Thinking like a Cost Center

The cost center mentality refers to a primary focus on keeping the lights on and some cost management.  Accounting departments with this mentality do not believe that they are capable of, or are responsible for, participating in top line growth.  That is a fallacy and a mistake. 

Obviously, your accountants are not going start selling wares.  But CFOs are indeed looking to their Accounting and Finance team to product insights to help the organization dominate existing markets and penetrate new ones. 

The good news is that more strategic projects – the meaty, high profile kind – are coming your way.  The bad news is that you’ll need capacity to absorb them, and being completely consumed for ten days out of the month to close the books won’t cut it.

Snubbing Organic Improvement Opportunities

Nowadays, there is not enough budget and organizational appetite to push through big initiatives.  But small ideas executed one at a time can add up to impact efficiency greatly over time.  There is no better example than the Toyota story, where countless employee tweaks to the production system over time ultimately became the brand’s competitive advantage. 

Companies at the top of their game are always evaluating and trying out new ideas in a controlled environment.  Where do these ideas come from?  Internally, professional forums, local industry roundtables and vendor discussions, to name a few.  It’s easier than ever to learn and share knowledge online. 

Losing Talent

Gone are the days where the juniors in the department are content to do the grudge work to earn their way up the ladder.  Mid-level professionals are job hopping more than ever before, even in this “recessionary” market.  If you want to keep top talent, or at least not have to train new people every two years, it’s advisable to create a learning environment in the workplace. 

In other words, get your people to do less administration (read: copy-paste spreadsheets) and more brain-y work.