An ‘invested’ Accountant + Your Business = Successful Company
Most people believe an accountant will just be looking after annual accounts and tax compliance. However, that’s only a small portion of what a good accountant can – and should – be doing for you.
Many accounting firms concern themselves with just the numbers, but sometimes it’s not all about the numbers. The numbers reflect the results of your businesses systems and processes, so if you ignore what generates the numbers and focus just on the results how are you going to move forward and grow?
An accountant who is interested in your business and your success asks lots of questions about your goals, plans and objectives.
It’s critically important to know what you are aiming for so we (as your growth advisor) can strategize the most efficient and effective ways of achieving your goals.
An ‘invested’ accountant doesn’t just take the numbers at face value, but questions how your company arrived from an operational sense at the numbers in question.
- What were your marketing strategies that generate sale?
- What is the conversion rate of prospects to customers?
- What is your average sale value?
- What are the costs (variable and fixed) associated with the sale?
- What are your payment terms with your customer?
- What are your payment terms with your suppliers?
This may seem a lot to ask, but to find out how to grow the bottom line we first need to look at all the components that make up the end result.
Questions need to be constantly asked to ascertain what needs to be done and to see if there is a better way of doing things. This constant questioning or curiosity is what a good accountant needs to be providing to help grow your business.
The most important thing you can do when it comes to your business finances is to recognize when you need to enlist the help of a professional, and then ensure you have an accountant who will help maintain and give advice about the fiscal health of your business.
At Oxen our primary focus is to ensure you have the ‘finger on the pulse’ of your numbers and operating at maximum profitability.
In some of our upcoming Oxen Blogs we will discuss this subject in more detail and highlight what your relationship with your accountant should be, and how the questioning process we use can uncover the ‘hidden capabilities’ of your business.