Your Finance & Accounting function is a REALLY important part of your company…
and if not managed correctly, it can drain your time, or even worse…you’re bank account
We’re going to be sharing a ton of tips on how you can ensure your Finance & Accounting function is well run, giving you peace of mind and allowing you to focus on your business…
but before we do, we need to go over the different areas of Finance & Accounting function.
What we're going to talk about
Bookkeeping & Financial Reporting
Accounts Payable (AP)
Invoicing / Accounts Receivable (AR)
Payroll
Taxes
Budgeting, Forecasting, and Analysis
This is probably the most common task in a Finance & Accounting function
and applies to every business.
With this task, you manage all of the information needed in order to produce accurate financial statements.
This financial statements should inform the reader (management, investors, the board of directors) on what is happening financially in the business.
Got a bill? Someone needs to pay that…
and that’s where your AP function comes into play.
With this task, it’s key to set up the right processes to ensure:
Vendors are paid on time
Proper approvals are in place before payment is processed
Errors are avoided
Fraud is prevented
Efficient processes are followed
with a breach in any of the items above, you can be faced with a total catastrophe.
Think your customers will be prioritizing paying your invoices?
Think again.
If you don’t have a system to invoice & follow up with customers in a timely fashion, you’ll hit constraints in your working capital 🥵.
A proper invoicing function:
Invoices customers immediately
Collects payment on autodebit
Follows up with customers who are delinquent / approaching delinquency
Coordinating with customers on payment details
Sends invoices efficiently
Overlook this department, and your cash will take a hit
Ready for the most sensitive task in your Finance & Accounting function?
Think about it…HR is the most sensitive function in your company…
and even the slightest scrufle with an employee can cause tons of headache, lawsuits, and money to resolve…
and paychecks may be the most sensitive area in a payroll function.
You can’t simply delay a paycheck because you made a mistake.
You can’t risk forgetting to sign up a new hire with health insurance.
You can’t accidentally underpay someone.
Onboarding employees & processing paychecks is often times a big responsibility where Accounting works hand in hand with HR to manage.
Your government wants your money…
and you don’t want to tick them off.
Your tax function handles tax matters related to:
Annual taxes owed on income
Licenses that are set to renew (eg: delaware franchise tax)
Employee payroll tax remittance / reporting
Sales tax
Estimated taxes
and many more
Many call this “FP&A” (Financial Planning & Analysis)…
and it’s actually our favorite part of your Finance & Accounting function.
This is where all of the INSIGHTs come from.
See, with our other processes, they usually don’t contribute to the overall growth / strategy of the company…
they kinda just need to get done.
But with FP&A…now you’re in the driver seat…
accompanied by some amazing information that can help you make the right decisions FAST.
Here are a few examples of things you’ll see in an FP&A function:
Forecasting / Budgeting
Budget vs Actuals analysis
Pricing / Costing analysis
Dashboards & reports design for management, investors, and the board of directors
Get this function right, and you’ll be making the right financial decisions in your company.
That’s an overview of each area of your Finance & Accounting function…
there’s A LOT to each area.
But don’t fret…we’ll cover each and every one.
We’ll gear you with the knowledge you need to ensure that these departments run EFFICIENTLY…
and in a way that minimizes risks to the business….
or drains your time & energy.
Which of these functions do you already have set up? And which do you want to set up?
We’ll be happy to share our thoughts!
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