Defining Business Acumen

Business Acumen can be defined as a collective and inclusive understanding of how business operates and how it generates profitability, which in turn helps in sustaining the profitable run and also contributes in its growth, whether in present or in future.

Business Acumen involves a keen sense of business practices that is so critical to make money through financial literacy and strategies that yield positive results. It is the understanding of the ways an action today can impact certain factors in the future.

It's not only about reading and understanding a financial report and understanding the terminologies mentioned there such as gross output, profits, costs, quarterly investments, etc. It's also the ability to analyze the data supplied on the financial report and see how the different numbers add up and the long-term, far-reaching effects of these numbers.

Financial Acumen is a part of business acumen that requires an innate understanding of profitability, cash flows and financial statements. It helps to make an accurate assessment of external factors like competition and changing market paradigms that may influence the business. Analyzing competitive data, understanding the changing behaviors and preferences of customers and current trends are all a part of financial acumen.