S&P's Financial Focus

The Financial Plan

Even though you will have to revise your financial plan, you need one in order to understand what makes your business profitable, the cash flow, and the future value of your business.

Quiz Yourself Ask yourself the following questions when putting together your financial plan:

Are my short-term and long-term goals clear?

Are the steps I need to take to obtain these goals clear and feasible?

Are the sources of my start-up capital clear?

Is the amount of my start-up capital realistic?

Do I have a framework for recording and reporting all financial business transactions?

Have I included all the reports I need in my financial plan?

Statement of Required Start-Up Capital
Projected 12-Month Income Statement
Projected 12-Month Statement of Cash Flow
Projected 2, 3, or 5-year Income Statement
Projected 2, 3, or 5-year Statement of Cash Flow
Projected 2, 3, or 5-year Balance Sheet

When do I project that I will show a positive net income? Is this projection feasible?

Are all the numbers on my financial plan correct?

Have I listed and justified all my start-up and ongoing costs?

Standard and Poor’s publishes the globally recognized S&P 500® financial index and provides credit ratings. It also gathers financial statistics, information, and news, and analyzes this data to help individuals, companies, and governments make financial decisions. Go to www.standardandpoors.com to learn more about this company.