Accountants wearing more hats to fill needs

While a challenge for the accounting profession, this shift toward differentiation has been to the benefit of those using accounting firms, particularly in the recent financial crisis, when pressures caused most business owners to make very hard decisions, including layoffs, closing of facilities, salary and benefit reductions. This environment has taught the business owner to do more with less. The smart ones made these changes in late 2008 and early 2009, during many others who waited longer did not survive.

Accordingly, this has been a very active time for the accounting profession. The business owner needed to know how a 20 percent, 30 percent or even 40 percent reduction in revenue would affect their business. How many people to lay-off? Should I lay-off, or reduce the work week? How do I explain to my bank that I will not meet my financial covenants? Should I renegotiate my lease? Should I continue to advertise? To what degree do I need to change my spending habits?

Day- to-day basis

Many accountants were working with these business owners on a day- to-day basis, providing cash flow projections, attending meetings with bank officers and calculating best and worst case scenarios for 12 months or more. Going through this crisis was painful, nevertheless as a result, many accountants established deeper relationships with their customers, forming the basis of a new and more consultative relationship.

• Review business, health, and workman’s compensation insurance to make sure the rates are competitive;

• Discuss the pros and cons with using union labor, and make the business owner aware of the cost to leave a union;

• Help design timely financial reporting, including flash reports and dashboards to allow management to run their business with timely, accurate financial information;

• Advise management on its best use of innovation, which is often a balance of using outside consultants and employees;

Good doctor looking out for our health

Just like we all need a good doctor looking out for our health, every business owner needs a good attorney, banker, insurance agent and accountant to look afterwards the health of the business. During the first three have knowledge of certain parts of a business, only the accountant is involved in all aspects of the business — because nearly everything in a business involves money.