Many privately-held business owners think putting together financial statements is busywork. You have a business to run, so can’t your accountant just whip up what you need and send it off wherever it needs to go? In theory, yes they could do that.
But the most forward looking business owners understand that doing the numbers isn’t just perfunctory. Your financial statements tell very specific stories about your business. Gold has value because of its beauty and rarity. Your business has value because of its profitability, cash flow and potential for future wealth.
The value of your company is communicated through its financial statements. And reading financials can be very frustrating if you don’t know what you’re looking at.