The Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb makes a point of bringing our readers educational and exciting content. Sometimes we find content from our peers in the accounting realm that is definitely share-worthy. One such blog post offers fun bookkeeping tests for your accounting firm brought to you by CPA Practice Advisor.
With fall here and back to school in full swing, the mood is perfect for accountants to take these bookkeeping tests and see what kind of grade they get. You will feel like you are back in school, for sure. The tests are complete with pop quizzes and homework. So get busy sharing this blog post after you take the tests with your accounting friends so they too can take these bookkeeping tests.
THE BOOKKEEPING REPORT CARD
What does your firm’s current bookkeeping report card look like – and what will it take to earn an ‘A’?
HITTING (AND CLOSING) THE BOOKS
POP QUIZ:
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- How fast is your team closing the books?
- How much faster could the books be closing?
- And what can your talent do with that saved time?
YOUR HOMEWORK: After assessing the speed and accuracy with which your team is currently closing the books, think about how you can put those insights into action. Look beyond how fast, well, or easy things are being done – and work with your team to figure out possibilities for how much faster, better, or more conveniently they can be accomplished. More importantly, think about how your team can better spend the time freed up after automation.
CHEAT SHEET: Substitute ‘closing the books’ in the above example for any process you’re thinking of automating: AP, ledger balancing, report preparation, etc. Make sure you’re taking top-to-bottom stock of all your processes, including:
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- Data entry
- Time entry
- Document requests
- Client communication
- Training and education
- Talent acquisition
- Prospecting
ROOM FOR GROWTH
POP QUIZ:
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- Truthfully: is your firm currently meeting its full growth potential?
- What changes would be helpful to growing your business?
- What processes can be automated, streamlined, or eliminated in order to prioritize growth?
- What services are being demanded–or suit the observed needs–of your clients?
HOMEWORK: Identify not only growth opportunities for your firm, but areas where your firm can be optimized or streamlined in order to provide higher value, higher profit, and higher return on investment against the same level of manpower (with automation supporting and elevating them!)
CHEAT SHEET: As many as 94% of polled firms reported that automating more of their bookkeeping tasks would be helpful for growing their business. Time saved isn’t just an internal benefit; the quantity and quality of your firm’s output will increase, too. This includes:
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- Client relationships or advisory services
- Investment in recruitment, training, or professional development
- Resolving technical accounting issues
FUTURE READINESS
POP QUIZ:
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- Does your team regularly dig through boxes of receipts or sort through paper files for reconciliation?
- Are you manually entering financial or transaction data?
- Do you have incomplete audit trails?
- Are you still printing and mailing checks?
- Do you have the agility to adopt remote operations with little notice?
- Does it make sense for your firm to mandate automation, or is offering the solution as an option sufficient?
HOMEWORK: It’s one thing to have the right technology and tools at your disposal – but are you actually prepared to use them effectively when the pressure is on? After analyzing your processes by asking the questions above, stress tests them to make sure things will move smoothly even when pressure from external, internal, and client forces.
GROUP WORK & PARTICIPATION
POP QUIZ:
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- How do your departments, teams— even leadership + junior employees—function together?
- If you’re seeking to streamline one process, how many different departments or employees will it affect? Stress test for unforeseen ripple effects.
- Do you have any processes that require more than 3 steps or more than 3 approvals? Where and how can they be streamlined?
- What support options are available in case of employee troubleshooting, questions, or issues?
- Do separate but equally important departments—for example, Legal and Marketing, or Sales and Production—have touchpoints with one another? Should they?
HOMEWORK: Fine-tuning individual processes or pain points within the organization is obviously important. However, don’t lose sight of the big picture! Take a step back and look at the touchpoints within your firm.
What makes life easier for one team may cause a headache for another, without proper consideration. On the other side of the coin, potential solutions could be overlooked if stakeholders haven’t had a chance to come together and commiserate.
IF YOU’RE IN NEED OF SOME EXTRA CREDIT…
The past year made clear that digital cannot be ignored or nudged onto the backburner. Fortunately, earning an ’A’ is feasible – as long as the momentum we’re seeing continues.
It’s essential for bookkeepers to be champions of change and promote wins. Don’t be afraid to start simple:
- Prioritize and tackle the quick wins
- Build consensus with stakeholders
- Showcase returns-on-investment so that future projects will be more likely to graduate beyond the idea stage, too
Knowledge is power. The more you gather about – and share within – your accounting firm, the greater potential you’ll have and the higher grades you’ll earn.
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