Same old, same old? Why you should undertake a process review

With the end of the festive season, the New Year is traditionally a time for us to reflect on the year just gone and identify areas for improvements which can be made in the next year. Whilst this is traditionally done on a personal sense (how to lose 40lbs in January!), this is also the perfect time to review your business processes to see if they are truly working for you and not the other way around!

Although undertaking a process review can seem like a daunting task, there are a number of benefits to undertaking the process:

• It will allow you to identify areas of the business which are taking up too much of your time, or taking longer than they should be
• It will give you a strategic oversight into where the time and resources of the business should be invested
• There will be an improvement to the standard of accounts which are produced on a regular basis. This may allow you to have a better insight into which areas are performing well and which areas need further concentration by the management team.

If the information which you are able to get from your accounting software is not useful it is impossible to make key strategic decisions on the next move of the business.

What businesses need to undertake a process review?

Undertaking a process review is applicable to companies of all sizes. For small businesses, ensuring that your processes are efficient will allow you to spend your valuable time is spent in the best way possible, as well as giving you the information that you need to grow your business.

For larger businesses, it is easy to continue on in the same vein rather than identify areas of weakness and possible improvement, but again spending this time will allow you the free time to then tackle the larger issues in your business.

Within accounting systems, every day there are more cloud based solutions which have the potential to streamline your business and financial processes. At AAB, we can provide knowledge of systems which can aid your business to solve problems rather than creating complex systems which are difficult to use.

As we approach another period of national lockdown this may not feel like the time to make huge changes and upset the status quo. However as the past 12 months has proven to us businesses need to be ready and able to adapt and change to the world around them whether that be in the office, at home or with closed premises.

Being on top of your systems ensures that you can pivot and change along with what challenges 2021 brings. At AAB we can help you do an in depth and impartial review of your systems to give it that health check it needs to be ready for 2021.

To find out more about how our Business Advisory team can give a helping hand, click here