As part of helping people visualize how they impact the business they work in, our Income/Outcome simulations all use little wooden figures to represent a company's various job functions. Some stand on the Balance Sheet, for example if their labor goes into creating a Finished Goods Inventory for sale. Others stand on the Income Statement if they are part of the Fixed Costs of the company.

AcuMen: Visualizing Business Roles in Financial Statements

As part of helping people visualize how they impact the business they work in, our Income|Outcome simulations use little wooden figures to represent a company's various job functions.

• Some figures stand on the Balance Sheet, representing roles where labor goes into creating Finished Goods Inventory for sale.
• Others stand on the Income Statement, representing roles that are part of the company’s Fixed Costs.

Seeing Your Role in the Financial Statements

At the end of each workshop, we want participants to understand where they themselves stand in the financial statements. We lead discussions about how every employee impacts three crucial areas:

• Sales (price, volume, or both)
• Costs and expenses
• How much money is tied up in assets

A common realization in workshops:

“You know that second person we hired into the Sales and Marketing area on the game board, to develop our reputation for Quality? That’s my real job!”

The Lasting Benefits of Business Acumen

These insights go beyond finance—they touch on a wide range of business competencies, including:

• Cost control
• Working capital management
• Personal morale and engagement
• Respect for other departments
• More rapid and accurate information flows
• Better decision-making

Meet the AcuMen

So, what do we call the little wooden people on the board, who help so much in developing business acumen?

AcuMen, of course. One AcuMan, lots of AcuMen.

Want to Boost Business Acumen in Your Organization?

Learn how Income|Outcome simulations help teams visualize business impact and develop real-world financial insight.

Contact us today to bring business acumen training to your organization.

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