Saving Mr. Banks and Reconciliations
 Nancy Wu
So the movie came out almost a year ago, but I am a big fan of
watching movies way after its run at the theaters. Watching movies on
the couch is so much better – the blanket, the pause button and the
bathroom are all within easy reach.
Saving Mr. Banks is about how P.L. Travers created Mary Poppins and
the Banks family. It illustrated the author’s childhood events that may
have influenced Mary Poppins’ story and character design. I’ve seen
Mary Poppins probably a dozen times. But after watching Saving Mr.
Banks and then watching Mary Poppins again, which of course I did right
away, it was like watching a whole new movie. Because only then was I
able to notice the subtle details and understand why certain things were
the way they were.
It’s the same with work. When we understand WHY we do certain
seemingly routine things, we can’t help but make our work more
impactful.
For example: Why do we have to produce balance sheet reconciliations every month?
If I don’t understand the significance behind this, I may be tempted
to do a wishy-washy job. At the end of the day, it’s just a pile of
signed paperwork anyway, so why does it matter how much effort I put
into it? Why bother chasing down open items? Why bother getting that
supporting detail?
But for someone who understands how the reconciliation activity is
intimately tied to prevention and detection of financial reporting error
and fraud, he will be less tempted to rush through his work, because he
knows what this means to the financial health of the organization.
He’ll also be better equipped to identify exceptions and issues that
will be material to management, because he has the big picture in mind.
Not to switch gears on you, but let me tell you something about my bedroom.
I make my bed every morning. My husband is not in the habit of
making the bed, and I never ask him to do it. But if he gets up later
than I do, he will always make our bed. It’s not something he does
naturally, but he knows I love it so he doesn’t mind.
This is a man who knows the WHY behind bed-making.
|