Consulting Playbook: Boosting Accounting System to Increase Revenues
The Consulting Playbook, Edition #27
A new company focused on providing advanced manufacturing capabilities to aviation engine production companies needed to improve accounting systems and obtain startup capital. The company opted to use consultant’s help to develop financial accountability systems compliant with financing organizations oversight requirements, and to assist them with large negotiations related to the start-up funding.
Assessing the System in Place
First an assessment of the current accounting system capabilities was carried out. A thorough understanding of the additional reporting systems had to be made, and to figure out what was needed to meet the financing requirements. Subsequently – the options for off-the-shelf solutions were further evaluated. Findings on ROI and capabilities were presented to the CEO for approval. The unsuccessful off-the-shelf solutions that failed to bring in sufficient ROI had to be revised, and a new customized solution was requested by the CEO. An additional Excel reporting system was set up, using output from the accounting system which made it easier for users. The project’s closure consisted of standard work on how to interact with the Excel based project cost analysis system.
The Successfully Adopted New Methods Brought in Results
The Consulting project managed to deliver great benefits to the company where both accounting and reporting financial systems enabled a macro and a micro level financial analysis for each of their projects. The company also received several million dollars in startup funding.
Additional Information
The Importance of Accounting Software & Systems in Boosting Efficiency and ROI
Choosing the best Accounting systems and processes that fit your organization’s needs, and regularly looking for updates, should be a priority for today’s businesses. Here are some important features and issues to consider when evaluating the current Accounting program and methods:
- Always be updated on the latest federal regulations demanding greater transparency and disclosure. You cannot afford to bypass these.
- With the right accounting software your business will accelerate most of its operations, including better accuracy and reporting.
- The power to collect and assimilate high-quality, up-to-date information, and send it to the right people at the right time gives your company a valuable, incalculable advantage in this era of regulatory scrutiny of financial statements.
- Upgrading your current system will undoubtedly result in better ROI when done correctly. This is a driving factor for majority of organizations. A new Accounting system typically will pay for itself within few years after implemented.
- To ensure higher ROI, you need to consider the following: the software and systems are tailored specifically to your industry; to the size of your company; the more functions you can delegate to it such as billing, human resource, etc., the less data inaccuracies will be, and your overall operations will be closer to a complete data integration.
- Centralizing the company’s structure by incorporating more branches and departments into a single system, will save you a huge amount of time and money.
For Further Reading:
About The Consulting Playbook
The Consulting Playbook is a collection of posts designed to offer insights into how businesses and their executives can utilize consulting as a strategic lever to boost performance. Each Consulting Playbook post is broken down into a few elements: Case Study, Additional Information regarding the technical application, and Additional Links related to the topic.
Hélène Laffitte is the CEO of Consulting Quest, a Global Performance-Driven Consulting Platform and author of “Smart Consulting Sourcing”, a step by step guide to getting the best ROI from your consulting. With a blend of experience in Procurement and Consulting, Hélène is passionate about helping Companies create more value through Consulting.
