Wednesday, October 13, 2010

KISS is the new GAAP.

Is it just me or has the world gotten too darn complicated for it's own good?    Nothing is as it seems any more.  Even at the supermarket it's a constant battle to keep up with the latest experts' advice.  Do we want butter or margarine or oil?  Is there really such thing as good fat?    Is "all natural" okay or do we need "organic" or does it need to say "certified organic"?   Shouldn't "enriched" wheat be better for you by definition?

Complexity is everywhere, including the smallest of businesses.  

Education seems to be bringing me home to a place of increased simplicity.  The more I learn about the many technicalities in my field of mathematical science (my preferred term to 'accounting'), the simpler my strategic solutions are becoming, and I'm wondering why everybody else can't see it.  Sure, there was a time when I can recall the thrill of weaving transactions through a tax loop hole to gain an extra few points during year end, or the rush of re-positioning the wording in a sales contract to allow it to trigger a profitable quarter.  What was the opportunity cost of such short-sighted gains?

I dream a dream where we all move to a more simple business world.  Spend less on lawyers and accountants, and more on marketing and selling.  Less time on policies and procedures,  and more time on research and development.  Less effort managing outsourced production and more effort understanding your customer needs.    Business success requires balance, and collectively I think we have lost it entirely.  

Looking for help to simplify?  

Ask the head of your internal accounting team to get on board.  They have great insight into all the complexities of your business and are in a great position to influence a better tomorrow.  They should find the challenge a refreshing change from today.   Challenge them to bring you creative solutions to refocus resources on better value added activities - and if you get nothing back you really should wonder why. 

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