Accounting Reviews

This article is intended to help everyone gain a better
understanding of National Accounts Programs, including the motivation
for creating one and the steps toward a successful process. While it is
not intended to definitively answer every question regarding national
accounts, it serves as a set of guiding principles for those in the
company who are responsible for the success of the program. It is
written for salespeople, branch managers and national account
representatives, not the company’s executive management team. However,
keep in mind that executive management needs to be committed to the
program and would benefit by understanding the process and concepts.

Regain Power by Offering Competitive Advantage

National
accounts, by definition, have significant size and buying power which
provide leverage in demanding lower prices. In addition, because of
their complexity and demographics, they are often more difficult and
expensive to service. Consequently, most national accounts are the least
profitable.

In response, you need to make a concentrated effort
to effectively rebalance the shift of power by offering significant
competitive advantages that make your products and services more
critical to your national accounts. Without creating competitive
advantage, you will be tied to the downward price spiral that eats
margin and effectively negates any understanding by your customers that
“price is not the same as cost.” A structured national accounts program
with definitive guidelines is the first step toward gaining competitive
advantage.

There are four basic broad categories of added value that create competitive advantage:

1.
Processes that streamline your customers’ productivity, improve
quality, take transaction costs out of the supply chain and provide
measurable savings (unrelated to price).

2. Administrative and
technical support that can reduce your customers’ internal costs enough
to affect bottom line operating costs.

3. Sales and marketing support that can increase your customers’ top line.

4. Technology that is core to your customers’ business results, yet is beyond their internal capabilities.

Your national accounts program should refocus your efforts on all of these issues.

Four Fundamentals

The
ultimate success of a national accounts program depends on the hard
work and team participation of all company employees involved in the
process.

There are four basic fundamentals of success in any national accounts program:

1.
Knowledge – Study the internal processes of your company and/or the
internal workings of your national accounts program if you already have
one in place.

2. Understanding – Research the business environment
in which your company operates and the resulting defined objectives for
a national accounts program.

3. Clarity – Identify the big
picture of market and customer demand and direction. This should be a
true understanding of what your corporation is trying to accomplish in
total.

4. Commitment – Secure the commitment of your entire company.

Knowledge

It
is essential to outline the objectives of your program, the process
involved, and the direction to take in order to receive help and support
when necessary. If you have no program in effect, it is critical to
develop this process.

Second, activity measurement and open
communication (both up and down the chain of command) are absolutely
critical for success. Accountability is an absolute necessity and it
must be clearly defined. Support from your company’s information
management system can provide the fundamental elements of success for
the national accounts program. A weak information system could leave
dangerous voids or even misrepresent the true picture of the national
accounts program.

Understanding

Understanding brings the
field view (external view) closer to corporate headquarters. An internal
company survey may provide the necessary clarity as to how a national
accounts program is perceived. Input from local account representatives
and branch managers is very important. Your company needs to explore how
things are being done and how an existing program is perceived. Most
importantly, input from the field with recommendations is essential. If
you currently have no program, the survey is even more critical to the
initial development stage of a new program.

Understanding actual needs of the national account is also critical
to the success of your program. To get a better understanding, ask the
following questions:

o What do national account types really value?

o What motivates our suppliers to negotiate special terms for these accounts?

o Do these accounts view our company as partners?

o What do we know about their business?

o Are we truly the primary source of supply?

o Can we create a win-win situation?

Clarity

Everyone
must have a clear understanding of exactly what you are trying to
accomplish. Recognizing the volatility of the environment is a valuable
piece of the puzzle. Your company needs to catch up to the pace of
change within the distribution industry to maintain competitive
advantage. Remember, “Perceived value drives expectations” and
“Performance value drives customer satisfaction.”

Raise your
customers’ perceived value high enough and you create “competitive
advantage” which is the first step towards rebalancing the shift of
power inherent in any national accounts program.

