Oana Labes, MBA, CPA

Most CEOs track revenue and profit.

But they're missing the metrics that actually predict success or failure.

📌 Download my exclusive 10-in-1 Profitability Model — plug, play, and analyze & forecast your profitability + liquidity, leverage, efficiency and much more instantly: https://bit.ly/3MMOIQG

Here's the problem:

Your income statement tells you what happened.
These KPIs tell you what's coming.

Let's fix that.

12 KPIs and the critical questions they help you answer:

1️⃣ Gross Margin — Are rising costs eating your profits before they show up in the P&L?

2️⃣ Operating Margin — Is your core business actually profitable?

3️⃣ Revenue Growth Rate — Are you growing faster than your capital can fund it?

4️⃣ Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) — Are you building enterprise value or wasting capital?

5️⃣ Cash Conversion Cycle — How many days is your cash locked up inside your operating cycle?

6️⃣ Working Capital as % of Revenue — Is scale consuming more cash with every dollar of growth?

7️⃣ Operating Cash Flow to Sales — Is revenue growth converting to cash from your operations?

8️⃣ Free Cash Flow Margin — Can you fund growth without external financing?

9️⃣ Current Ratio — Can you pay your bills in the next 12 months?

🔟 Funded Debt-to-EBITDA — How many operating cycles would it take you to retire the total current debt load?

1️⃣1️⃣ Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) — Can you comfortably service your principal and interest debt payments?

1️⃣2️⃣ EBITDA to Operating Cash Flow — Are reported profits supported by cash, or inflated by timing and assumptions?

Remember:

These aren't just metrics. They're early warning signals.

Most CEOs wait until the income statement breaks.

But by then, the damage is done.

Strategic CEOs track the metrics that predict what happens next.

Which one are you missing?


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——-

Want to become a financially intelligent leader?
The next cohort of The CEO Financial Intelligence Program kicks off Feb 11.
Join leaders from 20+ countries who already transformed with this 5* rated 6-week experience.
Learn more and enrol here: https://lnkd.in/gGvKYCPX

Most CEOs are building strategy on Adjusted EBITDA.

But Operating Cash Flow is the number that tells the truth.

📌 Save your spot for the January 29 executive masterclass for CEOs, CFOs and CXOs: https://bit.ly/3LusqmM

Let’s talk about the most abused metric in finance: Adjusted EBITDA.

On paper and in quarterly calls it looks impressive.

↳ Big number ↳ Solid growth story ↳ Great for pitch decks

But dig deeper, and it’s often nothing more than a sanitized version of the truth.

Here’s what happens when the heat of real business pressure kicks in:

↳ Adjusted EBITDA: a full pan of spinach — puffed up with “one-time” add-backs

↳ EBITDA: a few wilted leaves left — still disconnected from actual cash

↳ Net income: the bare truth — what’s left after everyone else takes their share

↳ Operating cash flow: the real litmus test — what the business actually generates to reinvest, repay, and survive

Most CEOs are obsessed with EBITDA. But it’s operating cash flow that fuels today and builds tomorrow.

Smart CEOs understand this:

✓ Adjusted EBITDA is easy to manipulate — operating cash flow isn’t ✓ EBITDA ignores working capital swings — OCF exposes them ✓ Operating cash flow shows what’s sustainable — not presentable

Because at the end of the day, only one number fuels:

Payroll Debt repayment Growth reinvestment Dividend distribution Breathing room in downturns

That number is Operating Cash Flow.

If you’re not tracking it religiously, and planning it carefully - you're in for some seriosu financial trouble.

This isn’t about becoming a CFO.

It’s about being a CEO who actually understands how value is created — and destroyed.

So here’s the question:

Are you managing by numbers that survive heat? Or by metrics that evaporate when reality sets in?

📌 Remember to save your spot for the January 29 executive masterclass for CEOs, CFOs and CXOs: https://bit.ly/3LusqmM

♻️ Like, Comment, Repost if this was helpful. And follow Oana Labes, MBA, CPA for strategic insights on financial leadership.
—

The The CEO Financial Intelligence Program Program kicks off February 11
Learn to control your numbers, and scale without losing control

18 hours, lifetime access, immediately applicable

Save your spot: https://lnkd.in/gGvKYCPX

CEOs and CFOs chase EBITDA like it’s the holy grail.
But here’s the truth:
You can manipulate EBITDA...
You cannot manipulate cash flow.

EBITDA is incomplete.

