How can a Financial Controller help with your year end process?
Year-ends are an odd one.
There are two main reasons we want to get them done:
1. As a display of how much profit/loss we made across the last 12 months.
2. To know how much tax we have to pay in 9 months time.
That said we often leave them until it’s absolutely necessary to get them done; compiling the books, checking the numbers, aimless meetings with accountants about something, that by the time we filed it, is not too far off a year being out of date.
So why is a year end valuable? Imagine going on an expedition, then not talking about what went well or badly afterwards. It just wouldn’t happen. We put so much time, money and love into every 12 month period, then dismiss the results like they are an inconvenience.
The year-end should be treated as a time to look back and see if you hit the targets or aspirations that you set out at the start of the year and then used as a basis for developing a plan for the next 12 months.
I agree that most SMEs don’t need the perpetual forecasting and budgeting process that large companies have but it is important to understand that the things we did last year, good or bad, might not yield the same results next year.
To us the year end has value, but it has to be timely, proportionate, and relevant. Treating the year-end too extremely or with too little detail won’t give you enough information to make changes or decisions for the year ahead.
Using a Financial Controller that understands the practical use of annual accounts and past performance, and can then match that with your ambitions, growth ideas and wider market influences will get you what you need.