As a small business grows, it becomes more and more difficult to “Manage by Walking Around.” Establishment of proper controls and company infrastructure is crucial to a company’s growth. Our experience can assist your company in these areas:
Department Set-Up
Deciding to take a current activity and make it a full department in your company seems simple but who will run the department, what are the department’s responsibilities, who will the department report to and how does this correspond with the company’s long term planning and strategy? Many employees and managers have been ruined by improper department set up.
Computer Hardware and Software
Many companies have serious issues with this area of responsibility because many of us are not experts in this area. Fortunately, there is a preponderance of relatively inexpensive hardware, software and technical personnel available once a plan is prepared and lays out exactly what the company requires in automation and web resources.
Internal Controls
All small businesses believe that the need for internal controls is not a priority until the company has seen a bookkeeper embezzle funds, overpaid a salesman because sales receipts or expenses were forged, lost a customer’s business because an employee shipped faulty products or had their bank call the Working Capital loan due and payable because financial statements were inaccurate and late.
Good internal controls allow a business owner to sleep well at night knowing that the business is operating as needed.
External Audits
Most companies believe External Audits to be CPA firm financial audits. However, many retail firms use “mystery shoppers” to check their employees. There are also firms that perform operational and quality audits on products purchased in the marketplace. Third party audits allow a company to have an independent technical resource review its company, controls and products.
Internet and E-Mail
Communication with your customers, employees, suppliers and partners is vitally important to your success. Providing the appropriate resources requires proper planning. Security is a real problem today with data and ID theft easily accomplished by high school hackers. Walking the line between providing all the automated resources the company needs and guarding against theft and loss of confidential and proprietary information is not easy.
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