You think it sounds ridiculous? Well, you would be right and I agree. But I am always amazed when small business owners in Newcastle say to me “our accountant does our bookkeeping“. Why?
Many of you will be paying up to $150 per hour for bookkeeping.
Furthermore, if you were going to recruit an in house bookkeeper or engage an external consultant you would ask to see their resume, their work history or some demonstrated track record sucess. Ask your accountant for this, you will probably find that you are paying $150 per hour for someone who hasn’t yet finished their basic qualifications.
The bottom line is paying up to $150 per hour is simply ludicrous.
Here is a tip, “let accountants do accounting and bookkeepers do bookkeeping“.
As Jim Collins said in his bestseller “Good to Great“, you need to have not only “the right people on the bus, but the right people in the right seats on the bus”. Their is no questions that public accountants are qualified to provide bookkeeping services, they are on the bus, but in my opinion they are not in the right seat on the bus. The result is that the business owner does not get real value for money from using public accountants for bookkeeping services.
Bookkeeping has undergone significant change in the last couple of years, improved qualification standards and stricter supervision has improved the professionalism in the industry. Qualified bookkeeppers are able to provide support and a diverse range of services from setting up accounting systems and software, payroll and superannuation, data entry and preparing Business Activity Statements. The emergence of a new breed of Virtual Financial Controller or iCFO is changing the industry.
The bonus for the client is that you will receive a qualified professional bookkeeper and save thousands in fees.
Just one more time, “let accountants do accounting and bookkeepers do bookkeeping“. It is all about team work and working together in a collaborative manner.