Accountability is a necessity for any business.  Without it, you might never reach your goals and you can have a difficult time getting straight answers from people.  One of the roles that requires ultimate accountability is in the bookkeeping process.

Because bookkeeping can have such a significant impact on a business, it is essential that you work with not only an honest and reliable bookkeeper but one that is accountable as well.  Here are a few tips to help keep your bookkeeper accountable.

Conduct Bookkeeping Reviews

Do you know what your bookkeeper is doing for your business?  If you can’t think of an answer off the top of your head, it means that you aren’t conducting enough reviews.  Most small businesses should have a quarterly bookkeeping review at a minimum but we would recommend doing them more frequently to help keep your bookkeeper more accountable.

Optimise Bookkeeper Workflow

In the digital age, there isn’t any reason why you shouldn’t use a workflow management solution like Asana to keep every department and project on task. With a tool like this, you can see the work that your bookkeeper is doing at a glance and hold them accountable daily.

Review Your Controls

Even though you’re handing over the management of your books, you should still maintain some control.  Specifically, we’ve found that you should review your controls on reconciliations to ensure that your bookkeeper is doing everything by the book.

Approve all Bookkeeper Approvals

Following up on the last point, you don’t want to give all control to your bookkeeper.  You should make sure you maintain full control on authorisations and approvals, so you’re always in the loop and know where your money is going.

Communicate Your Expectations to the Bookkeeper

Finally, you need to make sure that you and your bookkeeper are on the same page.  Whilst you might think that they aren’t always performing to their fullest, they just might not know that you expect more.  Take the time to review the work they’re doing and if you have questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to let them know!

If you have any questions or would like to learn more, feel free to get in touch with our team at www.abjsolutions.com.au