Automating Accounting Process

With increasing need to expedite the delivery of the financial package to upper management accounting managers are becoming increasingly challenged. Delivering accurate accruals in a timely manner can be very challenging. From rebates and commissions to employee benefits and inter-company consolidations automation is the best alternative rather than manpower.

To automate a process look at the rules involved in determining the calculation. Then look at the sources of the data. The number of systems used to provide information. Then look at extracting the information into one data source. I still find that Excel is an excellent way to automate tasks. Too often managers look to have an expensive third party to provide information related to automating a process. Ask yourself what steps they might use to make a calculation. For instance populating daily foreign exchange rates into your system. Doesn't yahoo.com offer this information for free. Isn't using your IT department to setup a quick import from this data source an excellent solution. It's free and shouldn't take internal staff more than two hours.

Something I have automated and incorporated into close are commissions. The accounting department needed the commission calculation for the commission accrual and the sales managers needed the information to pay third party sales agents. In our company the commission calculation is a part of the accounting departments responsibilities (I know you probably thinking the sales department should have this responsibility I'll answer controls). Unfortunately our ERP system in not able to support our commissions process due to a complex system of rules. I incorporated a data download and a pivot table to feed the information automatically into a worksheet containing the rules. Sometimes from multiple pivot tables. The way this is done is buy using "getpivottable" formulas with "if(iserror" functions. The "if(ieserror" is important because if a company or product class did not receive sales then an error is returned by the formula, and I would prefer a zero. (Contact me for an example.) Well it is important to test the automation and adapt it in case information being imported is changed. To do this compare the totals provided by the pivot table and incorporate the report into the task which might be a conglomeration of used and unused information. I setup my cack report to provide a balanced number. Doing this will make it easy to pin point out of place, missing and conflicting information. Finally, I track information using a running table and another pivot table providing month over month and year over year information. This is useful when manaagers are reviewing the information and is really an added bonus. I do this by copying the formulas renaming a month range then copying and pasting the previous month information as values. This used to be a two to three day process and it took four days to automate. Now the download takes 1 minute, refreshing the pivot tables takes 30 seconds, reviewing the check sheets and PivotTables takes 2 minutes and ironing out the rare error takes 3 minutes. The commission process once took from 16 - 24 hours and was highly susceptible to errors and quarterly exceptions added more time every three months and took the manpower of three people. Now the quarterly exceptions are incorporated into the monthly reports, there are far less errors and the whole thing takes less than five minutes.

Another extremely cumbersome task was the inter-company eliminations. I developed a process that only excludes the inter-company profit elimination on inventory. Our company had multiple level of eliminations. The process to eliminate all accounts took three people three days to complete and incorporating new accounts and companies often took months to complete. The eliminations were not accurate and were the most time consuming part of close. Due to restrictions with the ERP sysetm and the fact we had eight reporting levels I looked to define accounts with tags and account numbers that could be picked up using internal reports that eventually automated entries. This project almost got me fired but I completed it just before a hard cut throat deadline. Once, the process was completed it took the inter-company profit from 144 man hours to five minutes. It literally takes ten minutes to complete and thirty minutes to check. The point is that I looked to the systems internal reports and methods by which I could distinguish the accounts from each other to define the accounts and direct the reports to the appropriate selections at the appropriate levels. All together the automation took me approximately 200 hours to complete plus 100 hours of overtime I didn't get compensated for but helped me keep my job.

Starting P90X Exercise Regiment Review

I have been following the Fit for Life diet plan, and it seems that my weight loss has stalled. I am really disappointed but I am going to implement an exercise program called P90X to get my body where I want it to be. I am thinking about posting a Day 1 picture and updating it every thrity days. I am thinking that posting pictures on the web may be a bit to embarassing for me.

I am really excited. Some equipment is required and I didn't get the chin-up, pull-up and sit-up bar that is absolutely necessary. I have ordered it and will be waiting for it to show up in the mail. The anticipation is killing me. The bad news is that the program requests the user to follow a diet program, but I am still going to stick with Fit for Life.

