Does Your Accounting Team Deliver Value?
Business owners often view their accounting function as simply a cost of doing business. After all, businesses must know how much cash is in the bank and whether or not the business is generating income. Common indicators of an “accounting is a cost of doing business” view include a lack of investment in training, inadequate or underqualified staffing, and a lack of effective oversight of the accounting function.
If your business fits that description, let me ask you an important question. Does your accounting team deliver value? The following are just a few examples of ways accounting can deliver value.
Identifying problems early
Who looks at the numbers every day? That’s right – the accountant(s)!For this reason, accountants can often identify and elevate issues before they become bigger problems. For example, who do you think should be the first to notice a slowdown in payments from a key customer?
Facilitating communication and standardization throughout the business
Due to its role as the recorder of events, accounting interacts with all areas of the business. This means the accounting function has influence over how transactions take place and, more importantly, whether transactions adhere with established policies and guidelines. When an accountant rejects a payment due to noncompliance with a business policy, for example, the accountant is enforcing both compliance and standardization while at the same time sending a message about organizational norms. Maintaining positive relationships with customers and vendors.
Accounting is the one department that interacts regularly with both customers and vendors. Whether it is responding to questions regarding an invoice or following up on an open invoice from a vendor, the timeliness and tact of accounting in responding can have a substantial impact on the company image.
These are just a few ways in which accounting delivers value to a business. If you have additional ideas on how accounting brings real value to a business, we would love to hear your thoughts. Please email us at info@xpectup.com.
If you would like to get more value out of your accounting function, we would love to talk with you and learn more about your business. Our outsourced controller services are designed to help you take your accounting function to the next level. To schedule a time to talk, contact us at info@xpectup.com or call us at 224-532-2815. We look forward to talking with you.
“Right People. Right Tools. Better Decisions. = exceed XPECTations”