It removes interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Real costs with real consequences.

What's even worse?
It’s easily gamed.

✓ Capitalize costs instead of expensing them
✓ Exclude stock-based compensation like it’s free
✓ Reclassify recurring costs as “non-core”
✓ Recognize revenue before the cash ever hits the bank

Looks great on paper.
Meanwhile, your business quietly bleeds cash.

Here’s what EBITDA won’t tell you:

✕ Can you actually pay your bills?
✕ Can you invest in growth?
✕ Can you service your debt?
✕ Where is the cash really coming from?

Cash flow tells the truth.
It’s the gut-check your income statement can’t give you.

You can report high EBITDA and still run out of money.
But positive operating cash flow means you’re in control.

The takeaway?
Stop obsessing over EBITDA.

Start managing cash flow, solvency, and capital allocation.

Because cash, not EBITDA, pays the bills, funds growth, and drives enterprise value.

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---

Want to become a financially intelligent leader?

The next live cohort of The CEO Financial Intelligence Program kicks off Feb 11.

Join leaders from 20+ countries who already transformed with this 5* rated, 6-week experience.

Learn more and enroll here: https://lnkd.in/gGvKYCPX

How to Analyze a Balance Sheet in 10 Simple Steps

Get your copy of the ultimate guide. ↴

(bookmark for later)

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1️⃣ Cash Balances & Liquidity

Start by reviewing cash and short-term investments.

Healthy cash reserves provide a cushion for covering operations and short-term obligations.

2️⃣ Current vs. Non-Current Assets

Compare current (short-term) and non-current (long-term) assets.

A low proportion of liquid assets could indicate difficulty covering short-term needs.

3️⃣ Accounts Receivable & Collection Efficiency

Analyze receivables for rising balances or slow collections which could indicate collectability issues.

Review Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) for collection efficiency and compare trends and benchmarks.

4️⃣ Inventory Levels & Operational Efficiency

Excess inventory may signal overproduction; low inventory could mean supply issues.

Check Inventory Turnover to assess inventory management.

5️⃣ PP&E Growth & Investment Quality

Growth in Property, Plant & Equipment (PP&E) may indicate expansion.

Evaluate if investments align with revenue growth to avoid poor capital allocation.

6️⃣ Short-Term Debt & Liquidity Risk

Rising short-term debt can signal cash flow strain.

Compare debt levels with cash flow trends to assess repayment capacity.

7️⃣ Deferred Liabilities & Long-Term Obligations

Examine deferred tax liabilities and pension obligations.

Understand their impact on future cash flows and long-term planning.

8️⃣ Equity Changes: Issuances & Buybacks

Issuing shares raises capital but dilutes ownership.

Buybacks may signal confidence but could be unsustainable depending on how they are funded.

9️⃣ Leverage & Debt Coverage

Evaluate leverage through Debt-to-Equity and Debt Service Coverage Ratios.

Ensure debt is manageable with operating cash flows.

🔟 Retained Earnings & Capital Structure

Growing retained earnings indicate reinvestment of profits.

Stagnant or negative retained earnings may signal poor performance or excessive dividends.

Ensure you align debt and equity mix with short- and long-term business goals.

How to Analyze a Balance Sheet in 10 Practical Steps

Get your hands on the ultimate breakdown. ↴

(Save this for later)

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📌 Want to make 2026 your best year yet?

▷ Enroll in The 5* CEO Intelligence Program: https://lnkd.in/e_4V8pWR
▷ Scale your knowledge: https://bit.ly/3RlTCDD
▷ Scale your company: https://bit.ly/3Aa36fG

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The best FP&A strategic finance model fits on a single page
Connecting everything
And changing how CEOs lead their companies.

That's my exclusive 16-in-1 Excel Model.
And you can buy it on my website.

📌 But today I'm giving you the opportunity to download the 10-in-1 version completely free here: https://bit.ly/4ooYYN3

Here's why this matters:

Most models are:

✕ Over-engineered
✕ Focused on history
✕ Disconnected from business value

And they fail when CEOs need them most.

Here’s what a real-time strategic finance model does instead:

✓ Connects cash flow, valuation, operations, and investment
✓ Shows how decisions today shape future value
✓ Drives long-term strategy — not just short-term tracking
✓ Fits on one page — making strategy visible

Inside the One-Page Corporate Finance Cheat Sheet:

↳ Integrated assumptions: growth, CAPEX, working capital, taxes
↳ 3-statement forecast: income, balance sheet, cash flow
↳ Working capital and cash conversion cycle logic
↳ Break-even, NPV, IRR, Payback
↳ Free cash flow, trend and common-size analysis
↳ Enterprise/Equity DCF valuation with sensitivity tables

All of this — in one seamless, dynamic model.