The protein thing is going to be hard but since I am a vegeterian I am hoping that eating quinoa will work. Well I hope to keep you updated on how P90X is working out for me. I have two relative that use it and they swear by the program. One has only 9% body fat. I don't want to get that trim but that is still impressive.

Well I guess it should explaing the priciple behind P90X. For those of you who are familiar with muscle confusion read no further. Basically, the idea is to keep varying your exercises in a way that doesn't allow you to adapt to an exerise regiment. Where muscles do things in the most efficient manner possible, which minimizes the effectiveness of one's workout.

I have included a few links if you are interested in the program.

Made in the USA: Translation Insurance Policy

Today companies are shipping whole manufacturing operations off to foreign countries. It does matter where really as long as they find the lowest cost center available. Then you have to ask yourself is this really in their best interest? The truth is that it is a good idea but that is not the whole truth.

There are a plethora of reasons to keep some manufacturing at home. I identify this concept as "Manufacturer's Insurance", and keep in mind that this insurance doesn't apply to the United States alone. This applies to corporations in countries such as France, Germany and Japan.

When businesses outsource complete product lines and sometimes their complete manufacturing facilities they lose several things. The two that matter most our control and knowledge.

The political process of other countries is often unpredictable. You never know what they will do and how that will affect business. The host country advantage is that at least your government should have the businesses benefits in mind. Currently, China is rapidly becoming a manufacturing giant. I would argue that with the capitalist drive of their economy and the communist control of their government si bound to clash. It is inevitable and guess who has the guns. Who is to say that companies shouldn't get while the getting is good though.

Every manufacturer knows that production can be haulted for many reasons even at home. The advantage is that when these occur at home upper level management can immediately implement solutions. When they occur overseas it could be months before upper level management can address the problem. The home turf advantage is pivatal to some extent in every business.

The other issue is that knowledge is lost and this is why I maintain that the most complicated processes should be kept at home. This way your company has people that understand the most integral lines, and can train backwards to get up to speed if manufacturing is lost in other countries.

The idea behind my thoughts is that keeping some manufacturing at home allows companies to quickly fall back and bring home lines. There are also the patriotic reasons. It has been proven that our job market and economy can adapt to blows time an time again. The home economy does however purchase many of the products that have been outsourced and this is not a perpetual blow the economy can take at some point it will break.

It has also been shown that when America's economy suffers so does the world economy. America and Europe aer the pins between failing globally and succeeding globally. For this reason it is important that the host economies be evaluated before shipping jobs off. I guarantee that a company can produce a million parts for one-tenth the price and still lose money if no one at home can buy the good.

Self Dependent Problem Solving

Every once in awhile I am faced with a complex problem that seems to overwhelming to address. I am often able to find the solution by employing a few strategies each stemming from the other. The first strategy involves breaking the problem down into smaller more manageable components. I do this by asking simple questions related to the problem. This breaks the problem apart and allow correlations to be made.  It also provides the foundation to maneuver through the more complex components.

Even though the foundation is being set during this part of the process it is almost inevitable that you will find a point where you become stuck. When I get to this point I simply do an Uber-Breakdown of the issue I am trying to tackle, it is important to keep the mind moving. I look at the basics of my knowledge and answer the most basic of question I can come up with. Often this not only jogs my mind but it brings to light some of the more complex issues that I have not developed fully. This has even lead me directly to the solution. A quick note if you have writer's block this exercise will get your mind rolling enough to get you out of the snow.

Once, I have addressed and solved all of the different components I've laid I can find myself in a very discouraging point. No solution. From my experience this is a result of one of two situations. Like always I will address the lesser of the two evils first. Basically, you have a bunch of solutions that you are pretty certain play into the larger solution but it is proving difficult to put them together. Basically, you are sitting in front of a jigsaw puzzle. It is best to approach this by putting the pieces that most naturally fit together first. In an actual puzzle these pieces would be the edges. Then you simply build toward the middle. During this process I often find that I was having problems because a few pieces of the puzzle had fallen to the floor and I simply needed to pick them up to put my solution together. By placing the components together without fully addressing the solution you will allow yourself the ability to find the issues that were in the problem that you had forgotten to address or did not realize were a part of the problem. Once, this process is started it won't be long until you have arrived at the solution unless the second scenario is occurring.

