Financial Management Development Financial Accounting Financial Performance Measurement

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
Financial Accounting
Financial Performance Measurement
NO 121
MEASURING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
DEVELOPMENT
ONE OF A SERIES OF GUIDES FOR
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
FROM
www.FinancialManagementDevelopment.com
This is one of a series of documents produced by David A Palmer as a guide for

managers on specific financial topics to assist informed discussion. Readers should
take appropriate advice before acting upon any of the issues raised.
Financial Management Development DAP 121 Page 2 of 15
MEASURING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
WHY KEEP FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS?
If you had invested money in a company you would want to be kept informed of its
activities. In particular you would want to know what the managers of the company had
spent your money on and whether they had spent it wisely. However as a sophisticated
investor you would recognise that some spending is by way of an investment for the
future as opposed to an expense. You would also be aware that because some transactions
do not involve paying cash, it is important to have a record of commitments as well as the
basic cashflow. The concept of double entry bookkeeping was invented to provide a basis
for satisfying these needs and this paper sets out the basics of the system which is used to
provide the Published Report and Accounts so beloved of financial analysts and so
detested by many operational managers.
Financial accounting in its current form was designed several centuries ago to deal with
the needs of investors and protect them from the enthusiasm and excesses of management
to whom they had entrusted their funds. It is essentially aimed at providing a record of
past performance and therefore may give no guidance regarding the future. That role is
left to Management accounting and is the subject of another paper.
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
RECORDS THE PAST HELPS IMPROVE THE FUTURE
HAS RIGID DEFINITIONS CHANGES TO SUIT NEED
PROTECTS THE SHAREHOLDER HELPS THE MANAGER
IS CONTROL ORIENTATED HAS MULTIPLE USES
IS FOR EXTERNAL REPORTING IS FOR INTERNAL REFERENCE
IS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT IS SELF INFLICTED
MERELY KEEPS THE SCORE ADDS VALUE TO DECISIONS
BOTH RELY ON ACCURATE RELIABLE TIMELY DATA
However as transactions became more complex even the reporting of past events became
sufficiently open to manipulation that various rules were required to regulate the
disclosure of data to investors and others who have an interest in the financial activities of
companies. Although many detailed rules have been devised by the various accounting
professional bodies five basic concepts are generally regarded as sufficient guidance to
help formulate the correct method of presentation of any economic activity.
www.FinancialManagementDevelopment.com © David A Palmer 2012
THE FIVE BASIC CONCEPTS
One definition of a Profession is a group of people who invent a language which only
they can understand. They can then charge a fee to others for interpretation. Accountants
are no different. The five basic concepts are no more than common sense with new
names. They are:
Accruals - Once a binding agreement has been reached to pay money that agreement
should be recognised in the accounts whether or not any cash has changed hands. The
accounts should show the result of trading for a particular period not just cash
movements. Otherwise Insurance Companies would look wonderfully profitable for the
first few years and Building Societies would look very sick.
Consistency - Once you have decided on a way of accounting for particular transactions,
you should not change without disclosing that fact. You cannot decide to set money aside
for repair costs in a profitable year and then decide not to in a poor year unless you tell
investors what you have done. Such blatant profit smoothing is not allowed, except by
banks when deciding how much to provide against bad debts, and even they had trouble
disguising the extent of losses on loans to South America in the 1980's.
Prudence - Losses should always be provided against when they are identified, profits
can never be recognised until they are certain. This is drummed into Accountants from an
early age and is one of the key reasons why accountants do not see eye to eye with sales
people who have the opposite perspective. To be fair to accountants if you were asked to
keep an exact record of something as subjective as profit, you would tend to err on the
side of pessimism. No one gets fired for saying "the numbers were wrong, we made more
profit than I told you last month." More importantly Auditors are rarely sued by
shareholders for approving a set of Accounts which understates the Company's
performance.
Separability - Transactions should be shown in component parts not amalgamated. Thus

