Accounting vs Finance

 

Most CEOs use "accounting" and "finance" interchangeably.

That's a problem.

Because accounting tells you what happened.
Finance tells you what to do next.

Here's the difference:

Accounting = Rearview Mirror

Records transactions, reconciles accounts, produces statements, ensures compliance.

Backward-looking. Historical. Essential but limited.

Finance = Windshield

Builds models, forecasts cash, analyzes investments, allocates capital, maximizes value.

Forward-looking. Strategic. What drives decisions.

Focus
↳ Accounting: Recording what already happened
↳ Finance: Planning what should happen next

Time Horizon
↳ Accounting: Last month, quarter, or year
↳ Finance: Next 12–60 months

Primary Question
↳ Accounting: "What happened?"
↳ Finance: "What should we do?"

Key Outputs
↳ Accounting: Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement
↳ Finance: Forecasts, scenario models, capital plans, investment analyses

Purpose
↳ Accounting: Compliance and historical record
↳ Finance: Decision-making and value creation


Here's what this means:

Accounting tells you how much you made, what you spent, and whether you're compliant.

Finance tells you whether you can afford expansion, whether to raise capital, and when you'll run out of cash.

Most mid-market CEOs have strong accounting but weak finance.

They know what happened last quarter. They don't know what's coming next.

If your "finance team" only closes books and files taxes, you don't have finance.

You have accounting.

That gap costs you growth, efficiency, and enterprise value.

https://tinyurl.com/vc8t4rz6

50 Finance KPIs Cheat Sheet

 

You see a lot of KPI lists ,but they miss something:
1) These lists do not explain the goal of the KPI
2) These lists do not give you the KPI formula

In this Cheat Sheet, you get both!
Because a KPI is not helpful without explanation and without a formula...

Take it as a catalog from which you can pick 3 to 4 key KPIs.

I like to take 4 KPIs to make a 4-quadrant dashboard.

The standard quadrant I would recommend?

This one:

1. Revenue Growth
2. Net Profit Margin
3. Operating Cash Flow
4. Employee engagement

What would be yours?

You can pick in the 50 following KPIs:

🧾 Accounting KPIs:
1. Debt-to-Equity Ratio
2. Invoice Processing Time
3. Working Capital Ratio
4. Net Profit Margin
5. Return on Equity
6. Gross Profit Margin
7. Accounts Receivable Turnover
8. Fixed Asset Turnover
9. Accounts Payable Turnover
10. Inventory Turnover

💰 Cash KPIs:
11. Operating Cash Flow
12. Days Payables Outstanding
13. Average Days Delinquent
14. Days Sales Outstanding
15. Days of Inventory Outstanding
16. Cash Burn Rate
17. Free Cash Flow
18. Cash Conversion Cycle
19. Cash Reserves in Days
20. Overdues Ratio

👨‍💼 CEO KPIs:
21. Revenue Growth
22. Market Share
23. Employee Productivity
24. Innovation Index
25. Brand Equity
26. Market Expansion
27. Sustainability Metrics
28. Employee Engagement
29. Employee Turnover
30. Cash Flow

🖥 SaaS KPIs:
31. Lifetime Value
32. SaaS Quick Ratio
33. New Buyer Growth Rate
34. ARR Per FTE
35. Customer Churn Rate
36. Runway
37. Customer Acquisition Costs
38. Monthly Recurring Revenue
39. Average Revenue Per User
40. Total Addressable Market

💼 Investors KPIs:
41. Earnings per Share
42. Quick Ratio
43. Dividend Payout Ratio
44. Current Ratio
45. Return on Investment
46. Share Buyback Ratio
47. Price-to-Earnings Ratio
48. Gross Margin Ratio
49. Dividend Yield
50. Net Promoter Score

https://tinyurl.com/4fh2my8j