On to the second and potentially more frustrating but also more rewarding stumbling block of the problem solving process. Finding that you lack the knowledge to come upon the solution. This is like being able to see your destination across a canyon and not quite having enough material to build the bridge to get to where you are going.

However, you are in a unique position because you have pre-assembled several of the pieces to build the bridge. Now simply assemble the pieces in a similar fashion to how you would have built the puzzle. Eventually, you will find yourself at the edge of the bridge without any more material to approach the gap before you and your solution. The dilemma here is that you may have to discover new materials that will allow you to extend your bridge.  In other words it is time to learn. You do have to determine whether someone else can help provide guidance or if you simply can learn more on your own to get you to where you are going.

If you find that no one can help or your simply stubborn and want to forge forward this next strategy is for you. You now stand at the edge of not a bridge but of discovery. It is important to understand that to extend the bridge towards your goal you must discover new knowledge that you have not been taught. You have to think creatively to come up with theories and test them. At first make sure you use solid concepts and do not venture to far from your knowledge base. It can be discouraging to find that you have done a lot of work only to build a tangent that leads no where and collapses. As you get closer and closer to reaching your goal explore more and more radical concepts that will allow you to achieve your desired solution.  Try to do the minimum amount of work before presenting a new test.

The basic principle of each strategy is to build to the complex through simplicity.

Flat Earth Veggie Crisps Review

I noticed they were using Google to advertise on one of my favorite sites, this one, and decided to give it a little review since I have eaten them. As a matter of fact, I have a bag in my kitchen right now. Flat Earth Veggie Crisps are pretty good and they are definitely healthier than potato chips, but still watch out they are not a totally healthy alternative. Just eat a serving of these chips a day. You will be much better off.

Now, Frito-Lays are really the producer of this brand. This could have both a negative and positive impact on letting people make healthy choices. It is well known that many companies use deceptive practices to lure people into buying their product buy appearing to be a healthy choice. How many fat people do you know that eat mainly fat free products and in addition don't appear to eat all that much. There are plenty of heavy set women at my work that only eat a Lean Cuisine for lunch.

The point is that Frito Lay can either take this brand and build on making it healthier or use it to decieve more people. I think that we will see Frito target healthier alternatives. They have found that this has been profitable. They have released many baked chip products and Pepsi has also strengthened their hold in healthy drink options as soda dwindles as the drink of choice for most consumers.

In any event Flat Earth Veggie Crisps are still a better alternative than potato chips and thy have a unique flavor. I personally do not eat them, because they violate the food combining principles. Try to make small steps towards better health by switching to products like these, while you do the research to inform yourself on the changes that you truly need to make. The answer you'll find is to have a diet that consists of primarily whole foods. You can still have snacks like Veggie Crisps just don't depend on them to help you have good health. If you want get a free bag from Flat Earth.

Chart of Accounts an Organization Structure

By Sean Anderson

The chart of accounts should have a simple and logical organizational structure. More so than that last sentence. I personally prefer to use five digit numbers for primary accounts and 3 digit numbers for sub accounts.

There are many concerns to address when coming up with a chart of accounts. Short and long terms considerations have to be taken into perspective. Many accountants would disagree with me whole-heartedly but this is the one time in accounting that you should avoid being conservative. I like to create a chart of accounts that can weather the storm of business to come. Dream about where you want your business to be, take into scope international possibilities and make your accounting structure flexible so you can quickly adapt to business events.

When developing a chart of accounts consider the business type, industry, business function, standard industry practices, the needs of managers, the possibility of inter-company transactions and the flexibility of your structure.

