Most owners know their profit number. Fewer can say why it moved. An EBITDA bridge answers that question, one dollar at a time.

What an EBITDA bridge is

EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. A bridge starts with last year’s EBITDA on the left, ends with this year’s on the right, and shows every driver that moved it in between: volume, price, mix, direct cost, labor, overhead and one-time items. Each step up or down carries a dollar amount, and the steps add up exactly to the change.

Why a flat number hides the story

Profit that looks flat can hide strong growth in one line of work offset by eroding margin in another. The total tells you nothing about which is which. The bridge separates them, so you know what to protect and what to fix.

How to build one in five steps

1. Start from closed numbers. Use reconciled profit and loss statements for both periods. A bridge built on open books is a guess.
2. Split the revenue change. Separate volume, price and mix, by job, matter, service line or location.
3. Split the cost change. Separate direct cost, labor and overhead.
4. Isolate one-time items. Remove what will not repeat, so the run rate is honest.
5. Check the math. The steps must add up to the change. If they do not, something is missing, and finding it is the point.

Who should explain it to you

A bridge is only useful if someone walks you through it. Not a report you are handed, but a person who sits with you, explains each bar in plain English, and tells you what to do about it. That is how finance becomes easy to navigate instead of one more thing to decode.

That is the work I do with owners. I am Gui Albergaria, a Harvard-trained CFO who began his career in equity research at ISI Group in New York and served as an in-house CFO before founding Veritas. I explain each driver and put a dollar on the move.

See where you stand

Take the free Financial X-Ray Score. It takes three minutes and shows how clearly you can see your profit and cash, including whether you have a bridge and someone who guides you through it. Or book your complimentary X-Ray Review, normally $5,000.