Whether you're planning on buying your favorite neighborhood laundromat or expanding your network of Krispy Kreme donut franchises, you're probably going to need some type of business financing. If purchasing a business, you will likely need acquisition financing, but beyond that, you'll need readily available capital so you can invest in inventory, facilities, marketing, and staffing to ensure a profitable and growing business.

It is estimated that older Americans lose a staggering $2.9 billion a year to an ever-growing array of financial exploitation schemes and scams. They are being targeted by criminals who want to rob them of their hard-earned retirement savings. They are being exploited by strangers over the telephone, through the mail, and online. Worse yet, far too many seniors may also be targeted by family members or by other people in whom they trust.

The budget cycle is the period of time between one budget and the next. It involves a series of steps that form a cycle.

The budget cycle involves the creation of the budget, its validation (by testing current versus expected performance), the examination of variances (actual versus budget performance), the implementation of any corrective actions, and the revision of the budget based on feedback.

Investors are tasked with making critical decisions. Using information gleaned from financial statements, investors will perform a variety of analyses to help them measure potential risks and rewards. Check out our latest infographic, which looks at six common analyses investors like to perform and provides sample benchmarks for each type of analysis.