If You Need Calm Instead of a Storm...
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Step One: Financials
Without good financials, owners have no basis for making informed decisions. First step is to prepare monthly financials by ensuring all balance sheet accounts have proper reconciliations and the income statement tells the business’s story. This involves working with the accounting team, managers, owners, outside accountants and those outside the business that rely on the financials to make sure everyone has what they need, and it allows them to make the decisions they need to make about the business. This step also includes meeting regularly with owners to ensure they understand the numbers around their business story.
Step Two: Organization
Nothing is done efficiently unless it is organized. Every business needs a confidential place to store Accounting and Human Resource information maintained by the respective departments. Ideally this information is stored on a secure, backed up network/cloud location and is organized by year or multi-year (permanent). The second step, typically happening simultaneously with the first step is to implement and train staff on the “new” filing structure.
Step Three: People
In order to be successful, businesses need good people. Typically, owners are not accounting professionals and many times are not really sure what their people in this department do. Leading, managing and holding individuals accountable is key. This also includes training,
mentoring and continually evaluating. When needed, replacing and recruiting
Step Four: Process
Every business, to be efficient and operating at their best, needs solid processes followed by all. Since nearly every process involves a cost or hits the financials in one form or another, helping an organization put in place solid processes is essential.
Step Five: Strategy
Where is your business going? What’s your exit plan? What are your financial targets? These are always good questions to discuss regularly and now that owners are getting financials regularly, the company is organized, the right people are in place and efficient processes are being performed, it is easier to get your business where you want it to go.
Step Six:
Something always comes up that needs implementing and every business has their wish list from new accounting software, paperless time sheets and expense reporting to a whole new IT infrastructure. Whatever the project, their needs to be a key financial person involved to manage the cost and help ensure the implementation goes smoothly!
