:

Client data security - no one is using AI to interpret client data because the security risk is unclear and the interpretation is garbage compared to our own expertise especially for strategic tax and finance guidance.
IP - many of us have IP on how we operate or create content and we're guarding that from AI right now for the same security cautions

Uncertainty around tariffs?

If you're able to read and have access to news, likely you've heard about tariffs. This is an area where politics meets finance and generally I stay out of commenting on politics, but here we are. These tariffs are uncertain- in the long run, I'm not worried and do thing 90-99% of businesses will be okay - but the uncertainty can kill you.

Here's my advice:

Don't make sudden changes without all the information - much of what is on the news is not exactly how the tariffs will impact your business so DON'T use it to forecast. Do your research first and do a lot of it!
It's changing daily, so if you can - wait it out **this is why you have cash reserves!
If tariffs don't effect your business - let it go and focus on sales. Likely you'll be fine and may only need to go out and sell more,. You can create your own demand with the right strategy & execution.

Back to basics:

This week on the blog, check out our 3 latest articles outlining the financial statements, what they're telling you, and what KPIs to track from them.

Join our community members for a Live Workshop: Master Your Business Metrics: The Small Business KPI Workshop on 4/22 at 9am PT for $20 to get a feel for the community and learn how to track your big business goals. (free to community members).

have a great week!

-Natalie

On the blog... back to basics...

What is a Profit & Loss?

If you’re a business owner, understanding your Profit & Loss Statement (also called the Income Statement) is crucial for financial success. This document tells you if your business is making or losing money over a specific period—monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Read the blog

What is a Balance Sheet?

A Balance Sheet is one of the most important financial statements for any business. It provides a real-time snapshot of what your business owns (assets), owes (liabilities), and the value left for owners (equity).

I like to think of it as my businesses' net worth calculator.

Read the blog

What is a Cash Flow Statement?

A Cash Flow Statement tracks how money moves in and out of your business. Unlike a Profit & Loss Statement, which shows profitability, the Cash Flow Statement tells you if you actually have cash available to run operations, pay expenses, and invest in growth.

What trips business owners up the most is when you’re running cash based accounting, the P&L and Cash flow are similar enough that most ignore the cash flow statement. But monitoring is critical to success.

Read the blog