💼📊 Avoid your Accountant telling you your financials are incorrect. Instead, revisit your procedures, controls, and systems! 💼📊
💼📊 Avoid your Accountant telling you your financials are incorrect. Instead, revisit your procedures, controls, and systems! 💼📊
Back in 1993, I made my second venture into Financial Services, joining the UK leasing arm of what was to become ING Group. There were five of us in Accounts: an FD, a manager, an administrator, myself, and another accountants assistant.
The FD and Manager each had their own PC, while the rest of us shared one between us! 🖥️👥
Most of our work was on the Lease Administration System via dumb terminals and handwritten ledgers. 📝💻
While it was very manual, three key elements were leveraged:
1️⃣ 💡 Investment in knowledgeable employees: Staff who understood the industry and could translate customer agreements into system inputs were invaluable. 👩💼👨💼
2️⃣ 🖥️ A reliable Lease Administration System: Once fed the correct information, it completed all transactions, in-life activities (such as billing and collecting) and produced accounting feeds. 🔄📈
3️⃣ 🔍 Procedures and controls: Ensuring input to and output from the LAS was accurate and reliable throughout the agreement lifecycle. ✅🔄
The LAS was not only the unsung hero of the business but the beating heart of it. ❤️
A robust transactional/administration system is crucial for the success and scalability of a business. 📊🚀
These systems streamline operations, ensure accuracy, and provide valuable data insights, improving efficiency, reducing errors, and supporting better decision-making. Investing in them upfront saves time and money, which can be reinvested back into the business. 💰🔄
Fast forward to today, and these systems have become even more integral to business success. 📈 They hold vast amounts of wisdom, knowledge, and experience. 📚💡
The key challenge now is ensuring that users without this deep knowledge can use them without making mistakes. ❌
This underscores the importance of having key employees who understand the true mechanics of the business. 🧠🔧
Advances in these systems have made it possible to operate with fewer skilled employees, thanks to user-friendly interfaces, automation, and AI. 🤖💻
However, the role of knowledgeable staff remains vital. They provide training and support, ensuring systems are used correctly and effectively. 👩🏫👨🏫
In essence, while technology enables efficiency, the human element ensures its success. Continuous investment in both technology and people is essential for sustainable growth. 🌱💼
#BusinessSuccess #FinancialServices #Technology #Efficiency #EmployeeInvestment #Automation #AI #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #Innovation #OperationalExcellence