Process Consulting

Although every process improvement engagement is unique, we adhere to a similar format for our consultations, so that you know what to expect. Here is a quick synopsis of the different stages of our process improvement framework.

Initiate

The objective of our initial meeting is to gain a better understanding of your business and the unique challenges that could be hurting your company’s profitability. Although, we will guide the conversation by asking some standard questions about your accounting processes, we will prioritize topics that are most relevant to you. The initial meeting should last about an hour and is complimentary.

Discover

Once we have gained an understanding of your vision for the engagement, we will interview your staff and observe tasks being completed to obtain relevant information.

Discovery usually takes from two to four hours and could include:

Observation of time-consuming accounting procedures
Review of source documents to better understand how they translate into financial data
Review and documentation of the flow of information between departments
Tour of warehouse or manufacturing plant
Review of software applications

Strategize

After we have evaluated your processes, we will document our findings and provide you with our recommended improvements.

Strategic plans typically include:

Findings – a detailed summary of what we observed during Discovery
Recommendations – a high level description of suggested process improvements
Other Considerations – a high level description of additional items we noted during Discovery
Proposal – an implementation plan including a quote for services and suggested timeline

Implement

Once we have prioritized the improvements, we will start the implementation. Our involvement at this stage depends on your staff’s capabilities and availability. If your staff is very knowledgeable and has the time to devote to implementing a new process, we can advise and oversee the implementation. If your staff needs a more hands-on approach, we can provide assistance with the details of the implementation. Regardless of what our involvement is, we will do our best to ensure that the process improvements are well received by your staff and fully adopted before concluding this stage of the engagement.

Implementation could include:

Overseeing a new software implementation or integration
Training your staff on software, accounting procedures or accounting principles
Implementing a new software

Monitor

The monitoring stage will protect your investment. If your staff is not comfortable with the changes, training is forgotten or new scenarios arise, the process improvements will be less effective. Monitoring will provide assurance that your staff is comfortable and competent in the new process, so that you can maximize your return on investment.

Monitoring could include:

A weekly phone call with your staff to answer questions that have come up since the implementation
A spontaneous remote session to assist staff with a software issue or answer an accounting question
A periodic review of your new software to ensure that it is being used effectively
Onsite hands-on training and supervision