No broken links.
No confusion.
No wasted time digging through 10 tabs.

If your model doesn’t give your CEO and your Board instant visibility and foresight...

You're not building value.
You’re not building strategy.
You’re just building a spreadsheet.

➡️ Get the 10-in-1 Excel Model for free: https://bit.ly/4ooYYN3
➡️ Upgrade to the 16-in-1 here: https://lnkd.in/eCye86Mc

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Most CEOs manage cash reactively
(not strategically).
They watch bank balances…

They worry when they’re low.

But they don't engineer the cash flow behind them.

↳ Learn more with my 30 point cash flow checklist (it’s free):  https://bit.ly/4fp2eUr

Here's the reality:

Cash management isn't about watching bank balances.
It's about making decisions that compound free cash flow.

Every capital choice either strengthens your position or weakens it.
Every deal either improves cash conversion or drains it.

The moves that separate strategic leaders from reactive managers:

1️⃣ Fund growth from operations first
↳ Improve collections and extend supplier terms before raising equity
↳ Negotiate from strength, not necessity

2️⃣ Model cash impact before signing deals
↳ Run scenarios against your cash floor and covenant requirements
↳ Identify funding gaps before you're committed

3️⃣ Set a minimum cash balance and defend it
↳ Calculate based on monthly burn, debt service, and covenant cushion
↳ Build triggers that prompt action before you approach it

4️⃣ Allocate capital to highest ROIC, not loudest voice
↳ Require ROIC cases for all capital requests
↳ Rank projects by risk adjusted returns and value created

5️⃣ Build a 13-week cash forecast, update weekly
↳ Model actual inflows and outflows, not budgeted averages
↳ Catch problems early when you still have options

6️⃣ Track operating cash flow, not just EBITDA
↳ Measure cash after working capital changes
↳ Lenders and buyers are repaid in cash, not accounting profit

7️⃣ Stress test before you scale
↳ Define the scenarios that strain your cash system
↳ Model revenue drops, payment delays and interest rate hikes

8️⃣ Negotiate supplier terms as aggressively as customer terms
↳ Your payment timing is working capital you control
↳ Extending DPO by 15 days can free up six figures in cash

9️⃣ Separate strategic decisions from budget cycles
↳ Test capital decisions against long-term value, not annual spending limits
↳ Fund opportunities on their timing, not fiscal cycles

Bottom line:

These aren't reactive moves.
They're strategies for disciplined value creation.

Companies that master cash engineering don't just grow faster.
They grow more resilient, negotiate better, and build sellable enterprises.

Which move would change your business most?

📌 Ready to turn your financials into a real-time management decision system in just 7 days? Start here: https://bit.ly/3Aa36fG

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——

📌The CEO/CXO Financial Intelligence Program kicks off February 11
Learn to control your numbers, and scale without losing control
18 hours, lifetime access, immediately applicable
Save your spot: https://lnkd.in/gGvKYCPX

Is Your Cash Flow Statement Direct or Indirect?

Cash flow statements have 3 main sections:

Operating cash flows / Cash flow from operations
Investing cash flows / Cash flows from investing
Financing cash flows / Cash flows from financing

⚫ The only difference between the direct and indirect cash flow statements is how you calculate 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬.

➡️ Join 45,000+ CEOs and leaders who learn how to see past EBITDA and make cash-based decisions https://bit.ly/3T3CtPm

1️⃣ 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝:

✔️ start with net income from the Income Statement, which has been reported using accrual accounting

✔️ because your accrual income statement recognized revenues and expenses when they were incurred not when they were settled, it needs to be de-accrued to convert it into cash

✔️make adjustments for non-cash transactions such as depreciation and amortization, share based compensation, gains or losses from the sale of fixed assets or investments

✔️ make adjustments for non-operating items considered elsewhere in the cash flow statement (e.g. dividend payments received)

✔️ make adjustments for changes in current assets and current liabilities (receivables, payables, inventories, prepaids, accruals)

2️⃣ 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝:

✔️ directly net cash collections and disbursements during the period

✔️ instead of reconciling the accrual income statement, directly consider cash based inflows and outflows from operations

✔️ add:
▪️net cash from customers
▪️cash paid to employees
▪️cash paid to suppliers
▪️cash paid for interest
▪️cash paid for taxes

⚫ Accounting frameworks offer you a choice between the indirect and the direct method.

