How often do Malta’s business leaders look at their profit figures?

Companies claim that they are not defined by their bottom-line figure, but it is ultimately the crucial factor that drives investment decisions, overall strategy and how quickly they can grow.

Many treat the monitoring of financial statements similar to how they would approach a check-up at the doctor, providing a clear and objective view of the financial health of their organisation.

No organisation and situation is the same, and business leaders will have their reasons behind how often they monitor the numbers. Further, having a clear understanding of revenue streams and expense categories can facilitate the decision-making process, ensuring it is done in a confident and informed manner.

As part of a series of quick-fire questions first published in MaltaCEOs 2024’s print edition, a number of Malta’s top business leaders were asked how regularly they look at the bottom-line figures of their company, and the results were varied.

Out of the 50 CEOs interviewed, 12 said that they look at their financials and key performance indicators (KPIs) on a daily basis.

Unsurprisingly, three of the CEOs who said that they do so daily come from the banking sector, where tracking financial performance is paramount, and thus it is fairly expected that they would be doing the same for their own businesses.

Some executives, including BNF Bank CEO David Power, noted that they possibly look at their financial figures more than once a day.

Daily reviews can help business leaders have a closer look at their day-to-day output and performance. However, it is important to note that for certain industries, getting too fixated on metrics can lead to executives straying away from long-term goals, opting to micromanage and focus on daily fluctuations.

12 out of the 50 CEOs said that they look at their financials every week, wanting to have a clear picture of how the business is performing without monitoring too often.

Some affirmed that they are “obsessed” with their bottom-line figures, and thus they choose to look at them on a week-by-week basis.

Ruben Curmi, CEO at Harbour Solutions, noted that he looks at figures every Saturday, with it being his designated day for the weekly report.

On the other hand, the greatest portion of CEOs (16 out of 50, or 32 per cent) responded that they review financials on a monthly basis.

In many industries, a month can serve as enough time for certain trends or bottlenecks in business flow to be identified. Certain issues spotted in one particular month may not be cause for alarm, yet if it is something that is happening every month, then a timely correction could have a lasting effect on the organisation’s long-term performance.

Water Services Corporation CEO Karl Cilia, who looks at financials every month, compared these reviews to “regular financial health check-ups.”

Five respondents said that they were ready to wait longer, choosing to look at bottom-line figures every quarter.

While doing so many not allow one to have a clear idea of how each day is going, it also enables business leaders to have a deeper dive into their financials, offering a better perspective on which strategies worked and which didn’t.

There were other CEOs who didn’t have a set timeframe for monitoring their financial performance, shifting between doing so on daily, weekly, or monthly.

“Know your business and a weekly or monthly review will be enough,” AX Real Estate CEO Denise Xuereb said.

How often do you check your financials?