But if what you are taking in salary and bonuses exceeds normal standards for your industry, your company is showing less profit that it is actually making. This may make sense from a personal standpoint but, again, this is not what you want to show your banker. No matter what bankers may say, the first thing bankers look at is the annual profit shown on your financial statements. This is the benchmark of your success in their mind. Nice profit equals smart business person.
Low profit equals dumb business person.
No amount of explaining can undo the damage a poor profit figure does to your image as a successful company builder. Get your profit as high as you can before you meet with the bank. More power to you. If all this sounds suspiciously like keeping two sets of books or like a lot of work, relax. It's perfectly legal since all your income is being reported.