The finance or accounts department of any company can sometimes represent one of the largest groups of people in the company and unfortunately, their performance can be hard to measure relative to the business KPI’s

What do they produce and how do you measure good vs bad performance? In most cases it will simply be a measure of that department costs against total costs of the business but the accounting team does not really have a financial tangible measurement that a Sales or other productive department may have. One of the easiest measurements is looking at how quickly they produce the periodic financial statements. But is the report they are producing completely up to date and accurate? Do you as an owner manager know what to look for to ensure that the reports you are getting are meaningful and accurate?

A common problem with accounting departments is that they tend to grow when the company grows, but unless this growth is managed, it can have a negative effect overall, not only on the costs, but the overall performance of the team as well.

Questions that should be asked are:

• Once a team grows, does your initial senior person have the skills to manage a growing team?
• Are you taking on the right mix of staff?
• Do they have cross over skills that create natural cover for staff on leave or unexpected absences?
• As an owner or manager, do you have necessary skills to manage the expanding team or know when this team is becoming inefficient relative to the costs you are incurring. These costs don’t only include the monthly salary but also other salary on-costs, additional space, office furniture, equipment etc.

TLB Business Advisory Services is here to help growing businesses with a common sense approach and a wealth of experience in dealing with the issues facing growing businesses. Our extensive experience in designing and managing accounting teams can ensure that your team is providing you with the best possible support, cost effectively relative to the other business costs.

We can also support you with seconded or part time staff to help with the transition to a larger team through our Accounting Outsourcing Services.

Our work will ensure that only the necessary expense is incurred to provide your business with the superior Accounting support it needs.

To find out more on how our Business Review Services can be tailored to deliver benefits to your business, contact us at gidday@tlb.ae or telephone in Dubai on 04 3609477.