The number structure should look something like the following
00000 - Short-term assets
10000 - Long-term assets/Intangible Assets
19000 - Depreciation and Amortization
20000 - Current Liabilities
30000 - Liabilities
(I like to have short-term notes and long terms notes correspond to a similar the digit extension 25860 - Short Term Note Payable 35860 - Long Term Note Payable and even the A/R and A/P are on different sides of the accounting equation I line them up as well. It is a part of a better logical structure and assist in memorization of accounts).
40000 - Equity
50000 - Income
60000 - Operating Expenses
70000 - Administrative Expenses
80000 - Taxes/Interest/Extroadinary Income(Expense)

If you really want to spend time developing a chart of accounts you can try to best align closely related income and expenses. Keeping in mind that if payroll expense for plant workers is 60100 that 70100 should be salary expense for sales and administrative employees.

Now to specifically address some of the considerations above. Will start with business type. This is important for obvious reasons. Business revolving around service are obviously going to differ from those revolving around products and retail. For example a manufacturing has to keep track of inventory traveling from cost center as it develops from raw materials and purchased parts to WIP (works in process) to a Finished Good. While a retailer may only need to keep track of inventory and a service potentially may not even need an inventory account.

The industry from within a company operates is also important to consider. This is predominantly due to GAAP you want to be sure to setup a chart of account that will allow the business to remain conducive to the industries standard accounting practices.

Other concerns include the needs of managers. For instance managers typically like a smooth trend of expenses. I personally, don't think this is highly important but you may have the need to setup up several accruals that operate from a budgeted number or you may want to setup a permanent accrual to eliminate the need to perform that operation monthly. It is really only necessary to true this account up at the end of the year if payment amounts are based on an estimate.

Inter-company transactions are also highly important especially when dealing with foreign businesses. The foreign factor involves minimizing tax liabilities while still managing cash. After all you don't want to get all your cash tied up in one country. This is all done through transfer pricing, which I am not yet qualified to address.

Finally, leave yourself some breathing room. Make sure you are always able to add necessary accounts in a logical manner. Business evolves you chart of accounts should evolve with the business. Well this should help with the development of your chart of accounts.


Check out the Discover card for personal and business use.

The Myth of Human Resources

By Sean Anderson

I went to business school and became an account. Many of my friends wanted to go into human resources. They took a bunch of hippy idealistic business classes and some where along the line we've lost touch. The myth really started before college though. Even back then I would hear people say I want to go into human resources to help people.

Well that is not the goal of this department. They do tend to treat each other well, and take part in a lot of perks that nobody else in the company receives. They also keep on hand one sacrificial lamb called a recruiter just in case cuts become necessary.  However, that does not qualify as helping others, as a matter of fact that is helping ones self. At my company human resources gets upset if we walk through their department or use their copier. It has a big sign on it that says for HR only.  At the same time they don't have any problem drinking the coffee my department makes and grabbing food we bring.  It has been like this at several companies I've worked.  The big old double standard.

The reason that the human resource department acts like a bunch of whining brats is that they had some false premise about their jobs. They then use that as excuse to do what they want and everyone else hates usually hates them.  The point is a path of good intention doesn't lead to goo because companies have a much different need.

Human resources is a tough job. The decisions made by this department heavily influence peoples lively hoods. What insurance they receive, whether or not they keep their jobs and what programs might need to be cut to reduce costs. The job of the Human Resource department has little to do with planning the company picnic.

It also, has to deal with helping people when they don't want the help. Half the safety policies are really good but people always find a reason that they hinder their job and shouldn't be followed. Really it doesn't make sense, but if your in Human Resources your still going to be hated. Why do people resist changes that make them safer, who knows.

Even the job of a recruiter stinks. You have so many people seeking the same job and often times you'll hear situations that will make you want to hire someone unqualified for a job out of empathy. So, you just avoid those peoples' phone calls or tell them no. The other part of the time managers are raining down on you because it is really hard to find qualified employees.

Next time you think about seeking a job in HR think about the need to decide whether or not the companies survival is more important than the jobs of 500 employees and their families. If your lucky the solution will be cutting out their health insurance. Don't fall for the HR myth decide to get educated in a field where you'll make more money and be appreciated. Once you make your money help people all you want just don't dilute your professional ambitions with these notions.