It’s so hard
Why are things so freaking hard?!
We have all screamed that more than once, usually when technology or information fails us. Have you ever had an experience like this?
I called to buy tires and schedule an appointment. Over 30 minutes, I went through a first phone call, two different websites, a new account, duplicate data entry, and a second phone call.
How could something that happens all the time be so bad?
One of our clients had a moment like this. Every month.
Sales reported weekly that contracts were being signed pointing to a great month
The monthly business review started with a P&L showing much lower revenue
The numbers came out of the same system. How could this be so hard?
Our job was to make it easy. At least look easy.
The challenge was that sales and accounting were both right. Their numbers were very different for very good reasons.
Our solution involved three steps:
Understand the process – we walked through the sales reporting and accounting work process.
Develop a customer-friendly tool – the Sales to Revenue reconciliation showed enough detail of the accounting’s process to build trust.
Present differently – New monthly business reviews started with market conditions, customer trends, and sales, then the P&L
The root cause was traced back to a loss of expertise within the finance team as the company went through two sales within a few years. The new owner quickly recognized the gap between the business and the accounting team. We filled the gap.
Numbers can be hard, even when they are right.
Like my tire story, they may go through different systems that don’t talk together. Like my client, they can be adjusted for good reasons.
They can mean different things. They can become outdated. They can be incomplete. And just plain wrong.
After you, or your business partner, have a latest "Why is this so hard?" numbers moment, give us a call.
We listen, learn, and make it look easy. Like it happens automagically.
Magically yours,
Lynn
