📊 Session 9: The Story Behind the Numbers – Understanding Financial Statements & Financial Ratios

🔍 Overview

This session builds on the foundations of financial literacy by diving deeper into the meaning behind financial statements and introducing participants to key financial ratios. You’ll learn how to interpret your business’s numbers to tell a clear story of performance, growth, and financial health.

🧠 Learning Objectives

• Deepen Your Understanding of Financial Statements: Learn what each financial report says about the business.
• Understand Financial Ratios: Use common ratios to assess liquidity, efficiency, profitability, and solvency.
• Tell Your Business’s Financial Story: Connect data to insights that help with decision-making and growth.
• Identify What Metrics Matter Most: Learn which financial KPIs are most relevant to your business model.

📝 Pre-Session Assignments

1. Review Session 9 PowerPoint Presentation
2. Complete Session 9 Worksheets/Case Study Analysis

📄 Business Plan Focus

Continue building your Financial Plan by adding depth to your analysis:

• Interpret Your Financial Statements: What do your income, equity, and cash flow reports reveal?
• Apply Financial Ratios: Start calculating at least 3 ratios (e.g., current ratio, gross margin, or return on assets).
• Begin Creating a KPI Dashboard: Decide which 2-3 metrics you’ll track monthly as your business grows.

You should be able to now complete this one sheeter on your business: https://www.plansnack.com/template/industry

📚 Additional Resources

• She Maxed Out Her Credit Cards and Sold Her Engagement Ring to Start a Business. Now She Has $25 Million in Funding — and Smart Advice for Fellow Black Women Founders.
• Understanding Financial Ratios
• KPI Examples for Small Businesses
• Three Basic 3 Basic Financial Statements You Need to Keep Track of Your Money

💡 In-Class Activity

• Analyze sample financial statements and calculate at least 2 key ratios.
• Discuss in groups: “What story is this business’s financial data telling us?”
• Reflect on which financial ratios are most important for your business type and why.

GET INSPIRED BY ANOTHER FOUNDER’S STORY!

In this episode of How I Built This, Robin and Andréa McBride share their journey of founding McBride Sisters Wine, one of the largest Black-owned wine companies in the United States. Their story highlights the importance of financial literacy, understanding key financial statements, and leveraging financial ratios to make informed business decisions. The sisters discuss how they navigated the complexities of the wine industry, managed cash flow, and scaled their business by interpreting financial data effectively.

LISTEN NOW!