This lesson on competent financial management, the 16th in a series of 18 units, is part of the first level of a comprehensive entrepreneurship curriculum entitled: A Program for Acquiring Competence in Entrepreneurship (PACE). (Designed for use with secondary students, the first level of PACE introduces students to the concepts involved in entrepreneurship and helps them become aware of entrepreneurship as a career option.) The following topics are covered in the unit: the importance of financial management, the components of a balance sheet, the differences between current and fixed assets and current and fixed liabilities, the components of a profit and loss statement, methods for calculating selected financial ratios, sources of financial ratio data, and the activities associated with electronic data processing and financial analysis. Included in the lesson are instructional text organized in a question-and-answer format, individual and group learning activities, a case study, and assessment questions. (MN)