Energized Accounting

My Software is Better Than Yours

2008-11-23T14:02:00Z

The software business is full of people trumpeting their software as being the best. At a conference I attended last week, someone waxed poetic about how much better Navision (Microsoft Dynamics NAV) is than Great Plains (Microsoft Dynamics GP). This happens to be a topic that I am qualified to weigh in on, being certified in both. But I didn't. The only time I compare two software packages is when determining which is the better fit for a company. When someone starts telling you how amazing...(read more)

When You Need a Lawyer

2008-11-09T12:47:00Z

It's the monthly church roast beef dinner fundraiser, only this time a health inspector has come and is asking probing questions. What do you do? The insurance on your building is about to renew and the valuation is out of date. Why not save a few bucks on the premium? The annual government Charity Information Return got sent to the old Treasurer's address and was never filed. What are the consequences? When do you call in a lawyer? Last week, I went to the annual Church and Charity Law Seminar...(read more)

New From Microsoft (NOT Software!)

2008-11-08T11:51:00Z

There's something new from Microsoft, and it's not software. It's a methodology called Sure Step . Why am I excited about a methodology? Because Microsoft has recognized that the reasons that projects fail or customers are unhappy with their system rarely have to do with the software. Just Google "why projects fail" (e.g. here , here and here ). You typically don't see "the software was missing important features" as the reason. Project management issues usually...(read more)

Sudoku & Mental Agility

2008-10-14T02:14:00Z

Kevin was huddled over his handheld computer at the restaurant. My wife and I were joining him and had picked up his wife Joanne on the way. As we approached the table, she said, “He’s probably doing Su-do-ku. He says it helps with his mentally agility.” Kevin showed me how his computer let him enter the numbers one through nine into a grid so that each box, row and column had each number only once. It was an impressive system, letting him store possible answers in each cell until he decided the...(read more)

Professional Development: The Trick

2008-10-08T02:41:00Z

Most professional accountants remember their final exam. Even people in their eighties can tell you about the question they aced or totally blew. One memory that stuck with me was my friend Jim remarking to me as we exited the exam center, "If I ever learn anything else it will be by accident." Well, times have changed. The accounting rules we learned may have seemed absolute and immutable at the time, but sadly that hasn't proved to be the case. I remember deciding not to specialize...(read more)

Software Implementation 101

2008-09-30T14:46:00Z

RSM Richter , a Canadian accounting firm, addressed software implementation in two recent issues of its midsized companies publication, Advantage . They are short, balanced and well worth reading. In Part 1 , they do a good job of setting realistic expectations: Documenting and automating every minute step of every process in a business cannot be put on a fixed, linear implementation schedule. Unforeseen problems will arise, requiring changes to those business processes and/or the software itself...(read more)

Getting to Phase 2

2008-09-25T17:06:00Z

How much of Excel do you use? If you spent a little more time designing your key spreadsheets so that all of the calculations were consistent and the data flowed in a logical way, could you produce more effective reports? If you learned a little more about graphing or pivot tables, could your presentations be a little more powerful? Most accountants I know freely admit that they just scratch the surface of what Excel can do. Now, what about your accounting system? That's what I mean by Phase...(read more)

What Makes You Proud of Your Company?

2008-09-17T19:53:00Z

This blog is all about energizing accounting staff by providing them with the best use of their accounting system. You will be a more productive, more effective team member if your tools save you time rather than getting in the way. But, on a deeper level, even the best tools are not enough to motivate you if you're not proud of where you work. I am proud of the work my employer does in disaster relief both locally and globally. As an accountant, I am particularly proud that we can say : As always...(read more)

Practical Tips for Requests For Proposals (RFP's)

2008-09-16T13:20:00Z

Elizabeth Engel at Beaconfire Consulting has some practical advice for companies issuing Requests For Proposals (RFP's). In an earlier post , I argued for reducing the boilerplate that typically goes into RFP's and their responses, but Elizabeth goes a lot further with practical suggestions about the whole process. Some of Elizabeth's do's and don'ts: DO allow vendors a reasonable amount of time to respond. DON’T send out a 50 page RFP. DON’T forbid vendors to contact you. DO...(read more)

Energizing the Staff

2008-09-11T14:20:00Z

If I were to create an EnergizedAccounting award, the first recipient would have to be Julie Kincaid, a staff member of the Stewardship unit in the United Church of Canada. Charities typically have more worthy projects than funds, so staff have to "do more with less". In an atmosphere where the resources are always being stretched, people need something to re-energize them. This year, Julie and her team decided to kick off the fall fundraiser with a little pizzazz. She also wanted to emphasize...(read more)

WOW! Free Microsoft Software

2008-09-07T20:31:00Z

My client was a small association. Their "books" consisted of wide green sheets that recorded all of the transactions. At the end of the year, an external accountant would turn the sheets into financial statements, which would be presented to the Board of Directors several months later. The new Executive Director, Jan, wanted monthly financial statements and a faster year end. We had arranged to meet to discuss her needs, but she called a few days before, all excited. "Guess what?...(read more)

Top 50 Accounting Blogs

2008-09-04T15:59:00Z

When I first read the Top 50 Accounting Blogs , I was surprised and delighted that there are enough accounting blogs to merit a top 50 list. To be included in the list was an honour. My thanks to MBA Explorer for taking the time to do the research. MBA Explorer is a web site devoted to helping people choose the best American MBA program for them. Should accountants be blogging? My answer is an emphatic YES!, but you should also approach the subject cautiously. In my early years in accounting, our...(read more)

