I’m assuming, if you’re reading this article, that you’re an accountant or at least working in the industry in some capacity. Let me ask you a question … “As an accountant what is the most important thing you do for your clients?” Over the years I’ve been given any number of responses to this question.
Some say, “Keep my clients safe & compliant”.
Others say, “Make their lives easier”.
While many say, “Get them a big tax refund”.
However, the most common response I receive to this fundamental question is, “to add value”. Read more
Do you have a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in your business? If you’re a small business, chances are, no. Few small or medium businesses have a CFO.
A CFO’s role in a business is to use the financial information of a business to drive and improve it. The financial information of a business is the key to the strategic direction and improvement of every business. Read more
Many readers would be aware that Smithink 2020 recently conducted the inaugural Leaders and Laggards Technology Survey of accounting firms. One interesting finding was the number of firms that had a presence on social networking sites. 37% of firms surveyed had a Facebook page, 26% participated in Twitter and 56% had a LinkedIn profile. 53% of firms did not block access to Facebook.
At our recent ATSA 2011 (Accountants Technology Showcase Australia) Conference in Melbourne I was surprised by the number of participants who were carrying iPads. During the event hundreds of tweets were submitted to Twitter. Read more
When I am conducting firm technology and process reviews I ask them to show me the final product that is produced for clients. Typically it is a bound set of financials with a covering letter and some documents for the client to sign. I then ask the firm what they thing the client does with these reports. Responses vary from “the client loses them”, “the throw them out”, “they send them back to us” or the worst response so far is “they use it as a doorstop”. What intrigues me is that it is almost universal that practitioners acknowledge that clients do not value the financial statements and tax returns produced. They are treated like hygiene, something they don’t really want to have done but they know they have to have them prepared. What surprises me is that so few firms have done anything about it by trying to produce information for clients that they would truly value. Read more
Perhaps like Indiana Jones after hundreds of years accountants are within reach of their holy grail.
For eons accountants have struggled with client’s data that is out of date and required significant manipulation to produce the end of year compliance reporting required. In most instances accountants have created a second parallel ledger to the client’s books. This duplication of effort adds little value but has been necessary to achieve a quality outcome for clients. Furthermore, the lack of up to date accounting information has restricted the ability for accountants to provide proactive advice to assist clients’ in the management of their businesses – something that would create increased value for clients. Read more
With the end of the financial year just behind us, most business owners would have completed the arduous task that is a stock take! A stock take is a count of the business inventory on hand, typically done at the end of the financial year, though some businesses may do it more regularly.
What this does is provide the business with an accurate idea of the number of stock items that it owns. This allows your accountant to reconcile physical stock to the inventory records, highlights variances, and perhaps identifies issues with stock management and control.
If you have accurate knowledge about stock movements and stock on hand, you can deal with theft, slow moving items, damaged stock, technology obsolescence, warehouse processes and you can make informed decisions about your inventory. Here’s my top tips to have a smooth, successful and stress-free stock take.
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How to get the best from your most valuable business adviser
Whenever we ask businesses to identify their most valuable and trusted source of business advice, their consistent number one choice is an accountant.
Business owners of all sizes trust their accountant to provide not just information on compliance and legislation, but also – crucially – advice on how to improve business performance. Read more
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