At your first meeting with Alex, you ask to see his most recent financial statements so that you can get an overall assessment of the restaurant's financial health. Alex looks at you blankly and says, "I'm a chef, not an accountant, and I don't know what financial statements you're talking about. Can you explain to me?"

Balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and statement of changes in owners' equity.

Explanation:

The financial statements are reports prepared by a company in which the financial performance is detailed. It will be important to check the main financial statements to know the restaurant's performance:

-The balance sheet lists the assets, liabilities and equity.

-The income statement shows the revenue and the expenses in a period of time.

-The cash flow statement shows the cash receipts and payments in a period of time

-The statement of changes in owners' equity shows the changes in equity during a period.

Explain to him that you need a plan, and to see if that plan is succeeding

Explanation:

If he focused on the business model of "pay for what you eat main course, then free dessert", you'd want to check if he was still making a profit with the free dessert.