Introducing the Accounting Superheroes
We don’t always equate our accounting department with superheroes, but I beg to differ. Can you imagine running your company without any financial transactions? Of course not. A business spends money and makes money all the time. The goal is to successfully manage your money.
This is done with the help of your trustworthy team of Accounting Superheroes. The challenge is to find the right persons to make up your team. This can be a bit intimidating.
My goal is to help answer three important questions: What qualities should you be on the lookout for? How many members do you need? What exactly do they do for your that is so “super”?
Let me introduce you to Accounting Superheroes. Their shield represents abundance. Their powers represent the strengths needed to safeguard a company’s future stability and prosperity.
CPA's help with Taxes
Kat is your tax professional. Most often this is a CPA (Certified Public
Accountant). She has proven skills with
her certification, ideally will have industry knowledge and a desire to learn
about your specific company model. These
powers will be used to help you reach your goals with an eye out for finding
the best tax strategies to help you keep money in your bank account. You should feel comfortable asking her
questions. You want the benefit of her
clever mind tempered with her strong sense of ethics keeping you safely out of
tax trouble. Don’t always look for the
answer you want but always make sure you understand the answers you get.
Help set up your Accounting systems
Suzy is often a degreed accountant with an emphasis on
managerial accounting. In larger
organizations this position is known as the Controller. Her strengths are in organization and leadership. She can help you turn your dreams into
budgets and projections. This is the
resource to setup your accounting systems to ensure you have accurate
information to monitor your progress and help you stay on course. Her leadership skills include training others
to maintain the flow of financial information that is constantly tested for
accuracy. You create the vision, and she
helps keep you on course with reliable and timely financial reports. Like the CPA, you want someone that has
industry knowledge and a desire to understand and support your specific
business model and goals. She needs to be a great communicator and
someone you feel comfortable talking with about what is working as well as what
is not. Objective conversations lead to
lasting solutions. This is one of your
best resources to help you truly understand the financial side of your
business.
Small Business Bookkeepers
Johnny is a bookkeeper. His qualifications are sometimes harder to spot because he may not have a degree in accounting or a certification in bookkeeping. You will most likely rely on referrals from a fellow business owner or a CPA to find him. A skilled bookkeeper will have years of experience, accounting principles, knowledge, and a good sense of when they need to reach out for help. Like a race car driver, they don’t generally build the car or the track, but they know how to drive the vehicle and learn the best way to navigate the track. They should have proven accounting software experience, strong organizational skills and be a great communicator. Bookkeeping is all about putting every transaction in the right place for the exact amount. They don’t have to know everything about accounting because they can ask the CPA or accounting professional for advice when they hit a bump in the road or are asked to drive a different track. There are many checks and balances in a good accounting system that helps them, and you see that they stayed on course.
Watch for my next blog to find out how to manage expectations for each of these important resources.
