The accounting process is a crucial business process within organizations. The practice involves processing allocations, journal entries, and adjustments. Additionally, it includes maintaining account charts and performing consolidations, reconciliations, and eliminations.
For smaller businesses, this vital process may not be too resource-intensive. However, larger corporations constantly face accounting challenges because the process can become complex and resource-laden. This guide outlines simple ways to improve your company’s accounting functions.
1. Automate for the Right Reasons
There is nothing wrong with automating some of your organization’s accounting processes. In fact, doing so can be one of the most effective improvements you can make to your accounting functions. However, automation and its overall potential can be easy to overlook.
Yes, automation can streamline basic processes and reduce costs. However, it can also improve accuracy, provide scalability, and reduce business risk.
Entrepreneurs must be aware of these benefits to use their solutions to their fullest potential. Organizations can reduce the risk of fraud, omissions, and errors by reducing reliance on human labour.
2. Take Advantage of New Opportunities
One major mistake that many accounting teams make has a mindset that prevents them from taking on new opportunities.
Since most of the team’s work is cyclical or predictable, employees rarely take the chance to make changes.
This habit becomes a disadvantage because it can lead to missed opportunities for cost reduction and improvement. Remember that just because things have always been done in a certain way does not mean you should not take advantage of opportunities for growth.
3. Streamline and Centralize General Accounting Processes
A crucial part of an accounting strategy is how the company chooses to structure the delivery of certain processes to best support the needs of the organization. Businesses can opt to use a shared services center where employees can combine common or repetitive tasks from multiple business units.
Using a shared services center is only one of the ways to centralize and streamline general accounting processes. Employees enjoy a faster cycle time and fewer errors by using a shared services delivery model.
It can also help them perform the annual close faster since they can complete all tasks in a single platform.
4. Assign Tasks to the Right People
Chief financial officers should know the difference between bookkeeping and accounting. The former generates financial data about what a company is doing. Meanwhile, the latter transforms that data into valuable information that can help the organization decide what step to take next.
Assigning basic bookkeeping tasks to your accountants can be a waste of their potential to add value to the business. Instead of having senior-level accountants focus on these basic tasks, make them focus on critical functions like obtaining funding and managing cash flow.
5. Try Outsourced Accounting Solutions
Entrepreneurs are aware that not all accounting functions do not lend themselves well to automation. Fortunately, you can always outsource labour-heavy functions to an accounting services provider. This solution can be a smart way to improve your processes without investing in in-house accountants.
Hiring external accountants who can offer the same level of performance as your in-house team can help your organization handle more tasks. Outsourcing accounting services can also be wise if you are in the middle of revamping your accounting processes.
Moreover, if you choose to work with a trusted accounting agency, you can get excellent value from the company’s accountants. For example, Faris CPA is a firm that provides tax accounting services to organizations and independent professionals.
With Faris CPA, businesses can address tax problems that their in-house accounting team may not be able to resolve on their own. Aside from tax resolution, the company offers audit and accounting services.