buying goods for £1,000,000 and selling them for £1,000,001 cannot be shown as "We
made a profit of £1." Both numbers should be shown to give a fair picture of trading.
Going Concern - The Accounts are based on the assumption that the company will
continue to trade. If it closes down then they cannot be expected to give a realistic view
of the trading position at the year end. A trading company will normally show stock as an
asset valued at cost. If it stops trading that asset may be worthless.
All Published Accounts will conform to these concepts and the Audit Report can be
relied on to say so if the Accounts breach them. Unfortunately whereas in the past the
emphasis was on whether the Accounts were "True and Fair", now it is much more on
whether the Accounts are compliant with the myriad complex accounting and legislative
rules. As St Paul pointed out, writing to the people of Corinth some 2,000 years ago "The
Letter of the Law kills but the Spirit brings life" (2Cor 3:6). Thus, leading up to the
financial crisis in 2008, many Accounts were compliant, but they hid real problems.
Accountants need occasional reminders that the objective is "Truth and Fairness" not
"Compliance". Their Lawyers are currently benefitting from their forgetfulness.
HOW IT WORKS
Double entry bookkeeping is simple. Record every item twice and then add everything
up. If the two totals are the same, everything must have been processed correctly. Thus if
you are a shareholder in a company it is reasonable for you to ask the management to
keep a record of what they have done. After all transactions have been processed you will
want to know three things:
What does the company own and what does it owe? (Balance Sheet)
Has the value of sales exceeded the value of costs? (Profit and Loss Account)
What has been done with the cash? (Cash flow statement)
The following example shows how twelve simple transactions are recorded in the
accounts of a Company to produce the published Accounts at the end of the accounting
period. The transactions are as follows:
1. The company issues £20,000 shares for cash at a price of £1 each.
2. The company borrows £10,000 from the bank at an interest rate of 10% p.a.
3. £20,000 is paid for the lease of a shop for two years.
4. £8,000 worth of goods are purchased for cash.
5. £1,000 cash is spent on advertising.
6. Half the goods are sold for £10,000 cash.
7. Another £6,000 worth of goods are purchased on credit.
8. Goods costing £5,000 are sold for £10,000 on credit.
9. Goods costing £1,000 are identified as worthless.
10. A dividend of £1,000 is paid in cash.
After each transaction a new Balance Sheet can be drawn up to show the impact.
For each transaction it is important to realise that there are two entries and that both affect
the accounts. The conventions merely guide how they are affected. Although the accounts
can be manipulated by choosing a favourable treatment, cashflow is impossible to
disguise except by fraud.

1. The company issues £20,000 shares for cash at a price of £1 each.
SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 CASH 20,000

===== =====
The balance sheet is simple. The company now owns cash of £20,000 but it has a liability
of the same amount to its shareholders. If the company were to cease trading they could
receive their money back. If the company trades and makes a loss the shareholders funds
will be reduced. Limited liability merely means that the shareholders can only lose the
money they have put in.
2. The company borrows £10,000 from a bank at an interest rate of 10% p.a.
SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 CASH 30,000
BANK LOAN 10,000 ______

30,000 30,000
===== =====
The company has incurred a further liability but since it is matched with an asset there is
no impact on profit. However the company has a liability for interest which under the
accruals concept it will need to provide for. (See transaction 11.) Most companies
provide, i.e. make a charge against profits, on a monthly basis for such items as interest
payable. A bank would make the calculation on a daily basis. Thus each day it would
balance its books, including calculating how much interest its customers now owe. This is
a simple application of the accruals concept. It is wrong to ignore a liability, because it
distorts the profit and can result in wrong decisions. (Look where ignoring pension
liabilities got us in the latter part of the last century!)
3. £20,000 is paid for the lease of a shop for two years.
SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000
BANK LOAN 10,000 CASH 10,000

30,000 30,000
===== =====
Cash has reduced by £20,000 but the company has acquired an asset - the use of the shop.
This asset has a finite life and thus it is used up over time. It is normal to treat
expenditure on assets which last for more than one year as an investment in Fixed Assets
and depreciate, i.e. charge off against profits and thus reduce the value of the asset, by an
amount equivalent to the value consumed. In this example the lease was for two years so
£10,000 is used up each year and this will be reflected in transaction 12.

