The 4 Figure Trick

Book excerpt: Financial management is often portrayed as a demonic science, littered with spreadsheets, inexplicable charts, intricate formulas and all washed down with swathes of unintelligible jargon. In reality,successful financial management is all about the management of just four figures. Knowing what these four figures are, how they interrelate and (most importantly) how they can be managed is the key to financial success. This is what David Meckin calls 'the four figure trick.' Almost every major business failure can be pinned down to the ineffective management of at least one of these critical figures. Focusing attention on just four figures not only makes the world of financial management far more accessible to the non-financial manager, it also greatly simplifies the decision-making process. Avoiding all the complexities normally associated with the topic, THE 4 FIGURE TRICK highlights a variety of practical managerial strategies that can significantly enhance the financial performance of any business.