Amen, Gracias and Shalom!

So, I just wrapped a long meeting with my good friend and festival staff member, Nancy, who has generously offered to build some financial spreadsheets for the NY Int'l Latino Film Festival. THANK GOD (a.k.a. Nancy)! I mean, I think I've done a decent job of organizing and maintaining our budget, Quickbooks files and general finances, but, come on, I'm neither an accountant nor bookkeeper. And, quite frankly, I have no desire to be either. Obviously, we have an accountant who handles all tax-related matters, but, beyond that, it's all me. Riiight... Needless to say, I sure am grateful for my girl, Nancy, who gets all giggly thinking about designing spreadsheets. Now, finally, finally!, we will have the big three docs: income statement, cash flow analysis and balance sheet. Yipee! This may not be all that exciting to you, I realize, but let me tell you, it sets my heart aflutter. I continue to learn the terminology and principles of accounting, but I've learned a ton in the past 12-18 months (thank you Professor Herb!!) and the most important lesson I've absorbed is you really can't properly run, much less grow, a business without these fundamental financial analyses. It's like...once you learn how to read and implement these documents, you can't go backwards; more importantly, you don't want to go backwards because they provide a sense of liberation, organization and comfort. It's all in the numbers. Your whole business is right there before your eyes: where you've been, where you are and where you're going; what are doing right, what could you improve, where are you realizing efficiencies and where could you be more creative? I can't believe it, but I actually really dig it. It's just cool. It's magic, I tell you. It's like the Kabbalah of business. And so, to Nancy, I say: Amen, Gracias and Shalom!
~ Liz
(P.L.H.H.)