4. £8,000 worth of goods are purchased for cash.

STOCK 8,000
30,000 30,000
===== =====
Once again cash has been used up, but because it has been swapped for another asset,
there is no loss to the business. Cash resources have almost disappeared but there is no
trading loss. Since stock is bought with the intention of resale, it is treated as a Current
Asset and not depreciated.
5. £1,000 cash is spent on advertising.

RETAINED LOSS (1,000) STOCK 8,000
29,000 29,000
===== =====
Advertising does not result in a tangible asset. Or at least the accounting profession
believes that since the benefit from advertising will only arise in the future it would be
imprudent to treat it as an asset. The reduction in cash is therefore matched by a charge
against profits and in this example gives rise to a retained loss. This is prudent but
arguably misleading and a number of companies effectively show advertising as an asset
on their balance sheet under the intangible asset heading Brand Valuation. It is a difficult
asset to sell if the company is wound up so accountants remain nervous of it. Brands, like
People are corporate assets but difficult to value so accountants ignore them. Any
spending on advertising or training is therefore written off against profit in the year it is
incurred. That is why they are the first things to be cut when times are hard.
6. Half the goods are sold for £10,000 cash.

RETAINED PROFIT 5,000 STOCK 4,000
35,000 35,000
===== =====
At last some trading has taken place. Cash rises by £10,000; stock is reduced by only
£4,000. Thus a profit of £6,000 has been realised and when offset against the advertising
cost leads to a retained profit of £5,000. Notice that no attempt is made to revalue the
remaining stock. Even though it may now be worth more, to recognise the profit would
be imprudent. Some industries do revalue stocks, notably the oil companies and those
trading in marketable securities. However to be consistent they have to show a reduction
in value if the market value of stock falls.
In some companies an unrealised profit is recognised on fixed assets such as property. It

is obviously misleading to leave land in the accounts at its cost when it was purchased
decades ago. Thus some companies have recognised the increase in value by revaluing
the property asset and including an offsetting amount in retained profit. In order to ensure
that it is understood that this profit is dependant upon the property being sold, the amount
is usually segregated into a "Revaluation Reserve", a separate category of retained profit,
to show that it arises from holding an asset and not from normal trading.
7. Another £6,000 worth of goods are purchased on credit.

______ CREDITORS (6,000)

35,000 35,000
===== =====
Stock increases but this is matched by an offsetting liability and therefore there is no
effect on profit. Because the liability is current, i.e. it will fall due within one year it is
normally shown as a deduction from the assets side of the Balance Sheet. In practice most
companies produce Balance Sheets which run down one column rather than in two
columns as above. Some show the total for shareholders' funds as being matched by
assets less all (including long term) liabilities rather than arriving at a total of Capital
Employed in the business. The UK legislation allows either and different approaches are
allowed in the U.S. and Europe. In practice the order and the total are irrelevant, as
different totals are appropriate for different review purposes. In practice it is up to
reviewers to look at the details and make up their own ratios.
8. Goods costing £5,000 are sold for £10,000 on credit.

BANK LOAN 10,000 DEBTORS 10,000
CASH 11,000
______ CREDITORS (6,000)

40,000 40,000
===== =====
A simple choice exists. Is the sale binding or not? If it is, then the sale is shown. It is
matched by a legal debtor and the profit of £5,000 can be recognised. Much legal debate
exists as to whether a sale has taken place. The normal definition is that the service has
been performed or that title in the goods has passed. Problems arise with advance sales,
"sale on sale or return" contracts for over one year etc. Financial contracts such as
insurance and leasing are particularly susceptible to being interpreted in ways which
recognise too much profit too early. The key concepts are prudence and consistency.
Profit should not be recognised too early. Over a large number of recurring transactions a
consistent accounting policy will enable investors and managers to establish the health or
otherwise of the business.
9. Goods costing £1,000 are identified as worthless.

