New small business leaders and managers have to develop at least basic skills in financial management. Expecting others in the organization to manage small business finances is clearly asking for trouble. Basic skills in financial management start with the critical areas of cash management and bookkeeping, which should be done according to certain financial controls to ensure integrity in the bookkeeping process. Small business owners should learn as soon as possible how to generate small business financial statements and how to analyze those statements to really understand the financial condition of the business. Financial analysis shows the "reality" of the situation. Financial management is one of the most important practices in business. This topic will help you understand basic practices in small business financial management, and build the basic systems and practices needed to help your small business thrive.            StrongBusinessCredit is a huge fan of professional mentoring. If you are inexperienced in small business financial management, then you should acquire an accountant to help you set up your bookkeeping system, generate financial statements and do some basic financial analysis. But don’t count on an accountant to completely take over your responsibility for financial management. The accountant can help you set up a bookkeeping system, generate small business financial statements and analyze them, but you must understand financial data to the extent that you can understand the effects of your management decisions, the current condition of your small business and how decisions will affect the financial condition of your small business in the future.