In October, the American Booksellers Association is offering its Principles of Bookstore Finance seminar in two places: Wednesday, October 3, in Minneapolis, Minn., in conjunction with the Heartland Fall Forum; and Wednesday, October 10, in Denver, Colo., in conjunction with the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Fall Discovery Show, Bookselling This Week reported.
The sessions will be led by ABA CFO Robyn DesHotel and co-led in Minneapolis by Cynthia Compton of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Zionsville, Ind., and in Denver by Len Vlahos of the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver.
The seminar will cover the fundamentals of budgeting, understanding cash flow, business financing, bookkeeping, and financial statements. The workshop will include a segment on strategies for achieving higher profits and improving cash flow and will conclude with an interactive group discussion in which attendees will work through an example of how to use their store's financial information to make sound business decisions.
The seminar will concentrate on bookstore finances as opposed to bookstore accounting, and though it will be helpful for attendees to be familiar with basic bookstore finances, deep financial experience is not required. Booksellers from all regions are invited to attend. The registration fee is $79, and lunch is included. For more information, go to bookweb.org.