The day-to-day activities include overseeing other accountants who are directly responsible for keeping our records related to inventory, vendors, clients and employees. Before the information gathered by them can be committed to our company’s books, via an accounting information system, I go through a process of reviewing, analyzing and approving their entries. The information gets “posted” to our books, meaning it becomes a permanent record that cannot be edited or deleted, after my OK. The approval/posting process occurs continually throughout the day as other accountants repeatedly process new information and send me a steady stream of their requests.
Between the approval/posting process, I work on compiling numerous performance and control reports. The performance reports analyze different components of our income statements and provide a more in-depth look of how the company is doing in those specific areas. Reports include sales revenue by client, sales revenue by type of product sold, gross profit analysis, employee mileage analysis, cell phone expense analysis, sales tax reconciliation, etc. Control reports analyze different components that make up our balance sheet and are used as assurance that transactions related to those accounts were recorded correctly. Reports include inventory analysis by product type, drop shipment analysis, accounts receivables analysis, accounts payable analysis, etc. Both performance and control reports add value in the company’s management decision-making process. The reports show how the company is doing financially, in the present, and how the trends of the past can impact the company’s future.
