What Asset Isn’t Listed on Your Balance Sheet?

SAS CEO Jim Goodnight famously quoted “Ninety-five percent of my assets drive out the gate every evening. It’s my job to maintain a work environment that keeps those people coming back every morning.” (1)  But what did he mean by “assets”?  

Financially speaking, an asset is something that carries value on a balance sheet, like a computer, car, or building.  

As the CFO of Pro-ficiency, it’s my responsibility to measure profitability, analyze the balance sheet, and track a plethora of metrics that highlight the overall value of our organization.  Being a good steward of our finances puts us in the best position to realize our goals and exceed customer expectations.  While it’s imperative to report financial data to various stakeholders, the most critical driver to our success can’t be accounted for in a financial report.  That asset is our team.

During a recent all-hands gathering, our team celebrated the grand opening of our new facility, welcomed new hires, and kicked off our first community service event.  Before the meeting concluded, I looked around the room and became overwhelmed by a sense of excitement, admiration, hope, and humility. You see, in a short amount of time, we have assembled and harnessed the power of an eclectic, energized, talented, and caring group of people. Team Pro-ficiency!

After this meeting, we pulled our resources together, collected and delivered boxes of school supplies to disadvantaged schools in our community (visit https://www.crayons2calculators.org/ for more information). This act of service exemplifies the positive impact a team can have when they work together and commit to a positive core values system.  

Leaders should strive to facilitate a work environment for their employees that promotes growth, solidarity, and a sense of belonging.

Pro-ficiency makes it our mission to offer creative solutions to challenges that clinical trials are facing.  We accomplish this by fusing art and science into a magical experience for our end users. 

Please refer to our website learn about our core values and other company information at https://www.pro-ficiency.com/about/

Works Cited:

1. https://www.sas.com/en_us/company-information/leadership/jim-goodnight.html

Wes Stewart

Pro-ficiency’s Chief Financial officer, Wes Stewart, brings 20+ years of finance & administrative experience, with experience spanning a variety of industries, including Life Sciences, Clinical Research Organizations (CROs), Software as a Service (SaaS), Manufacturing, and Construction. From co-founding a startup with a $500 investment to working for Oracle, Wes knows what it means to bootstrap, to work in a billion-dollar company, and everything in between.