How Data Analytics and Process Improvement Boost Performance
If business owners have learned anything from dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic these past months, they know that being positioned for quick maneuvers and redirects is absolutely vital. Ensuring that key processes are recorded and supported has become critical not only to managing the business, but also to making adjustments and adapting to changing external conditions. Whether you’re talking about products, labor, supplies, or an overall financial strategy, businesses need to have internal controls in place that are up-to-date and well documented.
The seismic shift to working from home, for example, has shaken the entire framework of the business world, forcing owners to ensure their internal controls are in place and continuing to function properly—especially as effective internal controls also help to reduce the chance for theft, fraud and lost revenue. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has called the Coronavirus pandemic “a perfect storm for fraud,†as businesses and individuals increasingly experience all three factors of the “Fraud Triangleâ€: pressure, opportunity and rationalization.
Moving to the Cloud
One way to strengthen internal control processes is by placing accounting systems within an online, cloud-based system.
Working in the cloud permits your employees to work from anywhere and —as they can access financial data in real time and on any device— keeps your business moving forward.
Moreover, the cloud reduces time lags, errors and miscommunication. Having accounting processes online can also help you efficiently document funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and/or an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), and help you to prepare your loan forgiveness documentation.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is another smart strategy to ready your business for the new normal. Experienced professionals can handle some or all of your accounting operations while minimizing costs and risks.
Outsourcing enables you to work on your business, not in it.
You may want to consider outsourced services for these reasons:
- You downsized or furloughed employees as a result of the pandemic, but still need assistance;
- You are planning to seek additional bank financing;
- You feel you’re working hard, but not getting ahead, and need help to identify where the weakness lies; and
- Your business is growing and you want to improve on current performance.
As your partner, REDW’s Management Advisory & Accounting Services (MAAS) team can address your specific needs and help your business adapt and thrive in this new normal. For more information, please contact Cheryl Folkerth or Chris Henderson.
REDW is committed to keeping you informed at all times, but especially during a crisis of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay connected with us on LinkedIn and @REDWLLC. Or check out some of our other updates here.