While the
knowledge aspect of the national accounts program is heavily weighted
toward internal perspective, clarity needs to be weighted toward your
external environment. You must be clearly aware of market dynamics,
including technology and other external forces shaping your particular
industry and driving behavior of the national accounts customers. You
must evaluate events and trends using an anticipatory perspective in
relationship to your competition. You need to ask yourself these
questions:

o How is the industry different today regarding what is expected from a national accounts program?

o What will be considered by 2007?

o What are our competitors doing in serving national accounts?

o What technologies offer the most potential, both as products and tools?

o What actions are our competitors taking to gain advantage?

o How will our suppliers react to our strategy?

Commitment

A
National Accounts Program cannot be treated like a member of the
“flavor of the month” club. Everyone needs to take it seriously.
Commitment is required by everyone. This is not something you dabble in.
That is why it is important to put the time and attention into the
planning process before getting wet. Understand your objectives.

The
only reason a company should embark on a national accounts program is
to obtain sales and market share that in total is profitable for the
company and meets the criteria of corporate strategic objectives.

The corporate objectives of the national accounts program may be outlined as follows:

o Develop a national presence in the marketplace

o Enhance the company image and credibility

o Develop impressive client references

o Support growth with preferred vendors

o Create synergy with the corporate mission statement

o Rebalance the shift of power and profitability in the national account program

One
of the core problems facing many national accounts programs is the need
to overlay a centralized sales function on an established decentralized
sales force. In the past, your processes and systems may not have
enabled customers, prospects, or even your own field sales
representatives to make informed, favorable decisions.

How Do We Get Started?

Step 1: Define the Players

Clearly define independent responsibilities of each player contributing to the success of the national accounts program.

Director of National Accounts

o Serves as liaison with national account at corporate level.

o Approves and helps establish “Rules of Engagement.”

o Provides support to local management.

o Monitors the activity between national account representatives and local branches.

o Determines qualification criteria. Reviews qualification process.

National Account Manager

o Supports/initiates implementation of national account program.

o Calls on national account corporate purchasing.

o Responds to issues and requests from the customer and company personnel.

o Meets and interacts with your customers’ top decision makers.

o Helps customers, even in areas unrelated to company products and service.

o Communicates effectively with local branch management and local account representatives.

Branch Manager

o Manages activity of local account representatives.

o Supports both corporate and local national account sales efforts

o Monitors national account activity, service level, and provides guidance to local account representative

o Reports progress.

o Interacts with Director of National Accounts on any and all national account issues.

Local Account Manager

o Manages consigned inventory

o Grows sales of non-contract items

o Interacts with national account manager

o Services account according to contract rules of engagement

o Provides Branch Manager with monthly status report.

Step 2: “The Tiger Team”

A
tiger team is a select group of top-level employees, selected by
executive management, who are committed to the objective of refining the
development of the national accounts program. This team consists of the
following personnel:

o Director of National Accounts

o Several national account representatives

o A regional manager

o Several local sales representatives

The tiger team should be split into two groups:

Group 1: Director of National Accounts

Several national account representatives

Group 2: Regional manager

Several local account representatives

With
a two-day retreat as the setting, each group will separately establish
the following during the first day: (This is a brainstorming session
designed to cover any and all ideas.)

o Measurement criteria for individuals and accounts

o Priorities

o Action items

o Accountability

o Objectives

o Rules and responsibilities of all players

On
the second day, the groups will merge and compare notes to establish a
united refinement plan to go forward. This documented plan will be
submitted to executive management for approval. Upon approval, it is
highly recommended that the intent and objectives of the program be
properly communicated to all employees. (E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com to get a sample national accounts program communication message.)

Then, a six-month audit should be conducted to follow-up on progress
and action items. This should ensure the program is progressing and
that objectives are met. (E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com if you would like a suggested listing of qualification procedures.)

