Category: Accountant

Accountants Reengineering Processes

Last week we discussed the importance of including the finance department in your company’s Operations team and the value accountants bring to your organization. Accountants can be a proactive force within your organization instead of being the reactive solution. The following examples show how accountants not only add value to your team, but also reengineer processes to help your company function more efficiently.

Your accountant can help your company analyze and streamline your current billing processes, enabling you to get invoices out sooner and payments faster. This will not only improve your cash flow, but it may also reduce interest expense from borrowing on a line of credit. If your accountant works with the mentality that “this is the way it’s always been done”, then your company will miss out on crucial opportunities for growth and improvement.

Accountants are also able to help their clients with credit card processing. When a company credit card is used, a receipt must be obtained, matched to the charge on the credit card statement, assigned an accounting code and entered into the accounting system. Accountants can help a company streamline this process and identify fraudulent charges that have been disputed, making it easier for the company in the case of an IRS audit and saving their client thousands of dollars.

As you can see, accountants have the potential to help you manage your business better. They should be monitoring company trends, helping forecast, analyzing past events and giving advice on how to operate more efficiently going forward. Rather than simply giving you numbers on a piece of paper, your CPA should suggest ways for your company to build better processes and take advantage of the opportunities presented to your company. They should help you find grants, analyze your tax returns and continuously make suggestions for the improvement of your organization. If your company’s current CPA is not going above and beyond, contact us today. We can help your company operate more efficiently and become the successful company you are destined to be.

It Starts with an Integrated Operations Team

When you think of the role of an accountant, what comes to mind? If you are like most companies, you most likely envision an accountant as someone who takes care of the financial aspect of your company and little else. Accountants, however, are able to offer a lot more than basic financial information. Their insight and problem-solving skills are valuable assets to your company’s operations as a whole. In fact, an integrated Operations team should include the accounting department.

The recent demands on finance departments to play a strategic role in the survival and development of a company have shaped the required competencies and are pushing accountants to expand their normal roles. Instead of looking at finance as something that has to be done, companies are starting to see that finance can truly benefit the company. Even though you may not see the financial connection to the problems your company is facing, accountants can help your company find solutions to your problems and offer unique insight into company-wide situations.

Finance, more specifically accounting, is a part of the operational team. Accountants bring value to your organization and when you start looking at them as valuable, rather than simply the accountant on staff, your company begins to reach its full potential. The more you integrate finance into your operations, the more successful and stronger you become as an organization.

Stress is a common occurrence in any job situation, but it is prevalent in the accounting field. This is not surprising, given the heavy workloads, short deadlines and constant attention to clients and their needs. As job stress continues to rise, an individual’s productivity, effectiveness and personal health may decline. These high stress levels are typical and often unavoidable; however, the quality of life should not deteriorate just because an individual is in the accounting field.

While it is impossible for any job to be stress-free, there are many ways accountants can take measures in managing their stress in the workplace.

1.    Establishing Trust in the Workplace
Trust can be defined as the “assured reliance on the integrity, ability and sundry of a person or thing”. In simpler terms, it can be described as the feelings and expectations an individual has about a person, place or thing.  Trust between an employee and a firm assumes that no violation of an individual’s expectations about a firm and its philosophies will occur.

In order for an employee to fully trust his or her firm, he must fully believe that the firm has his best interest at heart. The employee must also feel that the firm will make an effort to deal with issues impacting staff members in a thorough and timely manner. Accountants who are able to trust their employers have reduced stress levels and better productivity because they know their best interests are kept in mind.

2.    Communication
Communication is key in every area of life. When issues arise in the workplace, do not keep your frustration to yourself. By communicating sincere, honest feelings early, you can prevent bitterness (and stress) from infiltrating your relationship with your co-workers.

3.    Avoid Organizational “Troublemakers”
We all have them – the employees that like to stir things up and add a little “fun” in the workplace. Sometimes, though, their “little fun” can be too much to handle in your already stressful day. Avoid troublesome co-workers in order to keep your mind – and your office- stress free.

4.    Verify Rumors
Rumors have a nasty way of causing unnecessary panic and stress. Next time you hear about the “new” direction upper management wants you to take, go to management directly and confirm the information. Going to the source and finding the truth will save you a considerable amount of stress.

Avoid unnecessary stress by focusing on how you handle your emotions and expectations in the workplace. While the accounting field may be stressful, some situations are easy fixes. Examine what you can fix and leave the rest at the office door – where it belongs.