Every corporate finance team runs a monthly budget vs actuals review.

Not because it’s glamorous, but because it keeps the business honest, stable and moving in the right direction.

Most small businesses never do this and it shows up in stress, confusion, and that feeling of “I’m busy, but I’ve no idea where the money’s going.”

In this episode, I walk you through the exact process an FD would guide a CEO through, including:

• what budget vs actuals really shows you
• how to understand the story behind your numbers
• the difference between timing issues and structural changes
• what creeping costs reveal
• and how to make one or two clear decisions each month that protect your profit

This isn’t about perfection.

It’s about clarity, control and running your business like a CEO, not reacting month to month.

If you’ve ever wished your profit matched your effort, this is the episode to start with.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This final episode of 2025 isn’t about targets, tactics, or spreadsheets.

It’s a pause, a moment to breathe, reflect, and recognise who you’ve become this year.

Instead of diving straight into budgets vs actuals, I’m guiding you through something I do every December for myself and my clients: a human and financial review using the Four Ls: what you Loved, the Lessons you learned, what you Loathed, and what you Longed for.

In this episode, I share my own reflections from 2025, from shutting off in the Canadian Rockies, getting married, running parkruns again, navigating grief, to the surprising joy of starting a second business. And I walk you through the questions that help you understand whether your business is supporting the life you want… or getting in the way of it.

We end with my own “delusional goals” for 2026 and a gentle invitation for you to set yours too.

A grounding, human episode, perfect for closing out the year with clarity instead of pressure.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Get Financially FIT, Debbie Hancock breaks down one of the most overlooked areas of small business finance: stock.

Stock isn’t just “stuff on shelves”, it’s money, it lives on your balance sheet, and it affects your profit, your cashflow, your insurance, and your ability to run your business with confidence.

Debbie shares two real stories from clients:

• one who accidentally overstated profit and overpaid £10,000 in tax because stock was coded incorrectly

• another who wasn’t counting stock at all and only discovered missing stock (and missing profit) once proper checks were in place

You’ll learn why corporates count stock so often, why systems matter more than spreadsheets, and how simple routines can stop profit quietly disappearing.

Debbie also explains how stock impacts decision-making, lead times, storage costs, and insurance and why accurate stock levels protect your business long before anything goes wrong.

If you hold any kind of physical product or material, this episode will give you clarity, confidence, and practical steps to take straight away.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.