Week 5 of 12 · Build

Financial statements

Milestone: Management summary. Format: Statement reading + writing lab.

Persona side project — your client list

Invite one willing acquaintance to a 20-minute numbers conversation using a sample file or, with written consent, a high-level look at their reports. You are practicing the management summary, not taking over their books yet unless the instructor approves a supervised engagement.

Learning objectives

Identify the purpose of the P&L, balance sheet, and cash-flow summary.
Trace net income to equity and explain why cash is not profit.
Write a management summary a non-accountant owner can use.
Flag three questions a professional would ask after reading the statements.

Core instruction

Profit & loss

Income minus expenses for a period. You will learn to spot odd spikes, missing categories, and owner costs parked in the wrong place.

Balance sheet

What the firm owns, owes, and the owner’s residual interest on a date. You will check that it balances and that AR/AP look believable next to the P&L.

Cash flow (introductory)

Why a profitable month can still starve the bank account: timing of collections, owner draws, loan payments, and buying equipment.

Management summary structure

What happened this period (two facts).
What it means for cash and clients (two implications).
What to do next week (two actions).

This week’s work

Produce P&L and balance sheet from the sample company (or instructor file).
Write a one-page management summary using the three-part structure.
List three questions you would ask the owner in a meeting.

How we know you are ready

Numbers tie to the books. The summary is plain language, not a dump of account names. Actions are specific.

Apply to a cohort Persona track

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