Set your monthly and quarterly financial reviews

Who this is for

Founder led lower-middle market companies with 5 to 50 million in annual revenue that want a clear finance rhythm.

The quick answer

Monthly. Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, AR and AP aging, and a short cash forecast. Add a margin bridge and a pipeline summary that ties to next quarter revenue. Quarterly. A board pack with trends, unit economics, cohort or segment performance, and a forecast with scenarios.

The method in seven steps

Publish a monthly close calendar
Close dates, owner for each report, and a short checklist so the team knows the rhythm.
Standardise the monthly pack
Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, AR and AP aging, cash forecast, and the margin bridge with price cost and mix. Add a one page commentary in plain words.
Tie sales to finance
Include pipeline coverage and a next quarter revenue view. Use shared definitions so numbers match the sales dashboard.
Hold a one hour monthly review
Finance and leaders review exceptions, margin movements, and cash headroom. Assign actions with owners and dates.
Build the quarterly board pack
Add trends for three to six quarters, unit economics, cohort or segment results, and a forecast with base upside and downside cases.
Run a quarterly scenario discussion
Use simple triggers that switch cases and agree on hiring and spend actions per case.
Track decisions and follow ups
Keep a log so the same questions do not repeat and so owners close actions before the next review.

Example

A firm added a standard monthly pack and a quarterly case view. Leaders made faster decisions on pricing and hiring since the bridge and the cases told a clear story.

Pitfalls and fixes

New formats each month. Keep the layout fixed so people learn it.
Finance and sales out of sync. Use one set of definitions.
Reviews without actions. End with owners and dates.

Checklist

Close calendar
Standard monthly pack with bridge
Sales tie in with pipeline view
Quarterly board pack with cases
Decision log