CASH 11,000
______ CREDITORS (6,000)

39,000 39,000
===== =====
A simple application of prudence. The value of stock is reduced and the effect of the
write down is taken against profit. Stock is normally held on the Balance Sheet at the
"lower of cost or Net Realisable Value". Thus if the Company knows that the cost cannot
be recovered it should write the stock down to the value it will receive and take notice of
the loss immediately. This only applies to losses not profits. For this purpose cost can
include any costs of manufacture. Thus a half-built car is valued at the cost of
components, plus the cost of labour, plus an appropriate share of factory overheads.
Companies can keep adding value to the stock and thus avoid taking costs against profit
but only to the extent that cost must not exceed sales price less any costs of making the
sale, i.e. Net Realisable Value.
A similar event occurs when debts are deemed to be bad, i.e. the debtor will not pay and
therefore the asset of the debt has no value. This is the "writing off of bad debts". Where
a company believes that it has debts at the year end, some of which will prove to be bad
but it does not know which ones, it will normally make a "provision for bad debts"
against them. It will reduce profits and the value of the debts by the extent of the
provision. Then when the doubtful debts prove to be bad the pain has already been taken
and there is no impact on profit. This approach, designed to apply prudence to the value
of stock and debtors is particularly susceptible to manipulation by companies wishing to
smooth profits.
10. A dividend of £1,000 is paid in cash.

CASH 10,000
______ CREDITORS (6,000)

38,000 38,000
===== =====
Cash is paid out and retained profit falls. However the Dividend is not a normal cost. It is
an appropriation of profit. The company has made a trading profit and is merely giving
some of it back to the shareholders. That does not reduce the profit made, but it does
reduce the profit retained in the company. The concept is similar to the bank sending you
a cheque for deposit account interest rather than crediting it to your account. You do not
make any less money, but there is less in the account than there would have been if they
had left the interest on deposit.
11. The interest of £1,000 on the bank loan is provided for.

CASH 10,000
______ CREDITORS (7,000)

37,000 37,000
===== =====
Just because you do not have a piece of paper does not mean that you have not incurred a
liability. Similarly, throwing away suppliers' invoices or hiding them from the accounts
department does not make the liability any less. The interest is a cost of running the
company for the accounting period and therefore has to be accrued for by adding £1,000
to creditors and reducing profit by £1,000. Then when the interest is paid the cash will
fall, but so will the creditors. The profit will be unaffected by the subsequent payment.
That is the point of accruals. They seek to charge the right period rather than the one in
which the cash happens to be paid. It is perfectly possible to have accrued income as well
as accrued costs. Both income and costs should be matched to the period to which they
relate irrespective of the cash movement.
12. The depreciation of the leasehold is accounted for.

RETAINED LOSS (3,000) STOCK 4,000
CASH 10,000
______ CREDITORS (7,000)

