Back before the banking fiasco, I would occasionally advise my business clients to shop their banking needs around to the small regional banks. They seemed more responsive, understood their customers, wanted to serve them better and were more likely to “be a partner” with a small business. I no longer give that advice; at least not without qualification.

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The great corporate counselors I have encountered gauged the business owner’s or executive team’s tolerance for risk, presented their ideas for balancing the risk with the business goals and then helped the decision makers move the company forward. It’s the same with the the best financial professionals I’ve met. Rather than simply account for transactional history, or be a roadblock to funding projects, they managed to understand the company strategy and advise the decision makers on the BEST way to fund a project along with all the known consequences for the corporation.

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I spent about two-and-a-half days in a weekend training session with my colleagues this month. The topic was Understanding Company Financial Statements. The training was excellent, as is usual with Vistage, and it was well worth my time. To make things even better, we “saved the company.”

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