Uncertainty seems to be a theme for many businesses in Colorado and throughout the country. Like consumers, businesses that feel uneasy about current economic conditions and the future must take a hard look at their finances to ensure they are operating as efficiently as possible.
Of course, cutting costs often involves downsizing. There are times when layoffs are necessary, but companies must be strategic and cautious in doing so. Significant reductions can expose businesses to risks in both the short term and the long term. In the accounting and finance departments, there are alternatives to downsizing that will help an organization save time and improve accuracy:
- Review processes for inefficiencies. Every company has them—often in those routines that are high volume and manual. Look for tasks that often result in errors or backlogs as well as those that are reliant on a single “gatekeeper.” Are there times when required approvals hold up workflows or instances of information needing to be manually entered more than once? Peel back the layers of your accounting processes and document where there are bottlenecks and may be room for improvement.
- Establish goals and timelines. After reviewing all key activities in your accounting function, start setting measurable, tangible goals. If the month end closing process takes twice as long as it could, set a realistic close target and a detailed timeline of how you’ll get there. Are you communicating clearly with the internal and external parties who provide materials necessary for closing and setting expectations? Is your team spending too much time on low-risk account reconciliations and not enough on high-risk recons? Identify places where you can reclaim lost time and strategies to do so.
- Automate, automate, automate. Good systems can transform tedious and time-consuming manual tasks into quick, streamlined ones. This helps reduce errors and improves the accuracy of your financial records and data, but it also frees up your accounting team. They can replace time spent on repetitive duties with strategic work—like restructuring transactions, revisiting tax strategies, or analyzing financial information to identify opportunities for improvement. The accounting function should play a key role in supporting the financial and operational health of a business. Automating certain processes allows accounting team members to shift their focus to more value-added functions and tasks.
Solutions and Strategic Partnerships: TGRP Offers Both
The word “solutions” is in our name for a reason. Our firm was built on the belief that relationships matter, and trust is earned. Companies turn to TGRP Solutions to fill talent gaps in their accounting and finance departments and to achieve their goals with our trusted consulting services. But they also turn to us when facing difficult business decisions and for advice on how to thrive in the face of challenges.
The TGRP Solutions team is here to support your business, whether you need talent resources or a sounding board. If we cannot solve your problem, we might be able to connect you to someone who can. As a longtime strategic partner to all kinds of businesses large and small, we have a vast network of colleagues in the Denver market and throughout Colorado. That’s the solutions part of our business.
Plan, Analyze, and Strategize
There are many approaches to confronting market changes. If your business is focused on getting stronger and better, TGRP Solutions is here to talk through your goals and ideas. Whether we are the right partner for you or not, our goal is and always will be to help.
Contact us for a conversation at (303) 789-1500, or reach out to learn more about our consulting solutions, staff augmentation, and direct-hire placement solutions for leading Denver-area companies.