27,000 27,000
===== =====
The value of the fixed asset has been consumed. In the absence of any other information
it is depreciated equally over two years. This results in a lower asset value, known as its
Net Book Value (because it is its cost less depreciation to date), and a charge against
profits. Most Fixed Assets are depreciated. The calculation is designed to spread the cost,
i.e. the amount paid for the asset less any expected disposal proceeds, over its estimated
useful life. Since disposal proceeds and useful lives are estimated then the depreciation
charge is always an approximation and therefore subject to a certain amount of
manipulation.
The company has traded at a loss of £2,000 and incidentally has acted illegally by paying
a dividend out of profits it did not make. It has reduced the Net Worth of the company by
£3,000. That does not mean that the managers have consumed value. They have been
building up trading relationships and the shares may reflect that by being worth more
than the original £1. Any excess of the value of the shares over the £17,000 value of
shareholders' funds is Goodwill which is not recognised as an asset of the company. If the
company were to close tomorrow, the goodwill would be worthless. The accounts are
normally drawn up on the assumption that the company will continue trading.
If it were to stop trading the value of some of the assets would be in doubt. Certainly the
leasehold and possibly the stock would not be worth their stated values. However the
Going Concern concept under which Published Accounts are drawn up explicitly assumes
that the company will continue trading and therefore the horrors of a forced sale can be
ignored.
NOTE
Please note that for the sake of simplicity the above example ignores tax. This is
consistent with the approach adopted by small businesses which fail to account for and
plan the payment of tax and therefore go bust 21 months after starting up. Tax on profits
is due 9 months after the year end. Failure to accrue for tax is criminal stupidity which is
why it is a shame that most examinations on finance state "ignore Tax". Since the
example ignores salaries and associated taxes, as well as VAT it is at least consistent! In
its defence the company did make a loss and the tax credit for losses and the Rebate for
Value Subtracted (i.e. negative VAT) are best covered in a different paper.
Having dealt with the Balance Sheet it is useful to look at the Profit and Loss Account.
THE PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
The profit and loss account merely seeks to follow the concept of separability. Rather
than merely informing shareholders of the movement in retained profit for a period it sets
out the details of sales and costs in ways which are prescribed by various legislation.
There is always an option to issue more information than statute requires but most
companies want to avoid telling the world too much about their business so they will
keep detailed external disclosure to the minimum. This does not stop the marketing
department attaching all sorts of non-statutory, unaudited information to the published
document. All such information is designed to "sell" the company and therefore may be
somewhat partisan in its approach.
The Profit and Loss Account sets out income from activities and the associated costs.
Using the above example the figures would be:

PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR (Note 1)
£ £ (Note 2)
SALES (Transactions 6 & 8) 20,000
COST OF GOODS SOLD (Note 3):

Opening Stock 0
Purchases (Transactions 4 & 7) 14,000
Closing Stock (Note 4) 4,000
10,000
______
GROSS PROFIT MARGIN (Note 5) 10,000
ADVERTISING (Transaction 5) 1,000

LEASEHOLD AMORTISATION (Transaction 12) 10,000
11,000
______
OPERATING PROFIT (LOSS) (Note 6) (1,000)
INTEREST PAYABLE (Transaction 11) (Note 7) 1,000
______
PROFIT (LOSS) BEFORE TAXATION (2,000)
TAXATION -
______
LOSS AFTER TAXATION (Note 8) (2,000)
DIVIDEND PAYABLE (Transaction 10) 1,000
______
RETAINED LOSS FOR THE YEAR (3,000)
=====
LOSS PER SHARE (Note 9) 15p
Note that Transactions 1, 2 and 3 do not appear because they had no profit effect.
NOTES TO THE PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
1. The period of a published profit and loss account is normally a year. However
Retailers often finish on the same day of the week and so every few "years" they will
have 53 weeks rather than 52. It is sensible to check that the length of two profit and
loss accounts is the same when drawing comparisons between two periods, otherwise
you run the risk of joining the many inexplicably innumerate managers who year after
year find that February is worse than March because income is low and yet their
budget divided all costs by 12.
2. Published accounts are normally in thousands or millions of pounds (or local

currency). Most management accounts round to three significant figures.

3. The cost of goods sold normally includes manufacturing costs. In most published
accounts it is difficult to interpret because companies do not wish to show their true
margin. Notice that the cost is arrived at by adjusting the purchases figure for the
stock movement. To actually identify each item as it is sold would demand stock
records too detailed for most purposes.
4. Because the closing stock is counted and valued it automatically adjusts for the
£1,000 of stock that was deemed worthless. Any change in stock valuation has a
direct effect on profit and this is therefore the most important area for the Auditors to
look at when they review the accounts.
5. A vital measure in management accounts, Gross margin shows the extent to which
value has been added to goods sold. Analysts frequently express this as a percentage
of sales price.
6. The operating profit or loss shows the extent to which trading has been successful. It
is frequently quoted by analysts as margin (a percentage of sales).
7. Interest depends on the way a company is financed and is therefore separated from
trading activities.
8. The Profit or Loss after taxation is the key performance indicator. Sometimes called
Earnings it is the final measure of corporate success: sales less all costs.
9. Because it is important to relate earnings to the value of capital required the Earnings
per Share is shown on the face of the Profit and Loss Account. It is simply profit after
tax divided by the number of shares. This forms the basis for the PE ratio quoted in
the press.
Having dealt with the Profit and Loss Account only the cashflow statement remains to
be illustrated.

