Team Member Guide

  Financial Structure Right Side

Rev Up the Bulldozer

If you imagine using a bulldozer to scrape the assets into a pile, a group of representatives would surround to the rubble and lay claim to it:

Representative Claim Primary Interest
Vendor (Accounts Payable)

$7,000

Current Assets
Banker (Current Debt)

$6,000

Current Assets
Bond Holder (Long Term Debt)

$37,000

Plant & Equipment
Stockholder (Common Stock)

$21,000

Plant & Equipment, Working Capital
Management (Retained Earnings*)

$29,000

Plant & Equipment, Working Capital

* Retained earnings is the portion of profits not distributed to shareholders as dividends. While technically the money belongs to the shareholders, it is controlled by management.

The balance sheet always balances because we are matching “stuff” with “people that paid for the stuff.” These people have separate agendas. They choose measures that support their agenda, and they pressure management to meet or exceed their performance targets.