Step 3: Communication

Establish communication processes and trust-building techniques for existing and prospective national accounts. Tips include:

o The sharing of relevant information will begin the trust building process. The company should take the lead.

o
The beginning dialogue should focus on the long-term strategic
initiatives of the respective companies. Understanding each other’s
drivers, challenges and strategies will build the foundation for future
communications.

o The customer needs analysis and account planning process are excellent vehicles to build trust and open communication.

o
Customer and supplier executive interaction fosters trust and will have
a cascading effect, driving both organizations toward more effective
communication.

o The data and information to be shared should be
identified in a cooperative environment. The focus should be on
information that will lead to improvement and efficiencies for both the
customer and the company.

o The capture, storage, retrieval and
communication of information to be shared must be considered when
building the infrastructure systems.

o The customer and your company’s national and local representation must develop the rollout plan jointly.

o Internal champions/coordinators of the rollout process must be identified and positioned by both the customer and the company.

o
The plan should be developed and implemented using a team “project”
approach. The ongoing monitoring and controlling activities should then
be transitioned to others within the respective organizations.

o The rollout plan should address cultural, functional and training issues for both organizations.

The infrastructure system should have the ability to report
information that is crucial to monitoring and controlling the ongoing
application of these services.

Track the Process on the Web

It
greatly enhances the communication process if national accounts
programs are tracked on the web. As Akarin Weatherford, Chief Technology
Officer of CEO Strategist LLC points out, this creates great
opportunities to increase effectiveness within the organization:

o
Communication channels widen as web application is leveraged to support
the account management process. Collaborative tools allow managers,
sales persons and account representatives to adequately share
information between themselves about accounts.

o Managers can
track and view the progress of sales persons and account representatives
from anywhere with near 24×7 availability using a standard web browser
from any PC or laptop connected to the Internet.

o A centralized
web site to track the milestones within this process means that managers
can capture a real-time picture of what is going on with the entire
account management process and each individual account in order to make
appropriate critical business decisions.

o Accountability and
traceability for each manager and sales representative are established
since all actions performed on a customer’s account are recorded by the
web site.

Because of the distributed nature of national and local
accounts, the best way to manage this process is through a web-based
application. This means the following:

o No Need to Buy Special
Computers or Software – Most managers, sales persons, and account
representatives will already have what they need to participate:
laptop/PC, web browser, and local internet service, meaning no long
distance access charges (through AOL, Road Runner, AT&T, etc.).

o
Information Technology Overhead Can be Cut – Maintain one software
application at one location (on the server) rather than many software
applications in many branch locations (on individual computers). If
there are any updates to the web site, it occurs in one place and is
automatically distributed to managers, sales persons, and account
representatives the next time they connect to the site. You can shrink
the IT staffing because the necessary support coverage is less.

Summary

The
motivation and process for developing a national account program have
now been outlined. As you go forward, remember these elements that will
be critical to the program’s success:

o Gather All Input – A
national accounts program involves many participants. It is not
something you do to get customers. It is something you do with major
national chains. The most successful national accounts programs have
included executive and corporate input in combination with branch and
local input. Most importantly, however, is the input of the customers
themselves in the planning, implementation and measurement stage.

o
Focus on the Process and Communicate Well – In a national accounts
program the old clich

It’s difficult to provide accurate accounting for stock redemption information, but we have gone through the rigor of putting together as many accounting for stock redemption related information as possible. Even if you are searching for another information somehow related to federal funding for training, accounting information, lease accounting software or accounting depreciation this article should help a great deal.

Many of the small business managers I now view accounting this way. It’s overhead and really doesn’t contribute to the bottom line. Or does it? The people who run the accounting system speak in an unintelligible blur of debits and credits. They have been little grasped of the operation that generates the money to pay their salaries.

Think of the G/L as a sheet of paper on which transactions from all four categories of accounts-assets, liabilities, income, and expenses-are recorded. Some of them follow up from various sub ledgers, and some are entered directly into the G/L through a general journal entry. An example of such a direct entry would be the payment on a loan.

