Profit by the Numbers: Creative Financial Analysis for Beer Wholesalers

In this financial workshop with with RJ Martucci from PKF O’Connor Davies, we explore powerful and practical ways for beer wholesalers to get more value from their financial statements.

Instead of just glancing at the P&L each month, RJ encourages a layered approach to financial analysis—using multiple tools and perspectives to uncover the full story behind the numbers.

From trend analysis to dashboards, it’s all about building a clear picture of performance and spotting opportunities to improve profitability.

RJ shared several specific techniques for sharpening your financial analysis.

These methods don’t require complex software—just a commitment to consistency, curiosity, and clarity.

By using these tools together, businesses can get a much deeper understanding of where they’re winning, where they’re falling short, and what levers to pull for better financial outcomes.

Key takeaways from the workshop:

• Financial trend analysis: Tactics to analyze sales, gross profit, and key expenses over time to spot patterns or warning signs.
• Budget vs. actual comparisons: Shortcuts to measure performance against targets to manage proactively, not reactively.
• Year-over-year or period-over-period comparisons: Tips to better understand where the business is growing or falling short.
• Per case financial metrics: How to normalize sales, costs, and profit data to understand unit economics.
• Dashboard development: How to build a custom, visual dashboard to track critical KPIs and monitor your real-time financial health.

Do this next:

1. Watch the video workshop: Beer Wholesaler Financial Analysis
2. Connect with RJ Martucci, RMartucci@pkfod.com, and learn more about how PKF O’Connor Davies can help your beer wholesaler identify profit opportunities
3. Learn more about the network of beer wholesaler owners and managers working together to drive profits and cash flow