In Pursuit of Profit
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At the end of last year, the popular accounting resource Accounting Today published an interview with 100 of accounting’s top minds where they asked the simple question, “What is the most important issue currently facing the accounting profession?” and recorded their responses. Their answers ranged across topics such as staffing shortages, independent audits, AI, financial reporting, private equity, and technological advancements. If you get a chance to read it, you should! There’s some great insight to glean. Since we employ a vast network of consulting accountants across Washington, Oregon, and Colorado, we asked our consultants to do something similar. However, instead of having them focus on what’s important right now, we asked them to be more forward-thinking in their responses. We posed the question, “What will be the most important topics in accounting this year?” These were some of their responses: The speed at which AI is being introduced into our everyday lives is head spinning! Recent discussions of using AI in the accounting field are all over the map. Some say it’s a huge time saver, while others say it’s potentially disastrous (some will even spout both opinions in the same sentence). Since the industry seems so conflicted about this hot topic, let’s explore the potential advantages and possible pitfalls of using AI in accounting. 1/23/2024 Prioritizing your Accounting Needs
Maturity in business acumen comes from knowing what to prioritize for the greatest return. Whether you are handling it in-house or outsourcing your accounting activities, knowing where to devote limited resources is crucial for good decision making.
But how do you know where to start? What’s the most critical thing that absolutely needs to be done first? What will offer significant benefits down the road when more resources become available? And what would be nice to do eventually, but isn’t essential? And what should you avoid doing entirely? Obviously, there’s not a single right answer to these questions because every organization has different business needs. However, there’s a framework that you can use to make these kinds of decisions, regardless of individual circumstances, so you know what to do now, soon, later, and never.
There is skepticism around whether special skills are required to recruit well, how much experience plays a part in the process, and if the benefit justifies the cost.
11/9/2023 Where are All the Accountants Now?
For the last few years, it seems like every accounting article has mentioned the shortage of accountants in one way or another. Business leaders, recruiters, and accountants themselves are bemoaning the ongoing accountant shortage. In a time when people have a hard time agreeing about anything, the consensus these days among everyone talking is unanimous – the scarcity of accountants has become a serious problem. And yet, the proposed solutions continue to fall short of addressing the problem in a meaningful way because they fail to take into account why accountants are actually leaving.
11/3/2023 The Intersection of Accounting and AI – The Complete Guide to What Business Leaders Need to Know
It is situations like these that proponents of AI in accounting are hoping to reduce (or eliminate entirely) by using AI applications like automation and machine learning. As our team explains when discussing the future of accounting, Technology can be used to augment accountants’ responsibilities, increasing efficiency and improving job satisfaction. AI is currently the most transformative force in the accounting industry, and with good reason! AI allows accountants to do better work faster, improving accuracy, scalability, data availability, and collaboration to drastically improve business outcomes. But increased accuracy and efficiency are not the only benefits that AI has to offer. AI use in accounting can also improve job satisfaction, providing more fulfillment in the work that accountants do. Reducing the amount of busywork accountants are responsible for frees them up for more strategic activities, allowing them to act in more of an advisor role instead of just a number crunching capacity. This shift can greatly help to retain accountants amid the current labor shortage.
I’ve seen many clients struggle to find accounting help over the last two years across all employment levels – from bookkeeper all the way through CFO. I’ve seen new hires simply not show up for their first day without any notice. I’ve seen new employees resign less than a month after starting for other opportunities or just to leave a work culture they don’t like. Workforce expectations have shifted dramatically over the past five years and employers are struggling to fill open positions amid these changes. In fact, Manpower surveys indicate that 75% of employers report difficulty in finding skilled accounting talent.
However, you can’t guarantee that the process will go this well. Sure, you can communicate that you expect employees to bring this kind of tact to the transition, but you cannot control their timing or actions during the process (and sometimes neither can they depending on the circumstances involved!). Instead, you need to have a formal succession plan in place to safeguard the business against the kind of disruption that can happen when an accountant leaves unexpectedly.
The time to get ready is now! Plan for your accountant’s departure before you need to do it so you can be properly prepared.
The role you need depends on your business needs, so let’s look at common business triggers that most likely require needing the next level of financial role, and what kind of activities and responsibilities each role typically includes. We’ll start with bookkeeper and work our way up to Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Whether it is due to taking a job elsewhere, switching careers, personal/family needs, medical reasons, or some other cause, the unexpected loss of an accountant can throw a business into disarray. Reining in this chaos as quickly as possible is critical to ensuring the viability of the company.
Recently, we talked to a set of business partners that epitomized this situation. They suddenly found themselves managing a family business after the untimely passing of their uncle who had been running the business for the last 20 years. They were coming to the table with little accounting knowledge and too much grief and shock to be able to invest themselves in running this aspect of the business themselves. They needed help! Now, this example may not represent exactly where you are, but there are plenty of situations where people find themselves at the helm of a company’s finances without the experience needed to be confident in the work that they are doing. If this describes you, you’ve come to the right place! This guide will give you a quick overview of what is most important when it comes to managing your company’s books and overseeing its accounting functions. It will also offer additional resources for each topic so you can gain a greater understanding of the places where you need the most help, allowing you to feel better equipped to lead in these areas. |
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3/11/2024