Collateral fees are expenses incurred in the creation or purchase of printed sales materials used by your sales staff in marketing and selling your product. Promotion fees include any product samples and giveaways used to promote or sell your product.

If this article still doesn’t answer your specific accounting for a stock redemption quest, then don’t forget that you can conduct more searches on any of the major search engines like Search Yahoo Dot Com to get specific accounting for stock redemption information.

Amortization, In the course of doing business, you will likely acquire what are known as intangible assets. These assets can contribute to the revenue growth of your business and, as such, they can be expensed against these future revenues. An example of an intangible asset is when you buy a patent for an invention.

Tax, Tax accountants prepare corporate and personal income tax statements. They also prepare strategies for deferring taxes, when to expense items, how to approach a merger or acquisition, etc. You need to have a thorough understanding of economics and the tax code. Many large firms now also look for legal knowledge.

Some public accountants specialize in forensic accountinginvestigating and interpreting white-collar crimes such as securities fraud and embezzlement, bankruptcies and contract disputes, and other complex and possibly criminal financial transactions, including money laundering by organized criminals. Forensic accountants combine their knowledge of accounting and finance with law and investigative techniques to determine whether an activity is illegal. Many forensic accountants work closely with law enforcement personnel and lawyers during investigations and often appear as expert witnesses during trials.

It might interest you to know that lots of folks searching for accounting for stock redemption also got information related to another free invoice software, Resigo hotel software, and even free society accounting software here with ease.

There are two kinds of people who will find themselves up against bookkeeping; those utilized as in-house ledgers within large businesses, or those bookkeeping for their own reasons. There are a few sensible and basic routines which can be beneficial for bookkeepers in Ramsey Minnesota when it comes time to prepare regular management accounts for the owners of companies, or even for your own records. The goal of these routines is in aiding the completion of the year end accounts, plus they can ensure the company continues to operate smoothly.

The main goal of a accountant within a corporation is to ensure the exact and flawless operation of a company, and this pertains firstly to the paperwork despatched and received by the company. The majority of transactions should be entered into the ledgers immediately to ensure the accuracy; plus it eliminates later discrepancies or miscalculations. Just as it’s crucial to be timely, it’s also vital that you back up any information lest a system crashes or the information is somehow lost later on.on.

One of the most important things to consider with independent bookkeeping is just that-do it! It’s easy to procrastinate, nevertheless the longer you wait to tackle the books, the greater your chances are to inflict errors or misprints. Mistakes in bookkeeping take three times as long to fix as doing it right initially, so schedule some time, make it a regular routine, and you’ll avoid future frustrations. If, however, you would rather spend time earning money versus documenting it, it may be to your advantage to hire a bookkeeper. Most charge by the minute, so unless you possess the extra cash it may be worth it to look into do-it-yourself bookkeeping. If however the money you earn outweighs the expense of a professional accountant it may be well worth the peace of mind. It completely depends how you’d prefer to use your funds.

A couple of methods that should be observed when bookkeeping include, but are not limited to, the documenting of any receipts and payments that have not cleared the bank statements following the completion of a reporting period. It’s worthwhile to double check that all business expenditure comes from the business funds, and not your individual funds. The objective in monitoring your hard earned money is to earn more, not lose it. Outstanding amounts owed at the end of a period should also be recorded, and although you may have a generated list it’s worth it to double check its accuracy.

Likewise, all payments owed to outstanding suppliers should be recorded, and any recurring expenditure ought to be accurate. Double check company credit cards and any receipts for small amounts must be filed and if possible, utilized in lowering your tax bill. Little steps like these can seem tedious and more work than necessary, but if you’re going to try bookkeeping it’s worth it to remember that the more meticulous the better. You will reap the rewards and prevent the frustrations down the road.

So you may be thinking about studying to be a CPA. The CPA exam will not be a simple examination to take, as we probably already know. It requires considerable time and effort to be spent to get the best results and achieve a pass in the CPA Exam. Having said that, you are going to reap the rewards when you are ultimately minted as a CPA.

