Words communicate. But words with numbers interpret and brings one inside a business. The Risk Managment Association, an organization of 16,000 financial institutions, compile the results of over 150,000 loan documents every year. They know about where your key numbers should be.

Topic for Discussion: What are some of your key numbers?

Answer: Every number on your Income Statement and Blanace Sheet are key numbers and to be in business you need to learn how to interpret every line item. Further, within certain industries, it is common to constantly track certain key ratios over time. Some of the key numbers you need to know are ratios and comparison of those ratios between each quarter.

You think about it: Do you read and interpret your balance sheet and income stattement?