When it comes to monitoring your or your business’s financial comings and goings, there is a number of downloadable and online software available. But what about the behind-the-scenes processes. If you have one person or a team of people in place or even if it’s just you, there always seems to be a lot of stress. There might be ways to make lives just that bit more manageable. Read on to find out if these suggestions can work for you.
Deadlines – In the accounting game, there are always deadlines. Payroll deadlines, tax deadlines, budget deadlines and what have you. A lot of these require information gathered from other peope so the accountant is watching the ‘X’ date on the calendar roll up when only drips of the necessary data is coming in. If this sounds familiar, have your accountant set a strict deadline or ‘cutoff policy’ for information to be received and to stick with it. This might take a little while for people to get on board but people do respond well to clear due dates.
Interdepartmental education – If you have ever worked for a large company, you will have heard “what is it you do again?” in reference to people and departments. One of the biggest issues any company will inevitably face is the lack of understanding of each other’s role’s in the company. Specifically in this case, look into arranging for employees to have a sit-down with the financial department, to better grasp what it is they do with the information everyone provides. After this eye-opening experience, non-accounting departments might just reevaluate how they work in order to provide more accurate data in a more timely fashion.
Sofware/Tools Evaluation – Industries with a heavy administrative process more than likely use some form of software on a daily basis. Ask yourself if your databases is the most efficient and user friendly there is. Maybe there’s a new version of your software with far superior tools. Accountancy departments should most certainly be staying on top of these. Automation is becoming more and more popular and desirablein accounting software so the available systems will continue to grow. The software in other departments might even be able to “talk” to your accountant’s which would be a huge benefit. If you find a database you think might be perfect for you or your company, you should have the option for an in-person demo so take advantage of that.
At the end of the day, you want you and your business to succeed. The accountancy results are a great way of establishing where you can make improvements either in cost or personnel. Invest in your accounting department with the right people, the right tools and, if you have full-time staff,regular off-site training/refresher courses. The third item will keep things interesting for everyone involved.