Geek Anniversary Gifts

2008-09-03T17:03:00Z

Stuck on what to give your favourite geek for his/her anniversary? Fear not! The internet has the answer: http://www.socialsignal.com/blog/alexandra-samuel/halfway-to-hex A big thank you to Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media for the link....(read more)

Encouraging Technology Users

2008-08-21T14:04:00Z

Stephen Covey has a wonderful story about teaching his son to take care of the lawn, which I won't spoil here except to say that it was a difficult process and he has to remind himself constantly that the goal was to raise children not grass. That lesson was particularly poignant for me as I was biting my tongue watching my own son mow our lawn. At first we had to come down pretty hard on him even to do that particular chore. There were so many times I wondered if this were worth all the trouble...(read more)

Less Numbers, More Story

2008-08-20T00:11:00Z

Harry is one of our unit managers. His normally calm, diplomatic voice takes on a sudden energy as he leans across the table and says, "People seem to think that any mission will do. That's just not true." Harry has a point. Missions have to resonate with the team or they will not motivate them. I have worked for a passionate leader and I really felt the difference. When he announced his vision for the company, he made sure we all knew where we could make a difference. We worked together...(read more)

We're All In This Together

2008-08-06T18:53:00Z

The first accounting system I had to supervise was an IBM product called MAPICS. I was an inexperienced newbie and knew nothing, so I joined a user group. Every couple of months we would meet at someone's office and someone would bring donuts. We would talk about our experiences with the product and try to answer people's questions. I got some excellent advice about how to handle program patches from IBM as well as where to go for programming assistance. Joining the user group was the best...(read more)

Exploding Conventional Wisdom

2008-08-05T13:46:00Z

The accountant usually has a feel for what's really going on. My grandfather's accountant, Lloyd Smith, had a client in the construction business. While doing the financial statements, Lloyd realized that some of the projects were losing money. The owner brushed him off. He said he knew all his staff and suppliers. He knew what went into each project. There was no way he could lose money on any of them. Lloyd set out to determine the truth. All of the purchases for a project were stored in...(read more)

The Most Advanced Accounting Software on the Planet

2008-08-01T13:51:00Z

" Tally 9.0 has been dubbed the most advanced accounting software on the planet ." That claim is obviously more marketing spin than carefully researched fact, but it points to a trap that we so frequently fall into: comparing accounting software as though there were some perfect system against which all others must be measured. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm a Microsoft fan. In my quarter century of accounting, I have spent a decade implementing Dynamics GP (Great Plains...(read more)

You're Teaching - But Are They Learning?

2008-07-29T13:24:00Z

Last night, at the dojo , John was teaching. John has a radically different way of teaching martial arts. He smiles. He cracks jokes. He took a serious Aikido exercise and called it the "Weeble Wobble" (as in " weebles wobble but they don't fall down "). He encouraged the beginners to get in close. He said that in classical martial arts training, the top students stood in the first row and the lesser students stood in the rows behind them, each learning from the row in front...(read more)

TEST [FM82578-97]

2008-07-25T17:34:00Z

[FM82578-97]...(read more)

Brag Bag Now Open!

2008-07-25T14:57:00Z

Chris Brogan , a social media expert, has a great concept he calls the Brag Bag. Every Friday he posts an article encouraging people to add a comment about something they're proud of. Some people talk about personal accomplishments. Some people brag about what friends or co-workers have done. Others just leave a high-5 to the other people who left their comments. The result is an energetic, positive tribute to the human spirit. Hmm, maybe Chris should consider opening the bag on Monday mornings...(read more)

Security Officer Goes Postal

2008-07-21T13:24:00Z

Today's Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper had this article about a city of San Francisco computer engineer who changed the security passwords on his employer's system. The system still works, but nobody can get in to set up new users, change passwords etc. The man, Terry Childs, is languishing in a local jail with bail set at $5,000,000. As an accountant, should you care? I do. The accounting system I run is a major user of the computer network. A network security issue is a financial security...(read more)

Accounting 501: Be Nimble

2008-07-18T14:44:00Z

The only time my father's employer changed was when his firm merged with another, whereas I have had several employers, including myself. I didn't plan it that way. In fact, I had every intention of staying with my first employer until I retired. But my generation was the one that coined the phrase negative growth, and so many things have happened in my career that I never expected: International accounting firms laying off staff - It was the early 80's, before all of the mergers that...(read more)

It's MY Data, dammit!

2008-07-12T13:50:00Z

The story you are about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. It was Tuesday, July 8, a smoggy day in the metropolis. My name is Joe Friday, and I implement business systems. Normally accountants are quiet, orderly people, but the Financial Analyst in front of me had more than just a hair out of place. She was spitting mad. "Those Customer Relationship Management people have ruined my data." "Just the facts, ma'am. What seems to be the problem?"...(read more)

Motivate Your Team

2008-07-08T10:45:00Z

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” In how many MBA classes, inspirational business speeches and management books has this speech by American President, John F. Kennedy been touted as the perfect motivational mission? ( Example 1 , example 2 , example 3 ). The latest to cross my desk is an article by Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden called “Motivation through Mission...(read more)