Consulting Services • Published 7/19/2021 The True Cost of Wasted Time in Your Accounting Processes

Accounting processes aren’t designed to be inefficient, but sometimes it feels that way. Anyone who has manually processed accounts payable, tried to close the books on-schedule or attempted to turn financial data into business insights knows it’s never as easy as you expect.

Ideally, accounting would fire on all cylinders with intuitive, efficient processes driving accurate and accessible financial data. But even if it’s not, your business may still be doing well. So, how bad could inefficient accounting really be? Before accepting that your current accounting processes are “good enough,” consider the true impact of wasting valuable time and effort. Inefficient accounting processes can result in:

Wasted and redundant effort

Experienced finance professionals should be developing plans and strategies, not tackling routine data management. Accounting becomes inefficient when you spend too much time manually entering, organizing, and searching for data. Within many organizations, a significant portion of the average workday is spent just looking for information.

Inaccurate and disorganized financial data

When accounting processes waste time, accountants have to rush to complete tasks on schedule. This leads to errors and oversights with financial data. Finding and fixing the problem takes even more time. Worse, missed errors lead to misinformed financial decision-making.

Compliance issues

Errors aren’t just frustrating, they’re also costly when they run afoul of accounting regulations. Fines and penalties are an avoidable financial setback that can damage the reputation of the company. Accounting inefficiency makes it hard to perform compliance audits quickly and completely, increasing the likelihood of non-compliance and penalties.

Misinformed decisions

Business leaders need accounting and financial insights at their disposal in order to make sound decisions, but if the information is not readily available, they may not be able to wait. Missing or inaccurate financial data puts your company and its decision-makers at a disadvantage and can lead to costly setbacks.

So, how much can you really accomplish with less-than-perfect accounting processes? The answer is less than you would like and less than you’re actually capable of.

Solving this issue doesn’t necessarily require new hires or a massive overhaul of the accounting department. You need the right partner with the right experience, equipped with best-in-class technology. Working with knowledgeable professionals to outsource some of your team’s workload can smooth out the sticking points that hold back your accounting department, and take many of the time- and labor-intensive tasks off your plate.

Combining the accounting assets you have with the ones you need is easier than you think. Contact P&N to speak to our team about how we can help you make the most of your time.