The 5 C's of credit

Whenever there is a downturn in the economy, there is a flight to quality.  People get back to fundamentals.  Like the 5 C's of credit.  Bankers approve loans based on Character, Collateral, Credit, Cash Flow and Conditions.  Do you have your C's covered?

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

 
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

G. Washington (a copy of his actual signature)

What sort of company do you have?

I was reading Seth's blog today.  www.sethgodin.typepad.com   Seth's post today was what sort of accent do you have?  "Can your writing have an accent? Of course it can. Not just grammar errors, but sentence length, exclamation marks and your vocabulary all tag you. And the fonts, colors, pictures and layouts you choose are part of your accent as well."

Well, my universe is financial statements.  Can financial statements tag you like words?  Of course, they can.  Most financial statements are measured in terms of liquidity, leverage, profitability and activity.   how much cash or working capital you have says something about you.  How much debt you have in your company signals the level of risk you're willing to accept in order to manage your business.  How profitable you are says how well your products and services are received in the market and how successful you control expenses.  How well you manage your accounts receivable, inventory and accounts payable all tell the story of how efficiently you run your company and what procedures you have in place to manage these.

Thanks, Seth.  Your article "what sort of accent do you have?" reminded me to ask my readers the question what sort of company do you have? and what do your financial statements say about your company?  Are you happy with their story?