About Gordon Capital
Gordon Capital helps business owners and their advisers make better strategic decisions by providing the financial and commercial insight needed to understand their implications before significant commitments are made.
We look beyond the financial statements to understand how the business really works, what is driving its performance and whether its strategy is viable, sustainable and capable of achieving its objectives.
30+ Years of business and financial analysis
Business owners & professional advisers
Financial Decision Framework
About Michael Gordon
Thirty years of finding the insight inside the numbers
I turn financial, operational and non-financial information into commercial insight that helps business owners and their advisers make better strategic decisions.
For over thirty years, I have helped business owners and their advisers understand the financial implications of strategic decisions.
My career began in equity research, analysing and valuing publicly listed companies across a wide range of industries. That work taught me to look beyond reported financial results and understand what was actually driving the performance and value of a business.
Throughout my career I have also worked with privately owned businesses, with my work focused on this sector over the past ten years. The same analytical principles apply.
Financial statements tell us what happened. To understand why it happened – and what is likely to happen next – we need to understand the underlying business drivers. That means combining financial information with operational and non-financial data about customers, products, pricing, volumes, capacity and operating assets.
My role is not to tell clients what strategy they should pursue. It is to provide the insight that helps them evaluate, test and refine their strategy and make better-informed decisions.
What we believe
Four principles behind every engagement.
Whatever the decision or circumstances, the same principles guide how we analyse the business and provide insight.
01
Understand the Business Before Analysing the Decision
Financial results tell us what happened. We look deeper to understand why – using financial, operational and non-financial data to identify the underlying drivers of revenue, profitability and cash flow
02
Make the Assumptions Explicit
Every plan and strategy depends on assumptions about the future. We identify the assumptions that matter and understand what needs to happen for the expected outcomes to be achieved.
03
Understand the Financial Implications
We translate strategy into its implications for revenue, profitability, cash flow, funding and business value so that the consequences of a decision can be understood before significant commitments are made
04
Test What Happens When Circumstances Change
Reality will rarely unfold exactly as expected. We pressure-test the assumptions to understand the risks and trade-offs, how much change the strategy can withstand and what needs to change if its objectives are no longer achievable.
Who we work alongside
We complement your advisers, we don't replace them.
Many of our engagements originate through professional advisers who recognise that a client’s decision requires additional financial and analytical capability.
Business Coaches
Business coaches help owners develop strategy, establish direction and work through the broader challenges of building a business. We complement that work by analysing the financial implications and testing the assumptions on which the strategy depends.
Finance Brokers
Finance brokers identify and arrange appropriate funding solutions. We help determine what funding the strategy requires, when it will be needed and whether the business can sustainably support it.
Acountants
Accountants provide financial reporting, taxation, compliance and strategic advice. We add specialised driver-based modelling and analysis to help understand the future financial implications of significant decisions.
Other Advisers
Legal, operational, HR and other specialist advisers bring expertise in their respective disciplines. We work alongside them where understanding the financial and commercial implications can contribute to a better decision.
Our approach
A framework, then a pressure test.
The Framework establishes what we expect to happen. Pressure testing helps us understand what could otherwise happen – and what may need to change.
Step one
The Financial Decision Framework
Every significant decision starts with expectations about the future. The Financial Decision Framework provides a structured way to understand those expectations and test whether the strategy remains capable of achieving its objectives.
01
What do we expect to happen?
02
What happens if one assumption changes?
03
What happens under a different scenario?
04
Can the strategy still achieve its objectives?
Step two
Strategic Pressure Testing
We pressure-test the assumptions on which expected outcomes depend, individually and together, to understand where the strategy is vulnerable, how much change it can withstand and whether its objectives remain achievable.
Slower Revenue Growth
Lower Margins
Higher Costs
Working Capital Pressure
Funding Requirements
The resulting insight creates a feedback loop – helping business owners and their advisers evaluate decisions, refine strategy and respond as circumstances change.
Before you commit, talk it through
Every significant business decision commits time, money and resources based on assumptions about the future.
Before those commitments are made, understand what the decision really requires, the financial implications, the risks and trade-offs, and whether the strategy remains capable of achieving its objectives when circumstances change.