⚫ Investors and analysts frequently prefer the direct method because it provides more transparency into your company's cash flows and shows the actual cash you received and paid out during the period.

⚫ Most companies however choose the indirect method, because it’s faster to get access to the required information, and thus easier to put together.

What would you add?

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——

Want to become a financially intelligent leader?
The next cohort of The CEO Financial Intelligence Program kicks off Feb 11.
Join leaders from 20+ countries who already transformed with this 5* rated 6-week experience.
Learn more and enrol here: https://lnkd.in/gGvKYCPX

Most CEOs think finance is just
Reporting, budgeting, and compliance.
But that’s not financial leadership.

That’s financial maintenance.

➡️ Download my one-of-a-kind, executive-friendly, 10-in-1 Cheat Sheet to connect, forecast and analyze your financial statements and make 100% better business decisions: https://bit.ly/4ooYYN3

Let’s break it down.

🎯 There are 4 levels of financial intelligence.

Most companies never get past Level 2.
And that’s exactly why they stall out when it matters most.

1. Transactional Finance
↳ Payables, receivables, payroll, tax
↳ You need it—but it only tells you what happened

2. Management Reporting
↳ Dashboards, KPIs, budget vs actual
↳ You have numbers—but no decisions flow from them

3. Financial Planning
↳ Forecasting, modeling, scenario testing
↳ Now you’re asking: “What could happen—and how should we respond?”

4. Strategy Integration
↳ Ties financial data directly to business goals
↳ Informs pricing, capital allocation, hiring, M&A, exit strategies
↳ This is where finance drives the business—not just documents it

🎯 But here’s the challenge:

Most CEOs don’t have time to build this structure from scratch.
And most teams aren’t equipped to climb beyond reporting.

That’s why more leaders are turning to a strategic finance platform.

Not just more dashboards.
Not just bookkeeping in the cloud.

A full-stack intelligence system that takes you from:

• Historical reporting → to forward strategy
• Budget meetings → to business design
• Financial friction → to scalable growth

And it works no matter your current setup:

✓ Have a CFO? → It amplifies their capacity, insight, and strategic reach.

✓ Don’t have a CFO? → You still run like you do—without the $300K+ payroll.

✓ CFO just left? → No crisis. The platform keeps everything running with zero downtime.

Here’s what that means in the real world:

✓ Term sheets in days, not months
✓ Opportunities captured, not missed
✓ Loans secured in millions, not thousands
✓ Adverse events anticipated, not scrambled over
✓ Clean, defensible valuations → you're exit - ready
✓ No offers falling through because “something felt off”

This is what real strategic finance looks like.

It doesn’t react.
It anticipates, aligns, and delivers.

And it’s finally accessible—with Financiario.

The strategic finance platform built for CEOs who want to lead with insight—not hindsight.

Most CEOs rely on finance to explain the past.
The best CEOs use it to shape the future.
Which one are you?

♻️ Like, Comment, Repost if this was helpful. And follow Oana Labes, MBA, CPA for strategic insights on financial leadership.

Most CEOs can't read the three financial statements together.

They know how to read an income statement.
They ignore the cash flow statement.
They skim the balance sheet.

Then they wonder why cash is tight despite strong net income.
Why they’re closing sales but still delaying vendor payments.
Why they’re growing on paper—while burning their cash.

➡️ Learn to analyze a cash flow statement in 10 steps and never miss another red flag again: https://lnkd.in/e2JXiUK6

Here’s what most leaders miss:

Every dollar of revenue and expense either:

↳ Hits cash
↳ Or gets parked on the balance sheet (as AR, AP, accruals, etc.)

At period end:

↳ Net income flows into retained earnings
↳ Unpaid or uncollected items stay on the balance sheet

But profit ≠ cash.

To see what actually happened to your money, you need the cash flow statement:

It starts with Net Income

Then adjusts for:
• Revenue you didn’t collect (↑ AR)
• Expenses you didn’t pay (↓ AP)
• CapEx, debt payments, equity moves

What’s left?
Your net change in cash

That plugs straight into the ending cash on the balance sheet.

