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Zero-Based Budgeting Is Not a Wonder Diet for Companies
Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is elegantly logical: Expenses must be justified for each new budget period based on demonstrable needs and costs, as opposed to the more common method of using last year’s budget as your starting point, then adjusting up or down. ZBB is a straightforward, intuitively simple way to aggressively strip out costs that cannot be rationally justified. Who would argue that a business should not eliminate unjustifiable ...
Read MoreTo Hold Someone Accountable, First Define What Accountable Means
At the end of a meeting, most leaders know that they should recap next steps and determine who is accountable for each. As prescribed in the commonly used responsibility models — RACI, RAPID, and the others — accountability should fall to one (and only one) person per item, even if the work involved requires input and contributions from others. Unfortunately, over the years we’ve spent advising organizations, we’ve found ...
Read MoreKeeping Up with Tech Is Accountants' Biggest Annoyance, Survey Says
The biggest technology “annoyance” faced by accountants is keeping up with changing software, according to a recent survey, with security and risk management in second place. The accountants responding to the recently released Third Annual Accounting Firm Operations and Technology survey also reported several challenges in their day-to-day practice. The biggest one, unchanged from previous years, is workflow efficiency (34 percent).
Read MoreHow to tackle implementation of multiple high-profile accounting standards
A wave of significant accounting standard setting has created heavy compliance burdens that many company finance departments are struggling to handle. Just 37% of more than 140 companies surveyed by KPMG LLP said they are on the right track in their implementation of the new revenue recognition standard issued by FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which takes effect at the beginning of 2018 for public ...
Read MoreQuestions You Should Ask Your Cloud Provider
When it comes to picking a cloud provider, you should ask some tough questions. 1. Where will my data be located? Everyone’s a cloud provider these days, and you don’t want your data in someone’s garage. Ideally, your information will be stored in a safe part of the country that’s remote from your own location, so it’s not subject to the same regional risks. 2. What can go wrong during installation or migration?
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