Business Spotlight 08.2019

6 SKILL UP!

IN CONTEXT

Financial health

On the next six pages, we present extracts with key phrases

and expressions you can use to talk about company finances.

The SiTuaTion:

Ron Baker runs an incubator

that supports food entrepre-

neurs. He is interviewing Sue

for the position of auditor.

1. Financial roles
   Ron: As an incubator, we help
   early-stage businesses find in-
   vestors. We work with angel
   investors, venture capital firms,
   private banks and fund managers.
   We advise companies on how to
   run a healthy business. Your role
   would be to review the financial
   statements of such businesses and
   perform due diligence.
   Sue: I have over ten years’ experi-
   ence in this area. Currently, I per-
   form external financial audits.
   Basically, my role is to check that
   the financial statements give a true
   and fair view of the company’s fi-
   nances.
   Ron: How do you ensure that the
   companies are not overstating
   their assets?
   Sue: That’s a good question. It’s not
   always easy.

ensure sth. , etw. sicherstellen

incubator , Brutkasten; hier: Gründerzentrum

overstate sth. , etw. überbewerten

2. So much experience
   Sue: I examine the financial state-
   ments to make sure they conform
   to generally accepted accounting
   principles. My in-depth experience
   helps me to understand the ac-
   counts. I spend a lot of time getting
   to know the owners, the business
   and the industry. This helps me to
   analyse the accounting systems
   they use to record transactions. At
   the moment, I have full responsi-
   bility for financial compliance.
   Ron: What does that mean in
   practice?
   Sue: For example, I determine
   whether the companies are fol-
   lowing regulations and loan agree-
   ments.

in-depth , fundiert, umfangreich

industry , hier: Branche