The breakdown:

✓ Income Statement = Profitability
✓ Cash Flow Statement = Liquidity
✓ Balance Sheet = Financial Position

When you read them in isolation, you lead with blind spots.
When you connect them, you lead with insight.

Want to stop leading blindly?

▷ Join leaders from 20+ countries and take my 5* CEO Intelligence Program: https://lnkd.in/e_4V8pWR

▷ Scale your knowledge with my on-demand courses & graphics: https://bit.ly/3RlTCDD

▷ Scale your company with embedded CFO intelligence and real-time insight: https://bit.ly/3Aa36fG

♻️ Like, Comment, Repost if this was helpful. And follow Oana Labes, MBA, CPA for strategic insights on financial leadership.

Most CEOs think they’re in control of their finances.
But they’re not.


They have budgets.
They have accountants.
They have monthly reports.

But they don't have strategic finance.

What’s the difference?

Operating finance keeps you in business for the next 12 months;
Strategic finance engineers your (enterprise/company) value for the next 5 years.

➡️ Join 45,000+ subscribers in my free strategic finance weekly newsletter + get my Strategic Finance Cheat Sheet as a bonus: https://bit.ly/496KaNP

Most CFO offices focus on:

→ Compliance
→ Closing the books
→ And variance analysis

That's operating finance. It keeps the lights on.

But it won't tell you:

✕ If you're capital-ready 12-18 months out
✕ If your cash flow can sustain your growth plans
✕ If your decisions are building or destroying enterprise value

That's why companies plateau.

Not because they lack talent.
Not because the market shifted.

Because they waited too long to think strategically about finance.

I see it all the time:


CEOs celebrate revenue growth while cash gets trapped in operations.

CFOs obsess over EBITDA while working capital swings go unmanaged.

Boards ask hard questions and executives scramble for answers.

The fix isn't more reports.
It's a different lens entirely.

Strategic finance connects your business strategy to financial drivers.

It operates in the 60-month horizon while everyone else is stuck in the 12-month budget cycle.

It answers the questions that actually matter:

↳ Is the business funding itself?
↳ Are we creating or consuming value?
↳ Who really holds the power over our capital?

And here's the uncomfortable truth:

Your real job as CEO isn't setting vision or leading teams.

It's allocating capital to maximize shareholder value.

Everything else serves that end.

If you can't connect every major decision to enterprise value creation, you're guessing.

My Strategic Finance cheat sheet breaks down:

✓ What strategic finance actually delivers
✓ The Cash Conversion Cycle formula
✓ The 3 drivers behind operating cash flow
✓ A CEO checklist to assess where you stand

Stop reporting the past. Start engineering the future.

Get the cheat sheet free: https://lnkd.in/e4T6-6-5

Want strategic finance on autopilot? Financiario gives you the live insights without the time, cost, or expertise constraints: https://lnkd.in/eUa-SWE7

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Use EBITDA to describe.
Use cash flow to decide...
Because this one shift can save your company.

📌 Download my exclusive guide to managing your cash and start making better business decisions today: https://bit.ly/48uFxv5

Here’s what that means:

EBITDA describes performance.

It shows how profitable your business *might be* under perfect conditions —

...before taxes, before debt, before investment needs.

It’s a simplified view.

Useful for storytelling.
But dangerous for decisions.

Cash flow tells you what’s real.

It reveals whether your business can actually fund its operations, growth, and obligations.

✕ When you use EBITDA to decide, you make plans based on a polished version of reality.

✓ When you use cash flow, you lead based on what your business can truly afford.

Here’s the core issue:

↳ EBITDA hides how much cash you don’t have
↳ It looks strong while liquidity weakens
↳ It can mislead boards, investors, and founders

Cash flow doesn’t do that.

✓ It shows the cost of growth
✓ It pressures weak business models
✓ It forces leaders to choose wisely

If you want real control —
If you want to avoid being blindsided —
If you want to scale without financial chaos —

Track cash.
Decide on cash.
Lead based on cash.

📌 Want to transform your leadership, company and career?

▷ Join leaders from 20+ countries and take my 5* CEO Intelligence Program: https://lnkd.in/e_4V8pWR

▷ Scale your knowledge with my on-demand courses & graphics: https://bit.ly/3RlTCDD

▷ Scale your company with embedded CFO intelligence and real-time insight: https://bit.ly/3Aa36fG

♻️ Like, Comment, Repost if this was helpful. And follow Oana Labes, MBA, CPA for strategic insights on financial leadership.