31/01/2008
Concept - Future of Business Part Two
Background Extract
Back to the dream
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Just do business
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Business records are created accidentally
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The records are matched to bank records
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Records are checked for logic
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Records sent without thinking to a gateway for reporting
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Gateway may be the Accountant seamlessly automatically producing Accounts, Tax Returns, useful information
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Automatic, non-paper, no rekeying lodging of info with each bit of Govt: ATO, BAS, ABS, ASIC, ASX, SRO’s etc
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This all happens because the accidental business records are seamlessly accepted by each authority instead of a reworked set of numbers in yet another different format.
(This paper is a thought provoker and not necessarily a statement of the opinions of the author)
“A great dream “maybe” but what about the bookkeeper” Should the bookkeeper be saying wakeup and stop dreaming?
A bookkeeper’s reality includes dealing with the different perspectives, the different priorities and the very different expectations of those involved in each business:
Owners get annoyed if there isn’t enough cash around, for whatever is the need of the moment – personal or private,
Employees get annoyed if they need to do paperwork rather than “be productive” and they get stressed if anything goes awry with any part of money due to them,
Accountants expect the information in a way they can see the answers in a split second for their question of the moment,
Suppliers expect payment early and to never be queried,
Customers expect that in return for their loyalty they be allowed to pay late.
All of whom expect all of this from the bookkeeper and the bookkeeper should be up-to-date, precise, completely organised, all filing in order and the holder of all knowledge knowing what was asked even if not worded correctly.
All of this achieved by spending less time than ever before and being paid a small amount.
SO
When a bookkeeper hears about yet another “simplification” program the suspicious grin emerges:
The simplified tax system is capped off by the lodgement of Income Tax Returns – these are forms that require the completion of numbers in a form that have to be recalculated and extracted from the basic business records. They include a mountainous number of schedules that have to be attached to the tax return to be complete but due to self assessment their omission is rarely picked up until there is an issue.
The Simplified BAS was developed as an improvement on the previous form that at least added up. The simple one doesn’t.
Business owners do not want to know about changes in government forms or that newer more up-to-date knowledge is required in order to properly process new requirements. Do it quicker and do it cheaper!
Bookkeepers should say “wakeup and stop dreaming” but they should be saying this to business!.. Bookkeepers can lead the way in helping businesses wakeup to a better way of doing business.
Bookkeeping should not remain in the land of recording what has already happened.
1) The process of issuing of an invoice should already have performed the accounting of that sale.
2) The making of a retail sale should have captured information that enables quick and useful accounting information
3) Supplier interaction (ordering, invoicing) should be streamlined
4) Paying suppliers should use electronic banking but also use processes that mean the instruction to the bank to pay the supplier has already performed the recording of the accounting transaction.
5) Verifying / Reconciling bank transactions should be automated
Each time these systems are mentioned some bookkeepers become very concerned that it will cost them the bookkeeper money. If they use processes that are quicker then they won’t be able to work as long doing that process.
The reality of the Australian business world is that there are too few people able to assist business with their accounting records. If bookkeepers step up to the plate and use quicker processes to do base processing and reconciling work then they can also step up to the plate and provide more of the verification and analysis of the records and provide more complete information to the owners and their accountants. All in all the bookkeeper will be providing more solutions in a better timeframe and be charging more per hour.
Bookkeepers will always be playing catch-up and recording (maybe verifying) transactions after the event. But Bookkeepers should be helping business use one process to:
Do business
Record the business
Report to government
It all ties in to efficient business in Australia.
Next Issue – Basic future business