CASHFLOW
Cashflow statements in published accounts are a minefield for the unwary. This is a
shame because it provides much useful information to the reader. In essence it should be
simple: cash at start, plus cash in, less cash out to give cash at end. Thus in the example:
CASH IN CASH OUT

£ £ £
CASH AT START -
Transaction 1 Issue of shares 20,000
Transaction 2 Loan received 10,000
Transaction 3 Lease purchased 20,000
Transaction 4 Goods purchased 8,000
Transaction 5 Advertising purchased 1,000
Transaction 6 Sale of Goods 10,000
Transaction 10 Dividend paid 1,000
_______ _______
TOTAL CASH IN 40,000 40,000

TOTAL CASH OUT 30,000 (30,000)
_______
CASH AT END 10,000
======
Transactions 7,8 9, 11 and 12 did not involve cash.
This is obviously too simple to be given to shareholders but the explanation of the
Statement of Source and Application of Funds which is the form of cashflow statement in
most published accounts is beyond the scope of this paper. (As an accountant may I make
a public apology to users of accounts for the "dog's breakfast" we serve up as a cashflow
statement in most Published Accounts.) For most practical purposes any management
information will follow the approach set out above.

IN SUMMARY
The Three Accounting Statements
The Balance Sheet shows the state of the Company at a point in time and lists what it
owns and what it owes. To the extent that the net figure of assets less liabilities has grown
since the previous Balance Sheet then Shareholders' Funds must have grown by a
corresponding amount and the company must have made a profit.
The Profit and Loss Account shows the details of trading and analyses the movements
in Retained Earnings between two Balance Sheets.
The Cashflow Statement shows the details of movements in cash between two Balance
Sheets.
The Double Entry System

All transactions which have legal effect, or which recognise a change in circumstances,
will appear twice in the accounts. Thus a payment of cash results not only in a reduction
in the cash balance but will also result in either:
the recognition of an expense e.g. money paid for advertising, or
an increase in assets e.g. money paid to buy stock or fixed assets, or
a reduction in a liability e.g. money paid to creditors or for an accrued expense.
A receipt of cash will result in an increase in cash and either:

the recognition of income e.g. money received for sales, or
a decrease in assets e.g. cash received from debtors, or
an increase in liabilities e.g. cash borrowed from a bank.
Not every transaction involves cash. Use of electricity results in the recognition of a
cost and an accrual.
The Five Accounting Concepts

The five principles guiding the treatment of items which involve judgement are:
Accruals Items of income and expense should be recognised in the period

to which they relate.
Consistency Accounting policies should not be changed without full

disclosure of the effect.
Prudence Losses should be provided for when identified, profits should

not be recognised until they are achieved.
Separability Significant items should be disclosed separately in the accounts,

not netted off.
Going Concern The accounting process assumes the company will continue to
trade. If that is in doubt then the stated values may be unreliable.
Rev. DAVID A. PALMER BA (Financial Control) FCA CTA MCIPD

David is an experienced financial professional who has devoted his skills to management
training in practical understanding and utilisation of financial information. A Graduate,
Chartered Accountant, and Associate of the Institute of Taxation, he is also a Member of
the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has been an Ordained as a
Deacon in the Catholic Church.
He has worked as a Financial Controller and Company Secretary in the Finance industry
and as a Director of Finance and Administration in the Computer Services industry.
Since 1990 he has conducted management development programmes for over forty major
organisations including Arla Foods, Blue Circle, BP, CSC Computer Sciences, Conoco,
Ernst & Young, Lloyds Bowmaker, Royal Mail, Unilever and Zeneca. He also runs
programmes for the Leadership Foundation and the management teams at a number of
Universities. International training experience includes work in Belgium and Holland for
CSC, in Denmark, Kenya and the Czech Republic for Unilever, in Holland and the US
for Zeneca, in Dubai for Al Atheer, in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia for Cable & Wireless.
He specialises in programmes in financial management for both tactical and strategic

