Business health check: the questions an adviser asks first
A self-scan for owners, an intake for advisers and a check for finance professionals: cash, returns, capital and dependencies in targeted questions.
In this topic: Strategic analysis 10
Financial trouble rarely comes out of nowhere. It announces itself months in advance, in small things: a payment made late because the money was not there, a direct debit that bounced, business costs paid from private funds. Those who see the signals in time still have choices. That is why a good adviser does not open a first meeting with "how is business?", but with a set of targeted questions that together show how healthy the company is.
This health check serves three readers. Owners and managing directors use it as a self-scan. Advisers, accountants and coaches use it as an intake for a new client. And finance professionals in larger organisations can use it to assess a business unit, an acquisition target, or a key customer or supplier whose continuity matters to them. Repeat it every quarter: early warning is ongoing work, not a one-off.
Six areas that together give the picture
Cash
Can the business meet all its payment obligations? This is where problems show first and become urgent fastest.
Returns
Does the business earn enough? A business is viable when its operations are profitable over a longer period, not just this quarter.
Capital
How solid is the business? A healthy balance between equity and debt gives room to absorb a bad period.
Dependencies
Does the business lean on one customer, one supplier or one person? A business with healthy figures can still be fragile if one link breaks.
Control
Does management know how the business is doing, and in time? A business without current figures flies blind, even when things go well.
Market
How is the industry doing? Compare with the sector data: a decline that hits the whole sector calls for a different approach than one that hits only you.
Twelve questions to start with
Answer them honestly, preferably on paper. It is not about a score, but about the answers that make you hesitate.
- How many weeks could you pay your fixed costs if nothing came in from tomorrow?
- Do you know right now, without looking, what is in the bank and what still goes out this month?
- Did you pay an invoice late last quarter because the money was not there?
- Have business costs been paid with private money?
- Are all tax returns and tax payments up to date?
- How long do your customers take to pay on average, and is it getting longer?
- What share of revenue comes from your largest customer?
- Did your gross margin rise, hold or fall over the past year?
- Do you know which products, services or customers earn the most?
- When did you last raise your prices?
- How soon after month-end do you have that month's figures?
- What happens to the business if a key person drops out for three months?
Models advisers use
For a first estimate of the risk of financial distress, advisers also use models. The best known is Edward Altman's Z-score (source: NYU Stern, November 2026), first published in The Journal of Finance (source: Journal of Finance, September 1968). The original model was developed for listed companies; Altman later adapted it for private companies (source: NYU Stern, July 2000). Use such a model as a signal, not a verdict: for most businesses the questions above say more.
Preparing the annual accounts also involves a going concern assessment. Under IFRS, management looks ahead at least twelve months from the end of the reporting period (source: IFRS Foundation, May 2025). A health check is the practical version of that question, and you can ask it more often than once a year.
Do the answers point to a cash shortfall? Start with a weekly cash flow forecast. To dig deeper into ratios, see financial analysis. Advisers and controllers discussing the outcome will find the approach in the benchmark conversation.
All thirty questions with signals, and the adviser version
The first twelve questions give a picture. Below you will find the full check of thirty questions, with what each answer reveals and when it turns amber or red, a scoring overview, and the adviser version with a conversation card and an action plan outline.