Finance and accounting are key areas of organizational operations so management has to ensure that the standards applied across the organization are up to date. If management observes that the organizational outcomes have failed to live up to expectations, thus affecting the employees, vendors and customers, then there is need for overhaul (See Reference 1). An organization can try a variety of ideas to update its finance and accounting systems, people, processes and output to enhance its outcomes.
An organization can invest in the latest finance and accounting software systems to enhance accuracy, accountability and productivity within the organization. These software systems support the staff’s efforts in collecting, recording and analyzing financial information in a fast, reliable and largely error-free manner, which frees them up to perform more strategic functions (See Reference 2). For example, accounting software such as Quickbooks and Netsuite, which allow finance and accounting personnel to collate recorded entries into general ledgers and then generate monthly financial reports at the click of a button, are extremely useful in maintaining up-to-the-minute information on finance and accounting in the organization.
Finance and accounting personnel need regular training if they are to keep up with all the developments and trends in the respective fields and translate knowledge into substantive benefits for the organization (See Reference 3). The personnel are primarily responsible for collecting and recording the finance and accounting information, so they must be highly competent because if they make errors in the financial input and processing stages, then the outcomes will also not reflect the true position of the organization. Therefore, an organization must ensure that the staff members are not only highly competent and receive training to maintain their competitive edge but that they are suitably motivated to maintain high levels of productivity in their work.
Implementing measures to streamline the finance and accounting processes in the organization can also work to update these areas of organizational operations. Structuring finance and accounting duties in a way that makes work flow smoothly through the organization is paramount (See Reference 4). For example, employees may be tasked with reconciling their financial activities and forwarding the same to the accounting department at the end of each week for verification and compilation into the main database. In this way, the finance and accounting departments can keep track of each expense in the organization and balance it against the money disbursed to the various departments to come up with updated organizational budgets, cash flows, forecasts, trends and problem areas.
An organization needs to apply the most recent finance and accounting reporting methods to give an accurate picture of its performance to its shareholders and other stakeholders. Companies ordinarily have to report on their financial and accounting activities to enable evaluation of its performance internally and against the competition. Therefore, applying the latest financial reporting standards and incorporating the most recent guidelines is necessary if the organization is to make decisions based on relevant market considerations (See Reference 5). For example, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are increasingly being adopted in the United States as the international benchmark for financial and accounting reporting and there is also a requirement for organizations to demonstrate ethical governance, so an organization wishing to adhere to prevailing market standards would adopt these methods.
- The CPA Journal: Accounting and Finance Systems-Unlocking The Hidden Value
- Accountingtoday.com: Research Identifies Biggest Challenges Facing Finance
- Amsolutions.net: The 7 Sins of Ineffective Finance and Accounting Teams
- Accountingweb.com: Best Practices Account Reconciliation
- Accountingtoday.com: FASB Revises Proposed Changes In Financial Instruments Accounting Standards
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