What does a bookkeeper do? They investigate imbalances
Have you ever noticed something wonky about your finances and thought to yourself, “I wish I had time to analyze that…”? If so, consider hiring a bookkeeper to do these inspections on your behalf.
The web is full of true stories that tell how a bookkeeper has saved their employer money by examining irregularities.
Jerry Bellune, the owner and CEO of the Bellune Co., recalls the story of a “tale of two bookkeepers.” One investigated an anomaly and her discovery helped catch another bookkeeper embezzling.
On the Better Business Bureau (BBB) site, a complainant mentions fraudulent bank account activity that would have gone unnoticed if not for a bookkeeper’s investigation and proactive alert. Never again will this particular person ask, “Exactly what does a bookkeeper do?”
Last year, famous investor Barbara Corcoran fell for a phishing scam that cost her nearly $400,000. The amount could have been much higher if it wasn’t for her bookkeeper, whose keen eye spotted a clue and stopped the perps from taking more.
Source: Barbara Corcoran via Twitter
Without someone to investigate, losses just add up… indefinitely. In 2018, the city of Philadelphia lost $33 million, seemingly into thin air.
“The city doesn’t know where it is,” said City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart. If that wasn’t discouraging enough, the following year, Philadelphia reported $924 million in bookkeeping errors.
“At Ignite Spot, we don’t even call our bookkeeping staff bookkeepers,” says Eddy Hood, CEO of Ignite Spot. “Instead, we call them data experts, because a good bookkeeper does more than put data into a system. They’re experts in knowing how that data flows through the system.”
To illustrate, Hood describes a likely scenario. “If asked, ‘Why is our rent expense higher this quarter?’ A mediocre bookkeeper shrugs their shoulders and says, ‘because that’s how much the bill was.’ Contrast that with a Data Expert, who answers ‘because our CAM fees increased by 2% this year.’”
Who would you rather have handling your data?
Source
What Does a Bookkeeper Do?Hint: More Than You’d Expect is written by eddy@ignitespot.com (Eddy Hood) for www.ignitespot.com