decision making. In addition he has run courses in acquisition evaluation (The
Economist, Eversheds, Blue Circle and Hays Chemicals) and in post-acquisition
management (Unilever). All training is specifically tailored to the needs of the
organisation with the emphasis on practical applications to enhance profitability and
cashflow. He has developed material for delivery by in-house personnel (Royal Mail,
Lloyds Bowmaker and Conoco), computer based training packages (The Post Office,
Unilever and BP), and post course reinforcement self-study workbooks (CSC and
Zeneca). He has also produced a training video on Cashflow Management.
He is a prolific writer of case studies, role plays and course material. He has also
published articles on the financial justification of training, financial evaluation of IT
investment proposals, the use of Activity Based Costing and Customer Profitability
statements, commercial considerations for consultants, the need for taxation awareness
training for general managers, evangelisation and Christian business ethics.
Many of his generic documents are freely available on his website:

FinancialManagementDevelopment.com including papers on Charity Management.
In addition to his Diaconal work in the Church, he has held a number of voluntary
positions including University, College and School Governor, Hospice Treasurer and
Trustee of various charitable institutions. He continues to provide ad hoc commercial
advice to several other charitable organisations. He has been married for over 35 years
and has one daughter and three granddaughters.
This series of papers is designed to help managers by providing a basic understanding of

key financial concepts to assist them in their work. It is provided at no cost since this
knowledge is a Gift from God and thus to be shared (Matthew 10:8).

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

Financial Performance Measurement

MEASURING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

ONE OF A SERIES OF GUIDES FOR

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

This is one of a series of documents produced by David A Palmer as a guide for

MEASURING FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

WHY KEEP FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS?

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

RECORDS THE PAST HELPS IMPROVE THE FUTURE

HAS RIGID DEFINITIONS CHANGES TO SUIT NEED

PROTECTS THE SHAREHOLDER HELPS THE MANAGER

IS CONTROL ORIENTATED HAS MULTIPLE USES

IS FOR EXTERNAL REPORTING IS FOR INTERNAL REFERENCE

IS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT IS SELF INFLICTED

MERELY KEEPS THE SCORE ADDS VALUE TO DECISIONS

BOTH RELY ON ACCURATE RELIABLE TIMELY DATA

THE FIVE BASIC CONCEPTS

Separability - Transactions should be shown in component parts not amalgamated. Thus

1. The company issues £20,000 shares for cash at a price of £1 each.

3. £20,000 is paid for the lease of a shop for two years.

4. £8,000 worth of goods are purchased for cash.

5. £1,000 cash is spent on advertising.

6. Half the goods are sold for £10,000 cash.

7. Another £6,000 worth of goods are purchased on credit.

8. Goods costing £5,000 are sold for £10,000 on credit.

9. Goods costing £1,000 are identified as worthless.

10. A dividend of £1,000 is paid in cash.

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1. The company issues £20,000 shares for cash at a price of £1 each.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 CASH 20,000

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 CASH 30,000

BANK LOAN 10,000 ______

3. £20,000 is paid for the lease of a shop for two years.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

BANK LOAN 10,000 CASH 10,000

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4. £8,000 worth of goods are purchased for cash.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

5. £1,000 cash is spent on advertising.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

6. Half the goods are sold for £10,000 cash.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

In some companies an unrealised profit is recognised on fixed assets such as property. It

7. Another £6,000 worth of goods are purchased on credit.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

______ CREDITORS (6,000)

8. Goods costing £5,000 are sold for £10,000 on credit.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

______ CREDITORS (6,000)

9. Goods costing £1,000 are identified as worthless.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

______ CREDITORS (6,000)

10. A dividend of £1,000 is paid in cash.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

______ CREDITORS (6,000)

11. The interest of £1,000 on the bank loan is provided for.

SHARE CAPITAL 20,000 LEASEHOLD 20,000

______ CREDITORS (7,000)