1. The career paths for CPAs are varied. It is not all about accounting for big corporations. There are a number of different CPA career paths, including Forensic and Information Technology (IT). As the criminal activity becomes more regularly occurring and given the growing variety of company related investigations, Forensic Accountants are currently in much more demand. Certified Public Accountants are able to work for either a big global CPA firm or maybe a modest local accounting practice. Teaching accountancy can also be yet another career path you can think about

2. Your colleagues will have more respect for you after you achieve your CPA License. You can demonstrate that you truly have the ambition, drive and perseverance to progress your career. Employers will see that you are committed to your career and may see you as a hardworking and dedicated individual. You own self esteem should grow as well – envision those feelings of reaching your main goal and becoming a CPA.

3. Accountants with a CPA License are in great demand. According to Reuters there is a shortage of experienced CPAs. Because of the recent corporate scandals the amount of jobs that require a CPA title has increased considerably. As public corporations have to meet stringent accounting guidelines as a result of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley act there exists an increased need for accounting professionals.

4. A CPAs salary is more in comparison to a regular accountants?. Recent research verify that a CPA could make 10% more salary, on average, compared to regular accountants. Without a doubt, more experience will bring a greater salary. Improving your credentials by becoming a CPA will bring you the rewards of a higher salary.

Add in the option to be ready to retire in fifteen years and you will see that deciding to become a CPA could be the best decision you ever made.

Unlike Generally Accepted Accounting Principles(GAAP), tax accounting is an extensive set of laws and regulations required of businesses to submit income tax information. Just like federal income tax, this set of comprehensive accounting principles is regulated at the national level.

As of the 2008 fiscal year, there are only a few different ways to compile tax accounting information, but 2 main methods. The acceptable ways of submitting information are the cash method, accrual method, or a combination of both.

Depending on qualification, these different methods can be chosen by a company according to timing of transactions such as credits and debits. If qualified for either method, the company will look at the advantages and disadvantages of each method and choose the most beneficial method. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants(AICPA) submitted a request to change the accounting method, but nothing has been overturned as of yet.

There are two parameters that a business must not qualify for to have the ability to choose their tax accounting method . A business must use the accrual method if the sales are over $5 million or there is inventory stockpiled that will either be sold to the public or used to make products sold to the public.

The accrual method, or accrual basis, of tax accounting records sales and purchases as the order is processed. In this method, physically receiving or paying money is not the time of recording. When a sale is made or a job is completed the credits or debits are recorded, regardless of the money actually changing hands or not. This method is simpler when large contracts are signed, but the payment plan may last several years. One disadvantage would be that even though the books show a large capital, the actual funds are not in the account.

The cash method, or cash basis, of tax accounting is simply recording transactions as the money is exchanged. This method is more accurate and gives a better feel for how much spendable capital a business has to use. Depending on the set-up of the business procedure, the cash method takes a little more discipline in book keeping. Unlike the accrual method that records the transaction as the order is processed in the office, in cash accounting the payment must be recorded directly after payment is taken. The cash method can also leave a window for fraud or theft, whereas accrual accounting has checks and balances to make sure the correct amount of payment is applied for each order.

So, after determining if your business is required to use the accrual method or not, it has a choice. The choice depends on the structure of the business and the preferences of advantages and disadvantages of each method.

It is important to note that a business is not allowed to change tax accounting methods back and forth. If a change is desired, the current method must have been used for the last two consecutive years. At that time, a formal request must be submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury. To make sure this process is done correctly and all the bases are covered, the owner/officer of the business should consult with a certified public accountant. The Secretary of the Treasury also has the right to require a business to re-compute the taxable income to more accurately show a business’s tax accounting.

In summary, tax accounting requires careful analysis and application of the tax code, regulation provisions, administrative pronouncements, and case law. It is possible and sometimes more advantageous to complete this process in-house or with the aid of online accounting , but it is recommended for some businesses to seek professional guidance.