Pareto's 80 20 Rule for Corporate Accountants

275 Pages·2007·2.76 MB·English

by  David Parmenter

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Pareto’s
80/20 Rule
for Corporate
Accountants
D P
AVID ARMENTER
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ffirs.qxd 02/22/07 07:33 PM Page ii
ffirs.qxd 02/22/07 07:33 PM Page i
Pareto’s
80/20 Rule
for Corporate
Accountants
ffirs.qxd 02/22/07 07:33 PM Page ii
ffirs.qxd 02/22/07 07:33 PM Page iii
Pareto’s
80/20 Rule
for Corporate
Accountants
D P
AVID ARMENTER
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ffirs.qxd 02/22/07 07:33 PM Page iv
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright © 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Parmenter, David.
Pareto’s 80/20 rule for corporate accountants / David Parmenter.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN: 978-0-470-12543-4 (cloth)
1. Corporations—Accounting. I. Title. II. Title: Pareto’s
eighty/twenty rule for corporate accountants.
HF5686.C7P27 2007
657—dc22 2006038752
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
PART ONE AREAS TO FOCUS ON IN THE
NEXT SIX MONTHS 1
Chapter 1 Accounts Payable in the 21st Century 3
Chapter 2 Timely Month-End Reporting—By Working
Day 3 or Less 15
Chapter 3 Make the Monthly Reports Worth Reading 27
Chapter 4 Limit Time Invested in Board Reporting 45
Chapter 5 Timely Annual Planning Process: Ten Working
Days or Less! 57
Chapter 6 Managing the Most Important Resource:
The Accounting Team 67
Chapter 7 Quick Annual Reporting: Within 15 Working
Days Post Year-End 75
Chapter 8 Managing Debtors 89
Chapter 9 Marketing the Accounting Function 93
Chapter 10 Client Management: Improving Relationships
with Budget Holders 99
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Contents
Chapter 11 Working Smarter Not Harder 103
Chapter 12 Maximize the Use of the General Ledger 111
PART TWO AREAS TO FOCUS ON ONCE CORE
GAINS HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED 115
Chapter 13 Throw Out Annual Planning and the Associated
Monthly Budget Cycle 117
Chapter 14 Quarterly Rolling Planning: An Evolvement
from Quarterly Rolling Forecasting 123
Chapter 15 Cost Apportionment: Do Not Do It Monthly! 147
Chapter 16 Ban Excel from Core Monthly Routines 149
Chapter 17 More Emphasis on Daily and Weekly Reporting 151
Chapter 18 Report Your Winning Key Performance
Indicators 157
Chapter 19 Where to Invest in Your Accounting Systems
for Maximum Benefit 173
Chapter 20 Implementing a New Accounting System 179
Chapter 21 Better Use of the Intranet 183
Chapter 22 Board Meetings Held Less Frequently Than
Once a Month 187
Chapter 23 Become a “Warrior Against Waste” 189
Appendix A Part One Checklist on Those Areas Where the
Finance Team Can Score the Easy Goals 193
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Contents
Appendix B Implementation Steps to Reduce Month-End
Reporting Time Frames Checklist 202
Appendix C Streamlining an Annual Planning Process
Checklist 205
Appendix D Speeding Up the Annual Audit Process
Checklist 209
Appendix E Part Two Checklist on More Wide-Ranging
Changes Which Will Require a Significant
Investment from the Finance Team 214
Appendix F How a Quarterly Rolling Forecast Can Be
Laid Out in a Planning Tool 220
Appendix G Implementing a Quarterly Rolling Forecast
Checklist 225
Appendix H Performing a Quarterly Rolling Forecast
Checklist 230
Appendix I Useful Letters and Memos 234
Appendix J Satisfaction Survey for an Accounting Team 239
Index 245
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