How to Deal with Accounting Incompetence in Your Business

Your accounting and accounting department should be a valuable partner to your business or company, but when they continue to make errors, deliver reports late, or send inaccurate reports, your bottom line suffers. 

This is why it’s imperative you make sure your accountant or accounting department is competent and firing on all cylinders. A few line items could change how your entire financial strategy unfolds today, tomorrow, and into the future. 

As a business owner or executive of a company, you’re ultimately responsible for the financials, which means an incompetent or inexperienced accountant will cause you more headaches than the cash you’re saving not hiring an actual professional.

Let me manage your company’s financialS.

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How do you know if your accountant is incompetent?

8 Accounting Mistakes To Watch For

Not sure if your in-house accountant is on par with your financial standings and business operations? Here are 8 accounting mistakes that could turn into nightmares for your business or company: 

1. Balances and ambiguous accounts, such as Ask My Accountant, Unreconciled Difference, Clearing Account, Uncategorized Assets/Expenses, or Miscellaneous.
2. A large number of uncleared checks in bank reconciliation over 6 months old.
3. A large number of voided checks.
4. Absence of credit card general ledger on the balance sheet.
5. Payments get coded to one account rather than to individual transactions.
6. Missing basic accounting practices, such as obtaining W9s from vendors, filing 1099s, closing the books, and account reconciliations. 
7. Accounts receivable routinely behind 90 days or more.
8. Credit memos inappropriately applied to incorrect invoices.

While these mistakes can be fixed, an accountant who allows these mistakes to occur over and over again is an accountant who needs to be replaced.

5 Accounting Red Flags to Spot Before It’s Too Late

Want to know if your accounting department has nefarious reasons to act against you? Here are the 5 not-so-innocent accounting behaviors you want to identify and fix immediately:  

1. Your accounting department leader/decision-maker is hesitant (or won’t) cross-train others and bring them up to speed on your business/company, accounting software, and financials. 
2. Accounting employee or professional does not take vacations, prefers to work alone, and refuses to delegate accounting responsibilities. 
3. Controls are minimal and segregation of duties is frowned upon (or completely disallowed). 
4. Little to no support given to you or your team when or before a payment is made (e.g. contract, invoice, inventory receipt, etc). 
5. Cash flow projections and forecasts are off by a noticeable amount. 
6. Large balances in accounts are uncategorized, nondescript, or miscellaneous.

These are the biggest red flags you MUST spot before it’s too late. In some cases, these red flags are innocent mistakes, but your accounting department should not be making them on a regular basis. Check in on these red flags, mistakes, and mishaps as soon as possible. Do not wait and let them fester into something worse like fraud or embezzlement.

And if you uncover nefarious intent attached to these red flags, then it’s time to replace your accounting department.

How to Outsource Your Accounting Department

If you want to outsource your accounting department, then let me manage your financial standing, reports, and forecasting for a third of the cost! 

I deliver spot-on, accurate reports weekly, monthly, quarterly, or whenever you like. 

I reconcile and bring books current – the very first time, so you can work on growing your company instead of struggling inside of it! 

I forecast your financial future so you can grow your company toward financial success. 

Outsource your accounting department to me,
the Top Rated Local® Expert Accountant,
for a third of the cost!